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Sale 32
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Lot 157
1862, $10 United States Note. Fr-94. Center split and reinforced. A very scarce greenback from the Civil War period, issue of 1862. The Frederick Girsch engraving of Lincoln was based on a photograph by C. S. German. The standing figure symbolizes Art (or Painting). PCGS graded Apparent Very Fine 30.
During the 1861-65 "War of the Rebellion" as it was offically called, the Secretary of the Treasury was Mr. Salmon Portland Chase. He hit upon with the concrete idea that the government could issue unfunded paper money directly and then issue a moratorium on the redemption of their own paper bills! They were really just small "no interest" bonds issued by the government with nothing more than a promise to redeem them at some time after the war at an "unspecified" later date. These were the first paper dollars issued by the federal government. On February 25th, 1862 the northern government printed $150,000,000 of these new "greenbacks". They were used to pay the army and make purchases for the army. The Northern government agreed to continue to pay its interest payments on their regular bonds in gold and naturally demanded that all taxes continue to be paid in gold. The North insisted, however, that the greenbacks were just as good as gold redeemable currency and should circulate side by side with regular gold redeemable currency. (As events soon proved, the greenbacks weren't as good as gold, and gold was quickly hoarded, disappearing from circulation by early in 1862.)
Many of the congressmen of the day spoke out against these greenbacks but they reluctantly voted them (narrowly) into existence. Many of the yes votes were qualified on the floor of the house and senate. Many statements to the effect that "however bad greenbacks may be we see no other alternative and we therefore reluctantly vote for them" were recorded. This was clearly unconstitutional and the representatives and senators knew it at the time! Many people and newspaper editors pointed this out and many were imprisoned.
Estimated Value $800 - 1,000.
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| Realized $2,070 |
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