1861 $500 Confederate Bond w/Coupons

Confederate Bonds from the First Year of the Civil War

In 1861, the South fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina, kicking off the Civil War. For four long years the nation was torn apart as brother fought brother with the future of America in the balance.

The 11 southern states that seceded from the Union following the election of President Abraham Lincoln in 1860 banded together to form the Confederate States of America. After a string of early victories, Southern morale was at an all-time high and dreams of a quick victory were envisioned. Southern leaders underestimated the North’s willingness to keep fighting, however, and once the Union properly applied its enormous advantages in men and materiel Southern defeat was all but certain.

Throughout the bloody conflict, the Confederate States of America struggled for legitimacy and was never recognized as a sovereign nation. Banking on continued commerce with Europe as well as foreign intervention on its behalf, the South found itself behind the economic 8 ball. In order to raise funds for the war effort, the cash-strapped Confederacy floated loans to its citizens, mostly in the form of bearer bonds. We’ve managed to track down a small cache of $500 bonds purchased in 1861 during the first year of the war. Each note features a central vignette and attached interest coupons that could be exchanged at six-month intervals.

Despite an unsurpassed record of courage, valor and battlefield success, the South was never able to achieve victory at the most crucial moment. The Union was able to claim victory in a series of major battles that further drove a wedge between the Confederacy and potential foreign allies. Defeats at Antietam, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Mobile Bay and Atlanta sealed the South’s fate. With defeat imminent, many people who owned these bonds threw them away, deeming them worthless once the Confederacy ceased to exist.

Today, these notes are valuable collector items both for their scarcity and for the window they provide into the Civil War, perhaps the most significant event in the history of the United States. Issued more than 150 years ago, these are genuine artifacts from a bygone age that still have ramifications to this day. Take advantage of this opportunity and add one to your collection.