Counterfeit Confederate Currency

Ma'ams / Sirs, had read about Samuel Curtis Upham's exploits before. Found this paper - never knew that counterfeit notes were coming into the Confederacy via Havana...

Butler University
Digital Commons @ Butler University
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection Undergraduate Scholarship
2018

Northern Entrepreneur's Counterfeiting of Confederate Currency and The Impact It Had On Inflation
by Raymond Rector

Butler University
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Scholarship at Digital Commons @ Butler University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Butler University. For more information, please contact [email protected].

When the Confederate States of America succeeded from the Union in 1861, they quickly began to issue their own currency to fund their war efforts. Due to the poor quality of these bills, counterfeiting quickly ran rampant within the Confederacy. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Confederate economy had completely collapsed due mainly the defeat of the Confederate army along with hyperinflation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of counterfeiting in the Confederate economy by using a more accurate estimation of the total amount of counterfeit bills in circulation. I will also investigate some of the important but overlooked sources of Confederate counterfeits such as Havana, Cuba, as well as a new source from New York City named “Haney.” Finally, I will examine the interesting dilemma that the United States government faced: officials were effectively unable (or at least unwilling) to prosecute counterfeiters because to do so would give de facto recognition of the Confederacy as a legitimate country.

https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1454&context=ugtheses
6364

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 

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Here is one of Upham's post-war advertisements for his counterfeits

Upham Broadside advertisementpg 2019.jpg
 
There is another $100.00 note, this is one that Upham "reproduced".It was a third issue, September 2, 1861 and featured 2 Negros loading cotton bales on a wagon. An Upham reproduction has 10 spokes on the rear wagon wheel and the genuine note only has 7 spokes.There are many more,which I forgot by now, but for some reason this example sticks to me?
 
I see where that one $100.00 note is stamped "Counterfeit". I've read where such markings add some value to these notes. Does it add alot?I think besides the stamp some notes were cut or marked with a slice of some kind.
 
The original counterfeit bills actually bring more than the original bills of the common types.
Sometimes they do... depends on the type. Take T-16 for example. Only about 200 are known to exist. The counterfeits however, are common in comparison and there are more than 1000 known to exist.
 
I see where that one $100.00 note is stamped "Counterfeit". I've read where such markings add some value to these notes. Does it add alot?I think besides the stamp some notes were cut or marked with a slice of some kind.
The stamps add about 300 dollars of value if the notes are VF or above.
 
So how does one determine what's an authentic bill and what's a really good fake such as those printed by Mr. Upham?
Some of Upham´s work has an imprint at the bottom that has his name and address on it. Since you could buy these notes in bulk, some people took the notes and cut off the bottom of the note with his name on it and passed it on as currency. Some of these notes were passed on to the U.S army that was going down south. Upham imprints can improve the value by a couple hundred dollars.
 
Sometimes they do... depends on the type. Take T-16 for example. Only about 200 are known to exist. The counterfeits however, are common in comparison and there are more than 1000 known to exist.
Fricke lists the T16 as "Rarity 3 as a type." This means an estimate of between 10,001 and 50,000 notes in existence.
 
I realize that I am a new member and late to this particular thread, but I'd like to address some of the misleading information quoted here, starting with the op.
Confederate money was easy to counterfeit. Large amounts of it were printed in the North ....

One of the best counterfeiters was Samuel C. Upham. He printed fake Confederate currency and claimed to be selling it for novelty purposes....
As someone later posted, the Confederate government did not have the means to print it's own money. They contracted with several existing printing companies to do the job. Initially, each printer designed the notes they supplied to fulfill the contracts. Some of these were mediocre lithographs and could be counterfeited by a skilled lithographer. Others were high quality notes printed on an intaglio press like the money in our wallets today. These would be extremely difficult to copy well. Still others were good quality lithographs which would require a good deal of skill to fake.

It also needs to be pointed out that counterfeiting CSA notes was not confined to the North. There were individuals active in the South as well, including some who worked in the very print shops producing genuine notes. The products of the latter are known as "stolen forged" notes. Paper was probably smuggled in, printed with authentic plates, and smuggled out. Signatures and serial numbers were forged, and some passed into circulation.

As to Upham.... He was absolutely NOT one of the best counterfeiters. His notes WERE meant to be sold as novelties in the North. They were mostly printed from exceedingly crude woodcuts, and only the very brave or very foolish would try to pass them. With the number of different designs in 1861, they might have been accepted by the uninitiated, but anyone who handled larger quantities of notes, such as bankers, would spot them instantly.
This brings to mind the old joke about the incompetent counterfeiter who could only make an $18 bill. After lamenting his failure to a friend, his cohort suggested he take it somewhere out in the boonies where folks might not be as sophisticated. So he went out into a remote area, and stopped in a small general store. He asked the proprietor if he had change for an $18 bill.
The man answered, "Sure. How do you want it, two nines or three sixes?"
 
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