500 Dollars

One of the genuine ironies of Confederate currency is that this note — issued by a government at war with the Union — was printed in New York by the National Bank Note Company before hostilities made that arrangement impossible. The contract was placed in early 1861, during the brief window when commercial relationships between North and South still functioned, and the notes were delivered south before the situation closed entirely.

At $500 face value, this was the highest denomination in the first Confederate issue. Relatively few were produced compared to lower values, and the disruption of the printing relationship meant the series was never continued on the same terms.