10 Cents State of Alabama

Alabama was one of the few Confederate states to issue its own fractional currency alongside Confederate federal issues — a response to the near-total disappearance of small coinage from circulation by mid-war. Hoarding had stripped the South of virtually every silver cent and nickel, and the Confederate government was slow to address the gap. Individual states, cities, and even private merchants filled the void with their own scrip, most of it of dubious enforceability.

Montgomery-printed issues from this period are known for uneven impression quality, reflecting wartime paper and ink shortages. Many examples survived in poor condition simply because they circulated hard in a short window before Confederate currency collapse made all such instruments worthless.