Confederate Paper Money Series XIX: Paper Money of the Southern States (Pt. 10)

The secession of the southern states in the early 1860s led to the formation of the Confederacy. After South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, seven states followed although it was thought that there would be double that initially. Secession was a delegate decision state by state and after the election and fall of Fort Sumter in April of 1861, some states decided against it. However, once the Confederate States were established, currency circulated heavily throughout the South during the American Civil War. But as we have come to learn throughout this blog series, that currency still was not enough in the South. This led to the enactment of individual states issuing their own currency.

South Carolina

Out of all the states to secede, it is very well known that South Carolina was the first to take the plunge on December 20, 1860. It should be noted that it was not surprising that the state was the first as nearly three decades before that the state passed a Nullification Act to repeal high Federal tariffs that it considered had infringed upon the states’ rights. While the threat of secession was mitigated with the idea of compromise, it did not last long as no compromise was met and in 1860, Governor Francis W. Pickens of South Carolina demanded all Federal property located within the state. This included Fort Sumter, which was taken in April of 1861 and sparked the onset of the American Civil War.

While it could be assumed that having been the first state to secede South Carolina would be the capital of the Confederate States, that was not the case. Politics played a role in this decision as South Carolina’s leaders recommended that each state send delegates to a convention in Alabama in early 1861. That Alabama city, Montgomery, would then be the “provisional capital” of the Confederacy and the place where the Confederate Constitution would officially be adopted.

As it made sense to issue their own currency like many states in the south did, South Carolina took a different approach, using taxes and bonds with the Bank of the State of South Carolina being the broker. The bank would then issue Civil War currency with indications on the notes bearing the Bank of the State of South Carolina as the issuer. However, because the name of the state would also appear on the notes, this gave people the impression that South Carolina in fact has their own currency. This was not the case and it was not until the war ended that the state notes were issued by a “wasteful government” as it was done during the Reconstruction Period.

Notes were issued from South Carolina during the Reconstruction Period as the Acts of December 1865, March 2, 1872, and November 19, 1873, were printed by the American Bank No. Co., New York. $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, and $50 denominations were printed.