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50 Cents Confederate States
| Issuer | Confederate States of America |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Portrait of John E. Ward at lower left; central vignette of a wagon loaded with cotton in a harvest scene; lower right vignette of a figure harvesting sugar cane. Green overprints include Roman numeral X at upper left and right corners, a large TEN at centre bottom, and the legend THIS IS NOT MONEY across the centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Entirely green-printed reverse with an elaborate ornate border of scrolling acanthus foliage and interlaced guilloche work; denomination counters bearing the letter X appear in each corner. The interior field is filled with fine vertical line underprint, leaving the centre plain. |
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| Comments |
The Confederate half-dollar note was never intended as a long-term currency solution. By 1862 the Richmond government was printing fractional notes largely because coin had vanished from circulation — hoarded by a civilian population that trusted metal far more than the paper flooding out of Southern presses. These small-denomination notes were sometimes called "shinplasters," a term of contempt borrowed from earlier American scrip crises.
Cr#153 belongs to a series produced under chronic material shortages. Southern paper mills struggled throughout the war, and the quality of stock varies considerably across the run.