Let's go back to April, 1862 and visit the situation in New Orleans. As was the case almost everywhere else, coins had disappeared from circulation as the realization grew, both north and south, that this was not going to be a war that would be concluded in a matter of weeks or months, but rather years. In another confirmation of Gresham's Law ("bad money drives out good") by late 1861, New Orleans was awash in chits and scrip notes issued by literally hundreds of merchants, shopkeepers, and even omnibus lines in an attempt to continue commerce.

The city finally officially surrendered during the course of April 28-29, and General Benjamin Butler's first infantry units entered the city on May 1, 1862.

The city council took measures to instill public confidence in the myriad private shinplasters and other so-called "small notes" (typically in fractional and dollar denominations of less than $5). On April 28, 1862 the Committee for Public Safety published a list of thirteen issuers, including the Confederate government, the state of Louisiana, and the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. On May 3, the Mayor stated that the city would redeem all shinplasters and small notes and on May 6, the Committee for Public Safety added another seventeen issuers to its "approved" list. Later that same evening, five days after Union troops occupied the city, the city council passed an ordinance which created a formal process for stopping further private issues and redeeming those already in circulation.

by May 19, 1862, issuers had two options for redeeming their notes. They could participate in the city's program or comply with the federal order. The city continued with its program. One printer, J. Douglas, printed 25ȼ, 50ȼ, and $1 notes for the city's program while another printer, Isaac T. Hinton printed the larger $2, $3, and $4 denominations. All were dated May 6, 1862.

Later in 1862, a new series of notes dated October 24, 1862 was issued to redeem the May 6th notes and in October, 1864 a final issue of $20s was made to redeem the earlier notes.

Wendell adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:QUIZ ANSWER: CITY OF NEW ORLEANS(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n53a08.html)