CW Token Collector
Private
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2021
Samuel Upham was a Philadelphia merchant who made counterfeit Confederate currency. He called them "souvenirs." When you compare this one to the real thing, the differences are obvious. The real thing was made by the Southern Banknote Company of New Orleans, which printed some of the highest quality Confederate notes. The trouble was they didn't have enough capacity to satisfy the Confederate Government's needs.
Here is an Upham note, a copy of variety T-19.
And here is a genuine note.
You will note that the Upham made piece has these words at the bottom:
Of course, nothing stopped a crook from cutting those words off the bottom and passing the piece. Many did. The crooks took these down South and bought gold, diamonds, jewelry and cattle with them. One of the big problems that South had was that they issued so many notes in 1861. Thirty-seven of the 70 major varieties of Confederate notes were issued in 1861. I know some people say there are 72 varieties, but two of those are fantasy notes, which are not real. I have no interest in them, especially given the prices.
Bankers warned the government that issuing that many varieties would play into the counterfeiters hands, but the politicians didn't listen.
Sam Upham had an interesting life. Here are some bullet points I made in a presentation about Confederate currency to my local coin club.
• Born in 1819 in Montpelier, Vermont
•Family wanted him to be a farmer or a blacksmith, but he had other plans.
• After a stint as a clerk in New York City, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Served for three years, making Master's Mate. Worked as a Bookkeeper in Philadelphia.
• In January 1849 he set sail for the California gold rush. He traveled "the long route" around the tip to South America, landing in San Francisco in early August.
• He failed as gold miner, but started a newspaper in San Francisco. He sold his interest in the newspaper and returned to Philadelphia in 1850.
•Opened a stationary and toiletry shop.
• In 1861 he started make "souvenir" copies of Confederate Currency. They were good enough to fool many people. The Union offices turned a blind eye to it.
•He died in 1885.
Here is an Upham note, a copy of variety T-19.
And here is a genuine note.
You will note that the Upham made piece has these words at the bottom:
Of course, nothing stopped a crook from cutting those words off the bottom and passing the piece. Many did. The crooks took these down South and bought gold, diamonds, jewelry and cattle with them. One of the big problems that South had was that they issued so many notes in 1861. Thirty-seven of the 70 major varieties of Confederate notes were issued in 1861. I know some people say there are 72 varieties, but two of those are fantasy notes, which are not real. I have no interest in them, especially given the prices.
Bankers warned the government that issuing that many varieties would play into the counterfeiters hands, but the politicians didn't listen.
Sam Upham had an interesting life. Here are some bullet points I made in a presentation about Confederate currency to my local coin club.
• Born in 1819 in Montpelier, Vermont
•Family wanted him to be a farmer or a blacksmith, but he had other plans.
• After a stint as a clerk in New York City, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Served for three years, making Master's Mate. Worked as a Bookkeeper in Philadelphia.
• In January 1849 he set sail for the California gold rush. He traveled "the long route" around the tip to South America, landing in San Francisco in early August.
• He failed as gold miner, but started a newspaper in San Francisco. He sold his interest in the newspaper and returned to Philadelphia in 1850.
•Opened a stationary and toiletry shop.
• In 1861 he started make "souvenir" copies of Confederate Currency. They were good enough to fool many people. The Union offices turned a blind eye to it.
•He died in 1885.