North Carolina’s Wallpaper Note?

 

During the Civil War, the South issued much paper money, not just the famous notes of the Confederacy, but also issues from the Southern States, banks and merchants.  But the war cut the South off from its suppliers of paper and steel plate printing technology, resources responsible for the great beauty of paper money in the 1850’s.  Many Civil War era notes were simply printed, sometimes using the reverse of remaindered paper money to conserve paper.

 

The 50 cent scrip note of North Carolina’s Greensboro’ Mutual Life Insurance and Trust Company, dated March 1, 1862, is known as the wallpaper note, because it is allegedly printed on wallpaper pressed into service as note paper.  The paper is tan with black lettering and figures.  It is embellished with the banner “50 CENTS” in the center, the large fleur-de-lis-like figure in the top right, "C" on the right, and "CENTS" to the left, all in dark yellow-orange.  The note takes its name from the pattern of smaller fleurs, printed in green, that constitute the patterned background for the note.

 

(300dpi)

 

But is it really wallpaper?  Not likely.  The best evidence for this conclusion is that the pattern is contained within the note borders, at least on the sides and top of this example, and probably also at the bottom, although the close trimming there doesn’t permit a similar conclusion.  Wallpaper would have a pattern larger than the note’s approximately 6 ½ by 3 inch size.

 

The background pattern exists for a couple of purposes:  1) it adds eye appeal to the note, perhaps contributing to its acceptability to the public, and 2) the color and design complexity provide a degree of counterfeit protection.  The orange “protectors,” as these devices are called, serve the same purposes, and such usage was common on obsolete paper money.

 

The note was printed by Sterling, Campbell, & Albright of Greensboro.  Observe that the city name is spelled two ways:  The current spelling for the company name and the printer’s location (the imprint is in tiny print in the lower left edge) and Greensborough for the place name at center left.

 

The “wallpaper note” designation adds a romantic touch to this note, but it’s a misleading name.  The note is, however, an attractive example of how the South used available resources to produce an interesting and appealing piece paper money.

 

February 3, 2001