What happened to them? I heard they were used as wallpaper and insulation because it was cheaper than actually buying it. I'm not joking.
That reminds me of an interesting story my Uncle told me from when he was a kid. He was born in the Mississippi Delta around 1939, and when he was quite young, his family found a large suitcase full of Confederate currency. He's been dead for a few years now, but if I recall correctly, sometime during the Second World War, his family turned it in as part of a scrap paper drive.
The War Department took possession of the notes held in the Confederate Treasury. In the latter 19th Century, many sets of notes were sent to GAR posts.
Great read and I can say that a few of those Confederate bills are now in my personal possession as part of my paper money collection.
I have a few. One of the people I worked with would go and tear down old houses and buildings in his surrounding home area, on his time off. He found a lot of old Confederate currency over his time in the houses and buildings where the old people had stored it, while I knew him. We both lived in Georgia around Atlanta.
Mid-century reproductions were popular 60 years ago. This is what Ronnie Remonda had to say about the Cheerios set. “Cheerios Premium money was issued in 1954. For 25 cents and a Cheerios box top you received nine notes and an album. Cheerios is probably the best of all the older reproductions. Cheerios claims to have issued more Confederate currency then the Confederacy.” This is my set.
I'll never get the $1000, but I do have genuine notes of this series, from $5 through the $500. I need to pick up the $1 and $2, but they are surprisingly expensive.