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
1863; etching
by Adalbert John Volck, artist
The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1964.5.25

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 (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