Large Size Currency from 1861-1923

To collectors the term “large size” currency typically refers to paper money issued by the United States federal government between 1861 and 1923.  To the general public the term large size can cover a wide range of banknotes including obsolete money, confederate money, silver certificates, gold certificates, treasury notes, legal tenders, federal reserve notes, and national banknotes.

Values for oversized (pre-1923) banknotes could be as little $5 for a beat up confederate note to over $10,000 for a high grade rarity.

Confederate Money:  Being in South Carolina, we see a lot of old confederate currency.  None of it is worthless, but a lot of it has minimal value.  The easiest thing to know is that anything from 1861 that says Montgomery is a rare issue and worth good money.  All other issues will be valued based on their condition, denomination, and variety.  We are certainly interested in Confederate currency no matter the rarity.

Silver Certificates:  The United States silver certificate was first issued in 1878 and the last large size silver certificates were dated as 1923.  Anything from 1878 or 1880 can be quite rare.  1886, 1891, 1896, 1899, and 1923 dated issues are readily available.  Their value will be almost exclusively based on their condition.  Obviously nicer notes are worth more than heavily circulated notes.

Gold Certificates:  There are some very rare gold certificates dated as 1863.  You could collect your whole life and never see one of those.  The next oldest year for a large size gold certificate is 1882.  You occasionally see these in the lower denominations, but some 1882s are also quite elusive.  1900, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1913, and 1922 large size notes are the most common years for the gold series.  The denomination and condition is largely what determines the value.  You are most likely to see $10 and $20 notes from 1906, 1907 and 1922.

Legal Tenders:  This is kind of a confusing term because all large size notes were and still are technically legal tender.  However, the collecting term legal tender specifically refers to “United States Notes” with a red seal, dated as 1863, 1869, 1874, 1875, 1878, 1880, 1901, 1907, 1917, and 1923.  This is a diverse series with a dozen different designs and a lot of variety.  The favorite legal tender note is definitely the 1901 bison ten dollar bill.  The woodchopper series also has a strong following.

Obsolete Currency:  This is a collector term that refers to privately issued money that is no longer redeemable.  Most of these types of banknotes are very common.  Of course there are a few exceptions.  But if your note says something like State of Georgia, State Bank of South Carolina, etc, it is probably not worth much, but we will always take a look and get you an honest answer.

We have a special page for national banknotes; those are one of our specialties.