20 Dollars State of South Carolina

South Carolina's 1872 state note issue came during Reconstruction, when the Republican-controlled legislature was operating under federal oversight and the state's finances were in genuine disorder. The American Bank Note Company had by this point become the default printer for politically unstable or fiscally troubled American issuers — their New York presses turned out paper for entities that couldn't afford, or couldn't trust, local production.

Criswell's SC-7 designation places this within a small series that saw limited redemption. Reconstruction-era South Carolina scrip was frequently refused at face value by merchants skeptical of the government backing it, meaning circulated survivors often carry heavy handling wear disproportionate to their short active life.