Space and time. Cause and effect. Supply and demand. Tacos and Tuesdays. Very few pairs of things collaborate together within this oftentimes acrimonious and shambolic world of ours as harmoniously as history and numismatics. Intrinsically linked at their foundations and inextricably attached at their hips, human events that have happened in the past can frequently best be illustrated by their concurrently circulating monetary instruments - coins and paper alike which serve as tangible, story-telling, eyewitness artifacts of the era.
Numismatics tells tales of wars and warlords, emirates and empires, bankers, barons, dukes, and dictators, spanning across all continents of the globe and dating back nearly as long as recorded human history itself. In most cases, this history is demonstrated more subtly and may require a little autonomous research to make the appropriate connections. In others, these historical associations stand out like a bold, flashing neon sign. This PCGS Insider issue's Notable Notes features a piece with a heaping helping of history written ostentatiously all over its face (or across its back, if we are to be more literal and less idiomatic), attesting to a crucial falling domino within the U.S. Civil War subplot that foretold the beginning of the end for the Confederate States of America.
By the spring of 1863, the Civil War had largely become a stalemate, hampered by supply shortages, combat casualties, starvation, disease, impressment and political turmoil on both sides of the divide. In an effort to turn these bleak tides, Union President Abraham Lincoln and his military advisors and generals set their sights on the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, which was at the time considered to be the "key to the south." By securing Vicksburg, the Union would have full operational control over the entire north-south length of the Mississippi River and effectively splitting the Confederacy in half. This would isolate vital Trans-Mississippi Confederate states from their southeastern siblings and sever vital Confederate supply lines of feed, armaments, and manpower in both directions.
However, the Confederacy also very well knew about Vicksburg's strategic importance and by the prior summer had transformed it into a heavily fortified stronghold (ie. "Bring it on we dare you!"). A certain major general in the Union Army's Department of the Tennessee - a handsome, bearded 40-year-old by the name of Ulysses S. Grant would have been recklessly foolhardy to attempt a direct siege. But then, an idea was born.
Enter Union Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson (on horseback) and 1,700 of his closest cavalrymen from Illinois and Iowa to commence what Union General William T. Sherman described as "the most brilliant expedition of the war." Originating in Tennessee before piercing through the heart of Mississippi, Grierson's raiders galloped nearly 600 miles through hostile territory, destroying critical enemy railway lines, bridges, factories, and other wartime infrastructure, crippling the Confederate supply network into Vicksburg and beyond.
Remarkably, the devastating physical destruction and advantageous spoils gathering that Grierson and his men were able to achieve over these 17 days may not have been the most strategically fruitful aspect of this daring operation. Perhaps more importantly, it provided a compelling diversion away from the defense of Vicksburg, scattering thousands of Confederate troops across the state in ineffectual attempts to hunt down Grierson. This ultimately made the siege and fall of Vicksburg possible and it was accomplished by General Grant in the months that followed.
This 1862 $5 Confederate States of America T-53 bears the PSA/DNA-certified signature of Colonel Grierson himself along with a hand-written, fountain-penned contemporary inscription indicating how the note fell into Union soldiers' hands: "Captured at Newton Station Miss. on the Southern Railroad April 24th 1863 during the raid." For both students of yesteryear and enthusiasts of paper money, this one-of-a-kind numismatic relic certainly represents a deeply impactful convergence of the two, checking both boxes at the same time. And the rest, as they say, is history.