TABLE OF CONTENTS

Minting, Printing and Counterfeiting

++Contents and Order of Chapters is Subject to Change++

Acknowledgement and Thanks

INTRODUCTION: Minting, Printing and Counterfeiting

1.  MINTING, NOT PRINTING

  • Before the Civil War, the US Government made only coins; to this day, the US Mint only makes coins. Paper money began with “Greenbacks” in 1862

2.  THREE US MINTS TAKEN HOSTAGE IN THE SOUTH!

  • Plus an intro to the 5 US Mints in Production in 1860; The Confederacy claimed the 3 Southern Mints as “forfeit” Federal property in 1861 (Custom Houses, too)

3.  THREE MINTS IN THE SOUTH: Taken in Trust – Part 2

  • Charlotte, NC + Dahlonega, GA + New Orleans, LA

4.  THREE MINTS APPROVED IN THE WILD WEST

  • Denver, CO + Carson City, NV + The Dalles, OR

5.  THE LEGAL TENDER ACT OF 1862 = Plenty of Paper Money and the Rise of the US Treasury Girls

  • Rep. Elbridge Spaulding “Conjures Money Out of Nothing” Creates Legal Tender Paper Currency, Gives Rise to the Bureau of the Currency and the US Treasury Girls

6.  THE CASE OF THE GREEN TINT

Our neighbors to the North help stymie Counterfeiters with “The Green Tint Ink” and that gives rise to “The Greenback” (paper money) and the rise of the American Bank Note Co.

7.  WHO PRINTED ALL THE MONEY FOR THE CONFEDERACY?

  • Many printing and engraving firms were contracted to produce the roughly $1.7 billion for the Confederate government: Evans & Cogswell of Charleston, SC was probably the biggest and most diverse firm, but there were many others. Several had to reckon with General Sherman in the end . . .

8.  KONIACKERS, BOODLE-CARRIERS AND COUNTERFEITERS:

  • Patriots & Profiteers give rise to the US Secret Service. There were big names involved, including Samuel Upton of Philly, who skirted around various laws, had a price put on his head by the Confederacy and flooded the South with fake notes — sold as war souvenirs. But there were dozens of ace plate-makers and engravers flooding the continent with fake banknotes; it is estimated that 30% of all paper money was counterfeit by the War’s end!

9.  COUNTERFEIT COINS ABOUND

  • Fake Spanish Reales were the most prevalent for decades and electroplating makes matters worse after 1857 Green Mountain Metal Detecting (GMMD) has made discoveries of Fake Gold and Silver Coins from before the Civil War, plus Startling Lost Souvenirs from the Was unearthed in the mountains of Vermont.

Postscript