Hey there, This recently came my way and I was wondering if the mismatched obverse/reverse was typical or a rare occurrence. I did some looking online and couldn’t determine much. Thanks in advance!
Can't remember where I saw this type of paper. Story goes that "they " were running out of paper so they took what they had and used it. Now I know it's not right but someone please correct my version. I also would like to find out. Thanks.
During and after the Civil War, many items were in short supply. Coinage was so depleted that the government started issuing Fractional currency. Paper was also hard to come by, so printing companies were repurposing unused obsolete bank notes by printing new currency on the blank backs.
Why contact Fred ? Fred is primarily an error expert. This is definitely not an error. Many notes were printed like this…on purpose.
His name just came to mind as far as notes go. There is also Denley's of Boston which would probably be the better choice.
I’m not certain if you don’t believe me or just want a second opinion. Here’s a Florida Fractional printed on the back of an unused Florida bond. I’m not saying it was commonplace, but it certainly wasn’t an unusual practice to repurpose paper at the time.
Thank You Steve I knew someone would know the story I was just waiting. I'm old and have forgotten a lost of stuff. Dean .
I believe you Steve, it was just a general answer, more for those who might have doubts about notes they might have. No slight was intended. I have often tagged you as the go to person when it comes to banknotes.
Another reason they were willing to print on the backs of unused sheets of obsolete notes is that frequently those notes included "United States of America" in their text. The patriotic Confederates never expected to be part of the USA again, so recycling the notes was probably somewhat satisfying.
Well, considering the scarcity of many items in the South during that war, this particular practice of printing money on the BLANK reverse of obsolete or otherwise not issued notes/currency is not considered an error. However, values?? Reference to Confederate States Paper Money by Arlie Slabaugh and edited by George Cuhaj: 1. For @SteveInTampa note: on page 158 we find: FL-15, 10 cents. "The most common varieties are printed on unwatermarked paper. Scarcer are those printed on the backs of Florida notes or bond with the scarcest being printed on paper watermarked W.T. & Co. 2. For @Mark Metzger note: on page 215 we find: NC-1 $1. noted following the values chart we read: "... If printed on the backs of North Carolina bonds these notes double in value." NOW: the most interesting notation is : "Error notes with no "For" before Pub. Treas'r and those printed on paper watermarked T. C. C. & Co. are rare and worth five to six times as much Well, we now know this particular note is an error (without the FOR)
@Mark Metzger , thank you for the kind words. My advice has always been to buy the book(s) before buying the note(s). Learn all you can before you part with that hard-earned $$. I would have cited a few additional references unfortunately the majority of my Confederate and Southern States reference materials are "on loan". There are many good ones!! Happy collecting.