You’ve probably seen Confederate money, whether the real thing in a museum or a reproduction of the kind sold in souvenir shops near Civil War battlefields. But have you ever seen a Confederate bond?

Confederate bonds were used to raise funds for desperately needed food and supplies for the southern troops during the war. They were a way for the Confederacy to raise money by borrowing from its citizens. A person would lend money to the Confederate government and in return receive one of these bonds, a piece of paper bearing a written promise to repay the lender–with interest–beginning on a certain date in the future.

Needless to say, most of the people who lent money in support of the Lost Cause never got a dime back. And so they tucked those Confederate bonds away in a drawer or in a trunk in the attic, never bothering to try to redeem the attached coupons, now rendered worthless by the South’s defeat.

Today, though, those Confederate bonds are highly sought after collector’s items.

If you’ve ever seen a Confederate bond, you’ll know why people are buying and collecting them. For one thing, they are quite decorative. They’re physically big–much more imposing than a Confederate dollar bill, for example–and elaborately decorated. They look great in a frame. Furthermore, they represent a piece of history. Only the richest of collectors can afford to acquire a genuine Civil War rifle these days, but Confederate bonds are within the reach of most any history buff.

The Confederacy ordered a number of different issues of bonds during the war. For each issue, several different “denominations” (referring to the certificate’s face value) were printed. These all had different decorations, and sometimes even different colors of paper, to distinguish them from one another.

Collectors are fascinated with the vignettes, or illustrations, used on the various Confederate bonds. Some of these included an allegorical male figure reclining on one elbow, with charts and a world globe; a wood-burning locomotive with a ship in the background; a paddle steamer; a sailor holding a national Confederate flag and leaning against a bale of cotton; and Confederate president Jefferson Davis surrounded by flags and cannon.

On my wall in the room where I am writing this, I have a $1000 Confederate bond that I bought and had framed a number of years ago. It is beautiful, with words printed in an elaborate italic script and, most prominently, a portrait of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. You may recall that Jackson died in the midst of the war after accidentally being shot by one of his own soldiers during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He was a southern hero, and it was only natural that his likeness should come to grace a Confederate bond.

Many Confederate bonds were actually sold to people in Europe, particularly Britain, not to the increasingly impoverished people of the South. My Stonewall Jackson bond came from a hoard discovered in England in the 1980s. Such hoards turn up from time to time, driving prices down in the collectibles market, but the situation is usually temporary. Lately I have read that Stonewall Jackson bonds are becoming hard to find, so I’m doubly glad that I was able to acquire one when I did.

Buying and selling Civil War bonds has become a significant activity within the hobby of scripophily, which refers to the collecting of old financial instruments (including stock certificates, bank notes and railroad bonds, for example) for their historic and artistic value.

If you’re a history enthusiast–or if you’re simply on the lookout for a different kind of “art” with which to decorate your home–learning about Confederate bonds and acquiring a few select examples could turn into captivating yet affordable pastime. It is also an excellent area to investigate if you like the idea of making money by selling “paper”–books, magazines, old prints and so forth. Confederate bonds are worthless no more!

By: H. Tim Sevets