Confederate Economic History Unredeemable 1866 Interest Coupon from the 1861 Confederate Loan

Civil War Confederate Bond

Ephemera and pamphlets

Confederate States of America. Bond coupon dated 1866 documenting the Confederacy’s use of public debt to finance its war against the United States. Issued under the Confederate loan of August 19, 1861, the coupon records a promised six month interest payment on a $100 bond and preserves evidence of the borrowing system through which the Confederate government sought private capital during the Civil War. Its July 1, 1866 payment date fell after the collapse of the Confederate government, leaving the obligation unredeemable and documenting the financial consequences of Confederate defeat for holders of its debt.

Confederate States of America. Coupon for the “C.S. Loan of Augt 19. 1861,” with interest due July 1, 1866. The printed text reads: “C.S. Loan of Augt 19. 1861. The Confederate States of America will pay to bearer four dollars for six months Interest Due July 1. 1866. On Bond No. 402 for $100. For the Register of the Treasury M.G. Minton [printed signatures].” Bond coupons were detached and presented when scheduled interest payments became due; this example called for payment of four dollars on Bond No. 402.

The coupon records one component of Confederate wartime finance in which government borrowing supplemented taxation and currency issuance. Because the Confederate government ceased to exist following its defeat in 1865, the promised July 1866 payment could not be honored, turning the coupon from a negotiable claim into documentary evidence of repudiated Confederate debt. Very good condition. A surviving fiscal document connecting the Confederacy’s wartime borrowing practices with the financial collapse that followed the Civil War.

Item #16784

Price: $85.00