Confederate Currency

A $500 note issued by the Confederate government in Richmond, Virginia, in February 1864, bears the image of the dead war hero General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson on the right, and the Confederate seal and motto, Deo Vindice ("With God as Our Defender") on the left. Used as currrency during the war, this note promises the bearer that the full $500 amount will be paid on demand "Two Years after the ratification of a Treaty of Peace between the Confederate States and the United States." These legal notes were not backed by assets such as gold, silver, or even tobacco, and became increasingly worthless as inflation soared and more and more paper money was printed. When the war ended and the Confederate government no longer existed, the currency lost all of its value.