The Confederate States of America was country  formed in the south United States of America.  It was short lived and unrecognized.  The President of the Confederacy was Jefferson Davis, the largest opponent of Abraham Lincoln.  Separating itself from the union the Confederacy created its own currency, the Confederate Dollar.  The dollar was in the beginning worth about the same as the United States Dollar.  However this was short lived and most notes said 'Two years after the ratification of peace between the Confederate States of America and the United States of America', meaning that they had nothing to back it up and were hoping to have it by at least two years after winning the war.  This was not a good thing and the notes rapidly lost value and use.  The Confederate Dollar was printed almost exclusively to paper,  but a few confederate half dollars were produced too, but had their dies slashed and unavailable to make more.  Today you can buy coins minted with the slashed die for about twenty thousand United States Dollars.    The paper notes are available but are not common.  I recently picked up an eighteen sixty four edition of the Confederate ten dollar bill for twenty dollars, far less than the average price for one.  The confederate dollar has a bad reputation and it not a favorite among collectors.  There are many more copies than legitimate notes.  The easiest way to find a copy is if it says facsimile on the back.  The other way is that the composition of metal in the ink on the notes caused them to turn to a brown color.  I find it interesting that they are each hand signed and numbered. Many states and banks issued their own copies and special versions of notes.  Their are many different styles of notes from all different colors.  This series is becoming harder and harder to find quality notes.  This era led to some interesting notes in the United States of America as well.  In fact some United States notes from the period cost even more than the Confederate counterparts.  This era is one of the most influential part of North American Numismatic history, bringing change to the United States and Canada. Many people, such as I, find this era one of the most attractive times to collect currency from.  If you find this interesting check out my article about America's first small cents.