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20 Dollars
| Issuer | Confederate States of America |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Hoyer & Ludwig |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central vignette of a full-rigged sailing ship under sail on open water, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. To the left, an ornate oval guilloche panel bears the numeral "20" in bold relief, while the lower right carries a matching scalloped counter with the Roman numeral "XX". The arched title "THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA" spans the upper portion in large decorative lettering, with the promise text, serial numbers, date, and two manuscript signatures completing the design in a spare but authoritative letterpress layout. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, showing only the blind offset impression of the obverse design visible through the thin paper, confirming the note was printed on one side only. |
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| Comments |
Hoyer & Ludwig were a Richmond lithography firm with no prior experience printing currency — the Confederacy turned to them out of desperation in 1861, when established banknote engravers in the North were no longer available. The results were predictably crude by contemporary standards: lithographic reproduction rather than intaglio engraving, which made these notes far easier to counterfeit than anything issued by the U.S. Treasury in Washington.
Pick 10 belongs to the first wave of Confederate emission, authorized under the Act of March 9, 1861. Notes were hand-signed by appointed clerks — sometimes dozens of different signers across a single series — and serial numbers written in by hand.