During the Civil War, the Confederate States of America issued their own currency notes. These circulated like cash, but were technically bills of credit. At the beginning of the war, they circulated widely, but by the end of the war they had lost nearly all their value. Many of the bills remained in private hands after the war and became collectible as memorabilia. Other bills, which the Union Army had confiscated, were in the hands of the United States War Department; it transferred them to the Treasury Department in 1867. In 1912, the Treasury Department disbursed many of these bills to cultural institutions around the country, in the interest of public education.
No accruals are expected.
Confederate Currency Collection, Pacific University Archives, Forest Grove, Oregon.
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Collection is open for research.
The collection consists of two parts:
Part one: 21 loose currency notes, which were issued by the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. They are dated 1861-1864. Various denominations are present, ranging from $0.50 to $100. Some of the bills are clipped, probably in order to cancel them. The bills are accompanied by a letter from the United States Treasury Department, dated 1912, explaining that the notes were confiscated by the Union Army at the end of the war, and were sent to Pacific University as specimens for "historical purposes."
Part two: Framed collection of 29 currency notes, mounted on a board. The notes ranging in value from to $0.10 to $1000. Most were issued by the Confederate States of America; several were issued by individual states such as Alabama and Georgia.