5 Dollars State of Georgia

Georgia financed much of its Confederate-era war expenditure through direct state note issues rather than relying solely on Confederate Treasury currency. This 1862 emission was part of that parallel system — the state and the Confederacy ran effectively competing paper currencies in parallel, creating persistent headaches for merchants trying to set exchange rates between them.

Howell was a local engraver working under severe material constraints by 1862, with quality ink and plate steel increasingly difficult to source through the Union blockade. The official stamp served as the primary authentication mechanism precisely because the engraving itself couldn't be relied upon to deter forgery.