1861 $5 Confederate Note

Early Confederate notes like this 1861 issue from the first year of the Civil War are increasingly hard to find as fans of paper money and history both compete to add them to collections. Released September 2, 1861, this uniface $5 Confederate note circulated in the South as tensions over slavery and states’ rights escalated between the North and South.

A sailor seated on bales of cotton is the central vignette. C.G. Memminger, Confederate States of America’s Secretary of the Treasury, is at bottom left. At right, the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres, is seated; behind her stands Justitia, the goddess of justice. Thanks to a recent purchase, this is the first time we’ve been able to feature this scarce note in our catalogs. Our supply is extremely limited, so please don’t wait!