Coins, Currency, and Medals

$100,000 U.S. Gold Certificate

The museum possesses one of the largest and most diverse numismatic collections in the world. Its diverse holdings represent every inhabited continent and span more than three millennia. The collection includes coins, paper money, medals, tokens, commodity and alternative currencies, coin dies, printing plates, scales and weights, financial documents and apparatuses, credit cards, and objects that reflect established and emerging digital monetary technologies worldwide.

Place: United States

5 Gourdes

The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Haitian five- gourde coin around 1905. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Haitian five- gourde coin around 1905. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and coins.
Obverse: Profile image of Pierre Nord Alexis, facing left. The legend reads: REPUBLIQUE D'HAIT/I1905
Reverse: Seal of Haiti, six draped flags around a palm tree with a drum at its base, and topped by a Phrygian cap and surrounded by two cannons. The ribbon below reads, L'Union Fait La Force. The legend reads: LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ/5.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1667
catalog number
1981.0296.1667
accession number
1981.0296

Scovill Centennial Commemorative Medal

This medal was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut in 1902. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
This medal was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut in 1902. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods.
Obverse: Bust of James Mitchell Lamson Scovill and William Henry Scovill. The legend reads: SCOVILL MANUFACTURING COMPANY/ J.M.L. SCOVILL-Wm. H. SCOVILL/1802-1902 WATERBURY, CONN.
Reverse: The legend reads: CENTENNIAL OF THE FOUNDING OF THE SCOVILL MANUFACTURING CO./PRESENTED BY THE COMPANY TO GEO.E.HART/1802/ABEL PORTER & CO./1811/LEAVENWORTH HAYDEN & SCOVILL/1827/J.M.L. & W.H. SCOVILL/1850/SCOVILL MFG. CO.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1902
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1596
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1596

Massachusetts Tercentenary Souvenir Token

The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this souvenir coin in 1930. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this souvenir coin in 1930. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens.
Obverse: Image of a full-sailed frigate on water, and an inset image of a man in Pilgrim garb. The legend reads: : MASSACHUSETTS TERCENTENARY 1630-1930.
Reverse: Image of the Old Powder House tower. The legend reads: TERCENTENARY SOUVENIR/1630-1930/ OLD POWDER HOUSE SOMERVILLE.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1630
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1630

Haitian Coin

The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Haitian five- gourde coin around 1904. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this Haitian five- gourde coin around 1904. Scovill was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer that is still in business today. Scovill is an important example of early American industrial manufacturing that adapted armory machines to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and coins.
Obverse: Profile image of Pierre Nord Alexis, facing left. The legend reads: REPUBLIQUE D'HAIT/I1904
Reverse: Seal of Haiti, six draped flags around a palm tree, topped by a Phrygian cap with two cannons. The ribbon below reads, L'Union Fait La Force. The legend reads: LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ/5
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1666
catalog number
1981.0296.1666
accession number
1981.0296

Puerto Rican Hardware Token

The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this token during the early 20th century. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this token during the early 20th century. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and transportation tokens. The number 3 is penned on the obverse.
Obverse: The legend reads: QUINCALLA Y FERRETERIA
Reverse: The legend reads: TRUJILLO Y SUBINA/ 10/ EL COMETA
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 20th century
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1587
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1587

5 Dollars, Templeton Reid, United States, 1830

One (1) 5 dollar coinUnited States, 1830Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / $5Reverse Image: N/AReverse Text: TEMPLETON REID ASSAYER.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1830
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / $5
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: TEMPLETON REID ASSAYER. / $5
Description
Before the famous California gold rush, several important strikes were made in the East: in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The earliest took place in Mecklenburg County, N.C., in 1799, where a nugget weighing several pounds was discovered. Its finder used it as a doorstop until someone recognized it for what it was! Discoveries multiplied, and a federal branch Mint was eventually set up in Charlotte to process the metal into coinage.
Discoveries in Georgia and North Carolina in the 1820s received wide publicity, and a "gold fever" resulted. Thousands of people began trekking to the areas in search of instant wealth. Most returned home empty-handed, but successful prospectors found millions of dollars' worth of precious metal. What should they do with their new wealth? Many felt the Philadelphia Mint was too far away for safe travel, and the government wasn't ready to create other coining facilities.
A jack-of-all-trades named Templeton Reid had an answer: strike private gold coins, at a private mint. Reid had extensive experience as a watchmaker, gunsmith, and metalworker. In July 1830, he set up shop in the Georgia hamlet of Milledgeville, and began his brief career as private moneyer-the first since Ephraim Brasher.
His coins came in three denominations: ten dollars, five dollars, and two and one-half dollars, in recognition of "official" denominations. And he put slightly more gold into his products than the federal government did into its coins, just to be on the safe side. Although historians believe that Templeton Reid conducted business fairly, an unknown adversary, signing himself simply "no assayer," published several notices in newspapers complaining that the coins were not as represented.
Rumors spread and before long Reid was forced to close up the business.
He apparently planned to go to California to participate in the gold rush there, and even made dies with a California imprint. However there is no record of his having made the trip West.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830
maker
Reid, Templeton
ID Number
1991.0357.0126
catalog number
1991.0357.0126
accession number
1991.0357

5 Dollars, Christopher Bechtler, United States, 1834

One (1) 5 dollar coinUnited States, 1834Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: CAROLINA GOLD. / CARATS. / AUGUST 1. 1834. / 140 / .G. / 20.Reverse Image: Star.Reverse Text: C. BECHTLER.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1834
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: CAROLINA GOLD. / CARATS. / AUGUST 1. 1834. / 140 / .G. / 20.
Reverse Image: Star.
Reverse Text: C. BECHTLER. AT RUTHERF: / 5 DOLLARS.
Description
Like Templeton Reid, a family of German immigrants named Bechtler established a private mint to coin gold between 1830 and 1852. The head of the clan, Alt Christoph, started out in the Black Forest area where he was apprenticed as a goldsmith, silversmith, and gunsmith.
Already well into middle age, he decided to seek his fortune in America. The early spring of 1830 found him and his family in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, where they set up shop as jewelers and watchmakers. The shortage of coinage in that part of the South, the abundance of gold from the new discoveries, the near-impossibility of getting it safely to the Mint at Philadelphia, and Alt Christoph's experience as a metallurgist, set the conditions for an important event.
When local settlers were unsuccessful in petitioning Congress to establish a branch Mint, Alt Christoph created a private mint. He made his dies, punches, even his presses, himself. His coins were simple affairs, but they were of honest weight and good quality. His first gold coins began making their appearance in the summer of 1831.
Alt Christoph ran the Bechtler mint until 1840. He then retired, and the operation was taken over by his son, August, remaining at work until about 1852, when it finally closed. To the Bechtlers goes the distinction of issuing the first gold dollars. They were doing so as early as 1834; the federal government didn't get around to striking the denomination until 1849!
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1834
mint
Bechtlers
obverse designer
Bechtler, Alt Christoph
reverse designer
Bechtler, Alt Christoph
ID Number
1991.0357.0143
catalog number
1991.0357.0143
accession number
1991.0357

10 Dollars, Templeton Reid, Georgia, United States, 1830

One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1830Obverse Image: Ring of stars.Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLDReverse Image: N/AReverse Text: TEMPLETON REID ASSAYER / TEN DOLLARSProduced by Templeton Reid in Milledgeville or Gainesville, Georgia.Templeton Reid was a jack of all trades.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1830
Obverse Image: Ring of stars.
Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: TEMPLETON REID ASSAYER / TEN DOLLARS
Description
Produced by Templeton Reid in Milledgeville or Gainesville, Georgia.
Templeton Reid was a jack of all trades. In mid-1830, he gained immortality by becoming the first American since Ephraim Brasher to strike his own gold coins. Some of his ten-dollar pieces bear dates. Others, including this one, do not. Five dated pieces are known and only three undated ones.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830
maker
Reid, Templeton
ID Number
NU.68.159.1186
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1186

2 1/2 Dollars,Templeton Reid, United States, 1830

One (1) 2 1/2 dollar coinUnited States, 1830Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / 1830Reverse Image: N/AReverse Text: T. REID ASSAYER.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 2 1/2 dollar coin
United States, 1830
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / 1830
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: T. REID ASSAYER. / 2.50
Description
Before the famous California gold rush, several important strikes were made in the East: in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The earliest took place in Mecklenburg County, N.C., in 1799, where a nugget weighing several pounds was discovered. Its finder used it as a doorstop until someone recognized it for what it was! Discoveries multiplied, and a federal branch Mint was eventually set up in Charlotte to process the metal into coinage.
Discoveries in Georgia and North Carolina in the 1820s received wide publicity, and a "gold fever" resulted. Thousands of people began trekking to the areas in search of instant wealth. Most returned home empty-handed, but successful prospectors found millions of dollars' worth of precious metal. What should they do with their new wealth? Many felt the Philadelphia Mint was too far away for safe travel, and the government wasn't ready to create other coining facilities.
A jack-of-all-trades named Templeton Reid had an answer: strike private gold coins, at a private mint. Reid had extensive experience as a watchmaker, gunsmith, and metalworker. In July 1830, he set up shop in the Georgia hamlet of Milledgeville, and began his brief career as private moneyer-the first since Ephraim Brasher.
Reid struck about a thousand of the $2.50 denomination. As with the larger $10 and $5 dollar denominations, most were later melted down and re-coined by the U.S. Mint. We can trace fewer than twenty-five survivors, including this one.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830
maker
Reid, Templeton
ID Number
NU.68.159.1183
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1183

10 Dollars, Baldwin & Co., United States, 1850

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850
maker
Baldwin & Company
Baldwin & Company
ID Number
1985.0441.2198
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.2198

20 Dollars, Diana Gambling House, United States, n.d.

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States , n.d.Obverse Image: N/AObverse Text: GAMES OF CHANCE / CAL.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States , n.d.
Obverse Image: N/A
Obverse Text: GAMES OF CHANCE / CAL. / COIN / GOLD / TWENTY DOLLARS
Reverse Image: N/A
Reverse Text: DIANA / CLAY / TO / COMMERCIAL / STREETS / DRINKS / SAN FRANCISCO CAL.
Description
This piece is likely to be a modern fantasy from the mid-twentieth century. Fantasy pieces can take advantage of an intense enthusiasm for material related to the old West, the California Gold Rush, and the pioneer spirit in search of the American Dream.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
NU.68.159.1125
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1125

5 Dollars, Bechtler, United States, 1837 - 1842

One (1) 5 dollar coinUnited States, 1837 - 1842Obverse Image: Star.Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / 22 CARATS. / 128. G.Reverse Image: Star.Reverse Text: C: BECHTLER. AT RUTHERF: / 5 DOLLARS.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
One (1) 5 dollar coin
United States, 1837 - 1842
Obverse Image: Star.
Obverse Text: GEORGIA GOLD. / 22 CARATS. / 128. G.
Reverse Image: Star.
Reverse Text: C: BECHTLER. AT RUTHERF: / 5 DOLLARS.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1837 - 1842
ID Number
NU.68.159.1096
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1096

Diners Club Credit Card -- Expires August 31, 1952 (Specimen)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1952
issuing authority
Diner's Club of America
ID Number
NU.72.66.3
accession number
301409
catalog number
72.66.3

Diners Club of Germany Credit Card -- Expires September 30, 1956 (Specimen)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1957
issuing authority
Diner's Club of Germany
ID Number
NU.72.66.74
accession number
301409
catalog number
72.66.74

Diners Club Credit Card -- Expires April 30, 1952 (Specimen)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1952
maker
Diner's Club of America
issuing authority
Diner's Club of America
ID Number
NU.72.66.2
accession number
301409
catalog number
72.66.2

Diners Club Credit Card -- Expires Nov. 30, 1963

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Expiration date 11/1/1963
date made
1963
issuing authority
Diner's Club of America
ID Number
NU.72.66.93
catalog number
72.66.93
accession number
301409

Diners Club of France North American Section Credit Card -- Expires January 31, 1957 (Specimen)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1957
issuing authority
Diner's Club of France
ID Number
NU.72.66.73
accession number
301409
catalog number
72.66.73

Diners Club of Brazil Credit Card -- Expires January 31, 1957 (Specimen)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1957
issuing authority
Diner's Club of Brazil
ID Number
NU.72.66.63
accession number
301409
catalog number
72.66.63

2 Dollars, Bordentown Banking Company, New Jersey, United States, 1855

One (1) 2 dollar noteNew Jersey, United States, 1855Obverse Image: Seal at left. In center, two men with horses, train in background. Portrait of a man at right.Obverse Text: TWO / 2 / NEW JERSEY. / NO. _ / A / THE BORDENTOWN BANKING CO. WILL PAY TWO DOLLARS TO BEARER ON DEMAND.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 2 dollar note
New Jersey, United States, 1855
Obverse Image: Seal at left. In center, two men with horses, train in background. Portrait of a man at right.
Obverse Text: TWO / 2 / NEW JERSEY. / NO. _ / A / THE BORDENTOWN BANKING CO. WILL PAY TWO DOLLARS TO BEARER ON DEMAND. / BORDENTOWN JUNE 1ST 1855
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855
maker
American Bank Note Company
ID Number
1992.0281.1266
catalog number
92.281.1266
1992.0281.1266
accession number
1992.0281

Proof sheet for $10-10-10-20 of the Columbia National Bank of Washington, DC, 1877

National bank note proof from the Columbia National Bank of Washington DC, $10-10-10-20. Charter number 3625. The $10 note features the image of Ben Franklin flying a kite on the left and an image of an eagle and Liberty grasping a lightning bolt on the right.
Description
National bank note proof from the Columbia National Bank of Washington DC, $10-10-10-20. Charter number 3625. The $10 note features the image of Ben Franklin flying a kite on the left and an image of an eagle and Liberty grasping a lightning bolt on the right. The $20 note features an image of the Battle of Lexington on the left and Liberty marching with a flag on the right. The bank was chartered on January 1, 1887. There are thirty-two large size notes and thirty-nine small size notes issued after 1929 known among collectors for this bank.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
1896
1893
1891
1872
1920
ID Number
NNC.297219.00543
accession number
297219
catalog number
NU*297219.00543

5 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1862

Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA).
Description
Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA). As a fledgling nation, the Confederacy faced two obstacles: to create a sense of national unity and to arm its troops to wage a modern war. Money connected both issues—it would celebrate the new nation and finance the war. On March 9, 1861, the CSA authorized a national currency.
Between 1861 and 1865, the new government issued Confederate currency on eight separate occasions. Each issuance pumped millions of dollars into circulation. Counterfeiters added to the deluge with freshly made fakes. The result was a staggering amount of paper money and massive inflation. The CSA responded to the problem by recalling, cancelling, and burning old notes to remove them from circulation. The first official recall on February 17th, 1864, came after two years of less harsh—but unsuccessful—efforts to reduce the volume of currency in circulation.
The problem of what to do with all of the recalled money fell to the Confederate Treasury Department, which enlisted the help of banks and depositories. Historian and numismatist Douglas Ball identified three primary strategies used to cancel currency. Machine-powered circular punches were preferred by the Treasury, while banks canceled currency by striking it with bank hammers, which left two x-shaped slices on the note. Depositories also used bank hammers, but sometimes opted to cut the notes with scissors, leaving two small triangles along the bottom edge.
Once cancelled, all notes were sent to the Confederate Treasury in Richmond, Virginia, to be burned. Some notes escaped destruction. At war’s end, the Union Army confiscated the notes along with Confederate government records to investigate a possible connection between the Confederacy and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
Today, researchers examine Confederate Currency seeking clues about the economic, social, and technological underpinnings of the South during the Civil War. Smithsonian curator and historian Richard Doty has discovered physical evidence of some of the extraordinary measures people undertook to keep their money in circulation. Stitches, postage stamps, pieces of newsprint, and even fragments of love letters were used to reinforce torn notes.
The careful repair of Confederate currency was done for reasons that had nothing to do with simple economics. Money has always been seen as an emblem of sovereignty. So if people simply allowed their money to disintegrate –and some must have been tempted in that direction, as the value of their money had shrunk almost to the vanishing point by the final months of the war– what did that say about their belief in the Cause?
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1862
ID Number
1998.0063.0589
accession number
1998.0063
catalog number
1998.0063.0589

5 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1863

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Apr. 6, 1863
date made
1863
ID Number
1998.0063.0099
serial number
18712
accession number
1998.0063
catalog number
1998.0063.0099

5 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1861

Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA).
Description
Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA). As a fledgling nation, the Confederacy faced two obstacles: to create a sense of national unity and to arm its troops to wage a modern war. Money connected both issues—it would celebrate the new nation and finance the war. On March 9, 1861, the CSA authorized a national currency.
Between 1861 and 1865, the new government issued Confederate currency on eight separate occasions. Each issuance pumped millions of dollars into circulation. Counterfeiters added to the deluge with freshly made fakes. The result was a staggering amount of paper money and massive inflation. The CSA responded to the problem by recalling, cancelling, and burning old notes to remove them from circulation. The first official recall on February 17th, 1864, came after two years of less harsh—but unsuccessful—efforts to reduce the volume of currency in circulation.
The problem of what to do with all of the recalled money fell to the Confederate Treasury Department, which enlisted the help of banks and depositories. Historian and numismatist Douglas Ball identified three primary strategies used to cancel currency. Machine-powered circular punches were preferred by the Treasury, while banks canceled currency by striking it with bank hammers, which left two x-shaped slices on the note. Depositories also used bank hammers, but sometimes opted to cut the notes with scissors, leaving two small triangles along the bottom edge.
Once cancelled, all notes were sent to the Confederate Treasury in Richmond, Virginia, to be burned. Some notes escaped destruction. At war’s end, the Union Army confiscated the notes along with Confederate government records to investigate a possible connection between the Confederacy and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
Today, researchers examine Confederate Currency seeking clues about the economic, social, and technological underpinnings of the South during the Civil War. Smithsonian curator and historian Richard Doty has discovered physical evidence of some of the extraordinary measures people undertook to keep their money in circulation. Stitches, postage stamps, pieces of newsprint, and even fragments of love letters were used to reinforce torn notes.
The careful repair of Confederate currency was done for reasons that had nothing to do with simple economics. Money has always been seen as an emblem of sovereignty. So if people simply allowed their money to disintegrate –and some must have been tempted in that direction, as the value of their money had shrunk almost to the vanishing point by the final months of the war– what did that say about their belief in the Cause?
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1861
maker
Keatinge & Ball
ID Number
1998.0063.0205
accession number
1998.0063
catalog number
1998.0063.0205
serial number
25624

5 Dollars, Confederate States of America, 1862

Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA).
Description
Between the winter of 1860 and the spring of 1861, eleven Southern states broke away from the United States to form a new country, the Confederate States of America (CSA). As a fledgling nation, the Confederacy faced two obstacles: to create a sense of national unity and to arm its troops to wage a modern war. Money connected both issues—it would celebrate the new nation and finance the war. On March 9, 1861, the CSA authorized a national currency.
Between 1861 and 1865, the new government issued Confederate currency on eight separate occasions. Each issuance pumped millions of dollars into circulation. Counterfeiters added to the deluge with freshly made fakes. The result was a staggering amount of paper money and massive inflation. The CSA responded to the problem by recalling, cancelling, and burning old notes to remove them from circulation. The first official recall on February 17th, 1864, came after two years of less harsh—but unsuccessful—efforts to reduce the volume of currency in circulation.
The problem of what to do with all of the recalled money fell to the Confederate Treasury Department, which enlisted the help of banks and depositories. Historian and numismatist Douglas Ball identified three primary strategies used to cancel currency. Machine-powered circular punches were preferred by the Treasury, while banks canceled currency by striking it with bank hammers, which left two x-shaped slices on the note. Depositories also used bank hammers, but sometimes opted to cut the notes with scissors, leaving two small triangles along the bottom edge.
Once cancelled, all notes were sent to the Confederate Treasury in Richmond, Virginia, to be burned. Some notes escaped destruction. At war’s end, the Union Army confiscated the notes along with Confederate government records to investigate a possible connection between the Confederacy and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
Today, researchers examine Confederate Currency seeking clues about the economic, social, and technological underpinnings of the South during the Civil War. Smithsonian curator and historian Richard Doty has discovered physical evidence of some of the extraordinary measures people undertook to keep their money in circulation. Stitches, postage stamps, pieces of newsprint, and even fragments of love letters were used to reinforce torn notes.
The careful repair of Confederate currency was done for reasons that had nothing to do with simple economics. Money has always been seen as an emblem of sovereignty. So if people simply allowed their money to disintegrate –and some must have been tempted in that direction, as the value of their money had shrunk almost to the vanishing point by the final months of the war– what did that say about their belief in the Cause?
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1862
ID Number
1998.0063.0568
accession number
1998.0063
catalog number
1998.0063.0568

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