NEW BOOK: MINTING PRINTING & COUNTERFEITING

Before the Pandemic and the Lockdowns of 2020, the duo of Talisman & Coiner were working on what at the time was a single title: Money, Mayhem & Might and the theme of this volume was How the Civil War changed our Money (and how Money changed the War). The Pandemic – by suspending a lot of trade shows and group activities nation-wide – forced the T&C team to drill down further into several topics – especially No Small Change (a double-entendre dealing with the coin shortages of the Civil War AND the shortages of 2020 – and the fact that the changes that the Civil War wrought were disruptive and long-lasting, which will be the central theme of the third book).

Many of the changes were meant to be war time measures, intended (though not mandated) to be rescinded after the Civil War was over. That included paper money (fiat currency) and even the IRS. Obviously, many of these war-time measures became a permanent part of the US economy.

The research that Talisman & Coiner delved into was deeper than originally planned, in part because of the lockdowns. One original chapter alone – about the fall of Richmond, Virginia, the flight of wealth and the leadership of the South and the end of the line for the Confederate Treasure Train – became its own full-length book (at nearly 200 pages). It is a combination of political intrigue, the allure of immense wealth hastily piled into fleeing trains during the fall of the Queen City of the South on April 2nd of 1865 and the collapse of the Confederacy as the money (and the Rebel leaders of the day) trundled into the Deep South. There is an examination and identification of the types of coin and currency that were in circulation in the era (mostly gold and silver, with an intriguing reference to copper coins, all put on board waiting trains on the Danville and Richmond line).

Talisman & Coiner's concerted effort to determine Where did all the Southern Dough Go? is also partly a kind of travelogue – following the route and the places that the fleeing trains and wagon trains stopped, fled and doubled- back around to from April 2nd until early May when they were finally captured by the Federals.

Book Number Two: Minting, Printing & Counterfeiting released

Then the second book, released in May of 2021, focused on the trifecta of making money in the Civil War era – Minting, Printing & Counterfeiting. Here the main theme is on how the Civil War profoundly changed the production of currency in both the North and the South, as paper money – untethered to either gold or silver – became the mainstay of paying for the massive expenditures of war. Many other diverse topics are covered, including:

• The Legal Tender Act of 1862: Conjuring Money out of Nothing
• The Birth of Federal Paper Currency: the Greenback is Born
• The Case of the Green Tint Ink: Battling the Scourge of Counterfeiting
• Women hired by both US and CSA Treasury Departments (and the Lasting Legacy of Francis Spinner of New York)
• Three US Mints taken Hostage in the South: 2 become Casualties of War
• Three Mints OKed in the Far West – including in The Dalles, Oregon
• Counterfeit Coins and the finds of metal detectorist Brad Martin of Vermont

Again, the Talisman & Coiner approach to this second book (in the Saga) is consistent with the first book about the Flight of the Confederate Treasure Train – it is illustrated liberally in full color. Both books are spiral-bound, making them very easy to share with friends and family. They are both 8 1/2 x 11 inches, making them easy to read and the many illustrations make them an adventure for those who are casually interested in coins, money and the US Civil War.

A third book is in the works – its working title is No Small Change.

For more information, or to order, see:
https://minting-printing-counterfeiting.us/
https://talisman-coiner-productions.us/

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NEW BOOK: MONEY, MAYHEM AND MIGHT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n34a06.html)
NEW BOOK: THE CONFEDERATE TREASURE TRAIN (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n46a04.html)

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