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50 Cents State of North Carolina
| Issuer | State of North Carolina Treasury |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Cents (0.50) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a full-rigged sailing ship under sail at sea, set within an arched scrollwork frame bearing the legend 'THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WILL PAY TO BEARER AT' in bold lettering. The denomination 'FIFTY CENTS' appears in a rectangular cartouche at lower center, with the handwritten serial number and redemption date 'January 1st 1866' below the vignette. A decorative floral and figural vignette panel occupies the right margin alongside the numeral '50', while 'FIFTY CENTS' is printed vertically along the left border, and a circular 'BY AUTHORITY OF LAW' seal appears at lower right above the manuscript signature and printed imprint of J.T. Paterson & Co., Augusta, Ga. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse consists of printed State of North Carolina bond interest coupons, each coupon individually framed and bearing the heading 'THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WILL PAY' followed by the amount of forty dollars payable to bearer at the Treasurer's Office in the City of Raleigh on specified dates ranging from September 1862 to March 1865, with bond numbers and 'For PUBLIC TREASURER' printed on each coupon. The coupons are arranged in a grid layout across the full surface of the note, reflecting the wartime fiscal practice of printing fractional currency on the backs of bond coupons. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Comments |
North Carolina began issuing its own fractional currency in 1861 when the collapse of small-change circulation — silver having been hoarded almost immediately after secession — left the state with a practical problem that Confederate Treasury notes couldn't solve at the retail level. J.T. Paterson & Co. of Augusta was one of several Southern printers pressed into service as the war severed access to established engravers in New York and Philadelphia.
Paterson's work on this series is competent but noticeably cruder than the pre-war bank note printing North Carolina's citizens would have known. The state redeemed these notes in Confederate currency, not specie — a distinction that mattered considerably by late 1862.