A Short History on Confederate Money
- Author Johnny Kicklighter
- Published November 3, 2009
- Word count 380
In 1860, Christopher G. Memminger was given the task to organize the Confederate treasury. Memminger was born in Germany on January 9, 1803 and his mother and grandparents immigrated to Charleston, SC shortly after his father's death. Memminger was eventually adopted by the future governor of SC, Thomas Bennett.
After studying law, Memminger entered politics and became a member of the SC state legislature in 1836. He was responsible for writing the Constitution of the Confederate States of America as a member of the Confederate Provincial Congress. Memminger became Secretary of the CSA Treasury on Feb 21, 1861 but resigned on July 18, 1864 amid criticism for the CSA's deteriorating economy.
When the Confederacy occupied the federal mints at New Orleans, LA, Dahlonega, GA,and Charlotte, NC they discovered these facilities didn't have enough bullion to mint coins. They attempted to issue a half-dollar coin and produced four prototypes. The inability of the CSA to coin money was intensified by people hoarding coins and the bank failures that occurred following secession. The government began to issue paper money but this resulted in rapid inflation. Attempts by the CSA to curb inflation were unsuccessful.
Their financial difficulties got worse when counterfeit Confederate notes printed in the North begin to show up in the South. As a deterrent, the Confederate government made counterfeiting a capital crime, punishable by death. Samuel C. Upham of Philadelphia is credited with being the most famous of all the counterfeiters of Confederate currency. Upham produced lithographed notes as Confederate currency facsimiles and mementos of the war. Each note was marked in the margin identifying it as a facsimile. However, purchasers of the notes begin to trim off the margin and use it as genuine currency. Eventually, Upham produced currency without the margin notes selling them for pennies on the dollar.
The South issued anywhere from one to two billion dollars in paper money. This number did not include the amount issued in bonds and the currency issued by the individual states, counties, cities, companies and banks. The CSA had hoped to obtain European loans and finance the war by the sale of cotton abroad. However, the Union blockade inhibited the export of cotton. Toward the end of the war, Confederate currency became worthless. Ironically, many issues of Confederate currency are very valuable today as collectables.
Johnny Kicklighter is a member of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans, Lt. George E. Dixon Camp # 1962, Belleville, Illinois. The Sons of Confederate Veterans honor ancestry through the preservation of history and heritage. Johnny is a collector of Confederate currency.
Article source: https://articlebiz.comRate article
Article comments
There are no posted comments.
Related articles
- Why Women of Color Need to Support Kamala Harris
- The Dark Reality of Forced Prison Labor: Why I Stand Behind Proposition 6
- Analyzing the Leadership Qualities of Abraham Lincoln during Crisis Situations and Racial Legal Issues: Studies
- Exploring the System of Checks and Balances Among the Three Branches of Government Machinery
- An Analysis of the Political Landscape in Guatemala and Its Impact on Regional Stability
- Gossip! How Caryma Sa'd convinced Jeremy Mackenzie to work for the RCMP
- Analyzing the Cultural and Historical Significance of Mongolia in Relation to Its Socio-Political Context
- Left, Right, and Ridiculous
- The Effect of Brexit on the UK Fishing Tackle Industry
- A Visionary Leader for Somalia's Future: Mohamed Said Deni's Path to the Presidency in 2026
- Potential 2024 Padang Pariaman Regent Candidates Form Three Axes: High Chances of Fierce Competition
- Russia Gate-How It Happened
- How the Manhattan D.A. is changing Politics in America
- How Corruption is Destroying Development in Africa
- What Happens if Houthi vs US Led Operations takes another turn involving Russia and China? Regional wide impact.
- Why America Needs More Moderate Republicans
- From Importer To Exporter: The Shifting Geopolitics Of U.S. Energy Policy
- The Dark Side of Globalization: Inequality, Conflict, and the Struggle for Resources
- Escalation in the Israel-Palestine Conflict: Unpacking the Recent Hamas Attack
- What Frosts My Nuts: The End Time Has Come
- What Frosts My Nuts: Nixon had Big Balls but not P.B.J.
- The 2024 presidential election is already over.
- The Clown King of East Africa
- The Concerning Power Play of New York's Attorney General: A Threat to Its Politician and New Yorkers
- Who has the Right to Control another Adult's Life Without their Consent?
- Can the Charter of Democracy Save Pakistan’s Imperiled Democracy?
- Is Iran in a revolutionary situation?
- Why We Must Be Masters of Our Counter Culture
- It is more Important than Ever that we Guard against Selfish and Criminal Charismatic Leaders.
- THE SUPERPOWER