Slave Plowing 1862 Confederate Ten-Cent Note

CIVIL WAR. Confederate ten-cent note, no. 310, signed “Henry Hardie”, 4.25” x 2.25”, Raleigh, September 1, 1862. Vignette at center picturing a well-clothed slave plowing a field. Produced by J. T. Paterson & Co. in Augusta, GA, payable on or before January 1, 1866. Creases and expected wear, in overall near fine condition.

During the Civil War, there was a mass hoarding of coinage which created a substantial coin shortage. To address the need for circulating money in North Carolina, the confederate government issued more than seventy different types of currency. To add to this, North Carolina merchants, banks, insurance companies, towns, and county governments produced their own types of currency. This paper money could not be redeemed for gold or silver. Instead, Confederate paper money was like a loan or promissory note.

The drawings and symbols on the currency projected how southerners wanted to think of themselves and their nation. It is not surprising that a slave working the fields was showcased on this ten-cent note. In 1860, the number of slaves in North Carolina was one-third the size of the total population of the state. In nineteen counties, the slave population was greater than the free white population. These counties were in agricultural areas producing cotton, tobacco, and rice, and were where larger plantations and farms existed. 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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