#state issued money

This is a $10 bank note issued by the Bank of the State of Georgia dated March 2, 1860 out of Savannah. The paper is extremely thin, almost like tissue paper, and is only printed on one side. Prior to the National Banking Act of 1863, States would issue their own fiat currency. The National Banking Act was the first of many laws that came about to unify U.S. currency. The law was also created to help pay for the Civil War, and in turn it created “greenbacks” that were issued by chartered U.S. Federal Banks. The State issued notes became Federally taxed which, as expected, ended their existence.

As to how this came into my hands I really don’t know. All of my ancestors were immigrants to the North, so they didn’t get it by living down South. There is a rumor that a few uncles were in the Civil War, so maybe one picked this up down in Georgia, but I can’t find any evidence to support it. Or, which is most likely the case, one of my ancestors had a small collection of coins and this fell into their hands. 

As for the note itself, well the Bank of Georgia took a beating in the Civil War, and as mentioned the Federal Government taxed these out of existence. So its value (as far as I can tell) is based more on historical interest than in any financial backing. It was printed by the American Bank Note Co. out of New York which was around until it filed for bankruptcy in 1999.