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5 Dollars Virginia Treasury Note
| Issuer | Commonwealth of Virginia Treasury |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark green and white, the note carries a vertical rectangular panel at left with the word FIVE rendered in white against a green ground, flanked top and bottom by small green banners repeating the denomination. Two circular green medallions, each enclosing a white numeral 5, flank a central oval vignette containing a bust portrait of a gentleman in a 19th-century jacket and bow tie. At right, an engraved vignette of the Virginia State Seal shows the figure of Virtus, armored and bearing a spear and sword, standing in triumph over a fallen crowned figure, with the legend "The Faith of the Commonwealth is Pledged" above and "Receivable in payment of taxes and other public dues" below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Richmond Mar 13, 1862 VIRGINIA TREASURY NOTE No______ The Commonwealth of Virginia will pay to the bearer on demand FIVE DOLLARS at the Treasury |
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| Comments |
Virginia issued its own treasury notes throughout the Civil War, operating in parallel with Confederate currency rather than deferring entirely to Richmond's central authority. This 1862 series was authorized under state legislative act as Virginia struggled to finance militia operations and public obligations that Confederate requisitions left underfunded. The Commonwealth treated these obligations seriously — redemption was formally promised in specie or equivalent, a pledge that became increasingly hollow as the war dragged into its middle years.
Keatinge & Ball, who printed much Confederate currency, also handled production for several Virginia state issues during this period, though attribution across the 1862 series varies by denomination. Virginia state notes generally circulated alongside Confederate issues but at a discount determined locally by merchants and banks who had little faith in either.