The third issue of Fractional Currency started at the end of 1864 with the war going full blast. As the quality of the Fractional Notes improved, so did the quality of the counterfeits of the earlier issue notes. This and the ever-increasing demand for “small change,” made a design change necessary. There are more varieties of note in the third issue than the other issues combined, with a total of 72 varieties in the third issue. The third issue started using signatures on the notes with some being printed and some being autographed, there are red and green backs, plain paper and fiber paper, different surcharges, and different sheet position indicators. All of this helps to account for 19 different types of the Spinner 50-Cent notes, and 32 different types of the Justice 50-Cent notes. Perhaps the most interesting factoid about the third issue Fractional Currency notes is that this is the only issue with a 3-Cent note, and it is also the only note in the third issue without signatures. This issue is going to be harder to put together with only 9 out of the 72 notes being common, there are a few that are extremely scarce and only have 20-30 notes known, and 1 note in particular has only 3 known to exist.

Good luck with this issue, it is going to be a good challenge to get as many as you can.

Brian Dresback,

Manager

Christopher’s Rare Coins