During the Civil War, some legitimate Northern engravers turned to counterfeiting Confederate money in an effort to both make a profit and undermine the Confederate cause. Philadelphia’s Samuel Upham’s bogus notes sold like “hot cakes,” despite their being marked along the border “Fac-simile Confederate Notes Sold, Wholesale and Retail.” Enterprising soldiers carrying the notes into the South simply shaved off the incriminating border.
![Counterfeit Confederate Notes Publicly Offered for Sale in the “City of Brotherly Love” (1964.5.25)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/1964.5.25_closer_web.jpg)
Counterfeit Confederate Notes Publicly Offered for Sale in the “City of Brotherly Love”
1863; etching
by Adalbert John Volck, artist
The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1964.5.25
![Counterfeit Confederate States of America twenty-dollar note (1980.105.2)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/1980.105.2_recto_web.jpg)
Counterfeit Confederate States of America twenty-dollar note
September 2, 1861; lithographic engraving
by Hoyer and Ludwig, printer (Richmond, VA)
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Mrs. Julian Peck, 1980.105.2
![Confederate States of America one-hundred-dollar note with counterfeit back (1980.105.1)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/1980.105.1_verso_web.jpg)
Confederate States of America one-hundred-dollar note with counterfeit back (reverse)
September 2, 1861; lithographic engraving
by Hoyer and Ludwig, printer (front printed in Richmond, VA)
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Mrs. Julian Peck, 1980.105.1