By; Fred Reed for Coins Magazine

No collection of Rebel currency is complete without Criswell Type No. 1, the fabled “Montgomery $1,000” note, so-called because they were issued early in the Civil War from the first Confederate States of America capital with “MONTGOMERY” on their face.

Yet only about 100 individuals at any one time have the opportunity to call this fabled rarity their own. This is because only 115 are believed to remain from the 607 notes originally issued in 1861, and some collectors own more than one. In fact, one fabled collection existing today has an unfathomable 10 of these wonderful rarities.

From the outset Confederate officials turned to the printing press to fund unprecedented expenditures brought on by armed conflict. By the end of the war, the insurgents had buried themselves under a pile of worthless promises to pay.