Confederate Coin

The Confederate States of America, which split off from the United States of America in 1861, is said to have seized control of the U.S. New Orleans mint. With this mint firmly in control, President Jefferson Davis ordered the production of four half dollar coins in the mold of the Confederate States of America. On the obverse side of this Confederate coin was a United States marking--an unintended irony, no doubt.The four pressings of this coin were scattered throughout the land. One was given to President Jefferson Davis himself. Another was given to a professor at the University of Louisiana. Two others were given to citizens. Yet probably due to war-time pressures and shortages, production of these Confederate coins stopped. Indeed, Confederate citizens themselves didn't know that such a coin ever existed until well after the Civil War, in 1879.The exceptional rarity of the Confederate Coin has made it one of the most highly prized pieces in the world. During the Civil War, the Confederacy still used Union money, although records suggest that production at the New Orleans Mint dropped precipitously after the Confederacy took over. The controversy over this coin has been further inflamed by the racist legacy of the Confederacy.During the year 1861, the New Orleans Mint operated up until May. It produced a little more than 17,000 Double Eagle coins and 2.5 million half dollars. These were Union coins. However, the Confederacy claimed to have taken over the Mint sometime during April and run about one million half dollars between the time of the take over and the time when production halted altogether.