As we go about our day, spending our hard earned cash, we seldom give any thought to what that currency represents. Beyond using it to buy a coffee at Starbucks or even create some art, we don’t often think about what is propping up that currency. However, the ability to have a stable currency is one of the foundations of any country.
If you look back into history, many revolutionary forces struggled to introduce and maintain a stable form of currency. Without a stable currency, basic transactions were difficult. Plus, it was always seen as a way of staking a claim as a burgeoning nation; one to be reckoned with and taken seriously.
Below we look at the fascinating history behind five rebellions and their attempts to produce banknotes.
1. Confederate Banknotes
Image: via Wikimedia Commons
The Confederate States of America dollar was first released in April 1861 when the nascent Confederacy was only two months old. It was the eve of the outbreak of the Civil War.
Between 1861 and 1864, they released 72 different note types in seven series. Various denominations from $1/10 up to $1000 were issued. A total amount of $1.7 billion in currency was issued.
To begin with, the currency was accepted throughout the South, however as the conflict drew on there was less and less confidence in the eventual success of the Confederacy. As a result, the value of the currency began to drop and inflation began to take hold. The price of common goods soared. A bar of soap cost $50 and a suit could cost over $2000. Towards the end of the war, the currency was practically worthless. Once the war was over, the currency wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.
The bills featured images of the South: naval ships, historical figures (including George Washington), and African American slaves. To fuel propaganda, slaves were often depicted as happy and smiling while they worked.
2. Rif Revolt
Image: Imperial Collection
The virtually unknown Rif Revolt took place between 1921 and 1926 in northern Morocco. The Rifi and Jibala tribes of northern Morocco struggled to shrug off the colonial oppression of the Spaniards.
Two notes of currency were prepared for issue from the “State Bank of the Riff.” Interestingly, the notes were prepared in England by Captain Charles Gardiner, a British adventurer and gunrunner.
North Africa had a long colonial history and at various times was controlled by the Spain, France and Great Britain. By the early 1900s, Spain was firmly in control of the northern parts of Morocco. Separated by the Rif Mountains to the south, the people of the Rif area were cut off from the French protectorate in the south. As a result of this geographical separation the people of the Rif area were quite independent.
Location of Rif Revolt
Resistance to the Spanish rule grew throughout the region. However it was from one of the larger regions in the east that the sparks of the revolt began to take shape. The opposition was lead by Si Muhammad n-Si ‘Abd al-Krim al-Khatabi, or Abdel Krim as he was known.
In May 1921 he first attacked the Spanish at the post of Dar Abara. The Spanish lost 300 to 400 men and were defeated. A much larger battle followed in July. Once again the Spanish were defeated with a loss of between 15,000 to 19,000 men.
A Declaration of Independence was made in 1921. A Government was established and emissaries were sent to England and France. It was during this time that Captain Gardener entered the picture. In 1923, Gardiner is recorded approaching security printers in Great Britain to have the currency printed there. It is apparent that his attempts were unsuccessful. He did manage to get two currency notes printed – a 1 Riffan note and a 5 Riffan note. The crescent moon and star which appear on the bills also featured on the flag of the Rif nation. It would seem that the notes were never placed into circulation. Eventually the French and Spanish joined forces defeating the Rif peoples in May 1926. The currency now only holds value for the fascinating history which surrounds it.
3. Kingdom of Heavenly Peace
Image: bunnylam and Currency Collector
What a glorious name! However, the reality never quite lived up to the promise. The Kingdom of Heavenly Peace came into existence in 1850 and began life as a noble experiment. It soon turned into a full-out rebellion against the Manchu Empire of China. What started out a great idea, soon turned sour and wasn’t brought to an end until 25 million Chinese had lost their lives in one of the world’s bloodiest civil wars. It took the combined might of Chinese troops, with Western assistance, to re-establish order.
The T’ai P’ing rebels, during their 15 year civil war, formed their own government complete with civil service, treasury, postal system and army. They also introduced their own currency system of coins and banknotes.
The Chinese peasants were already weakened due to crop failures and flooding during the 1840s and were seriously down on their luck, with many families homeless. These conditions led to a feeling of unrest towards the ruling Manchu class and a rebellion broke out. But this rebellion wanted not only to overthrow the ruling class, but also to bring about social reforms.
Their leader was Hung Hsiu Ch’uan who, having previously converted to Christianity, saw himself as the younger brother of Jesus – the “second son of God”. He planned to replace the horrible existence of the peasants with a “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace”.
Some of the reforms he was looking to enact included: the elimination of Eunuchs at court, an increase in women’s rights, the abolishment of slavery, a stop to the practice of foot-binding, an end to the opium trade and a reform the tax system. He attracted an army of half a million peasants willing to fight for these ideals.
The reality did not always live up to the dream. His army was capable of terrible brutality. In one incident they reduced the once grand city of Hangchow, which had inspired gushing praise from Marco Polo, into rubble and ruin and slaughtered 600,000 residents in the process. They overran the copper mines in Yunnan province and took over the former Imperial mint, where they set about producing their own copper coins. These coins were cast, rather than struck, using moulds of clay.
Initially, all currency was in coin form; however, it got to the point where too many coins were necessary for a transaction. A reform of the treasury took place and in 1861 they introduced a paper currency in the denomination of tael. China had not had a paper currency for almost 700 years.
Very little is known about the tael paper currency. It was likely produced by the same printers which were printing bibles to be distributed to the troops. It is thought they were made in the ancient Chinese way, using hand-carved wooden blocks in a vertical format. The note featured two dragons and a ball of fire.
When the rebellion ended in 1864 the notes became worthless. No surviving notes were known of until one surfaced at an auction in Singapore in 1993.
4. Assignat – French Revolution
Image: via Wikimedia Commons
Introduced by the National Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution in 1790, the assignat was linked to the value of the seized church properties. The government was essentially bankrupt, so they thought that by linking the assignat to the value of the property it would be a solid currency.
They used the assignat to pay off a large portion of their foreign creditors. However, they weren’t strictly controlled and a combination of excessive issuing, and a mixing with existing currencies, meant that they became devalued. Hyper-inflation ensued.
By 1792 they had lost most of their original value and hyperinflation led to food shortages, which led to food riots. The assignat experiment failed.
5. Mandat Territorial – French Revolution
Image: via MA Shops
When the assignat lost all value, the Directoire sought to correct the situation with the Mandat Territorial. The Mandat was a currency in the form of land warrants. They were supposedly redeemable against land which had been seized from royalty, the church and the clergy since the outbreak of the revolution in 1789.
In February 1796, 800 million francs worth of mandats were released as legal tender to replace the 24 billion francs worth of assignats which were still outstanding. A total of about 2.5 billion francs of mandats were released into circulation.
Within six months their value had dropped. Counterfeiting was rampant and in February 1797 their legal tender quality was lost. By May of that year, they were worthless.
The Revolutionary Government of France would continue to struggle to introduce a currency which was stable. This was not achieved until Napoleon reintroduced the franc in 1803.
Knight Hooson was born and educated in Canada before moving to Great Britain in 2002. After surviving several years working with large American Private Equity firms in Mayfair, he now turns his hand to freelance writing for a variety of print and web-based clients. When not working, he enjoys learning about wine and exploring France - especially at the same time. 
