Columbus, MS- Unknown Issuer $20 Exchange Certificate 184__ Kraus 42105p Proof PMG Choice About Unc 58 EPQ, 3 POCs.

After state lawmakers outlawed the issuance of bank notes in the state, some financial institutions considered turning to other instruments, such as exchange certificates, to maintain commerce. This $20 exchange certificate was payable in Mobile, AL, some 220 miles to the south. Only known in Proof form, it is uncertain whether certificates like this were ever deployed in commerce. The design features a vignette of floating allegorical women, representing Agriculture and Prosperity, that also appeared on T7 Confederate $100 Treasury Notes, printed by Hoyer & Ludwig who copied the vignette nearly two decades later. On the Mississippi note, this vignette is flanked by another of a farm wife caring for her baby during the harvest at left, and a cameo-like medallion head at right. A small vignette of a sailboat is at bottom center. The note is printed on India paper mounted on cardstock with three POCs in the signature line. We are unaware of any other examples of this note in any form which has Kraus' R-7 rating. From the Gaines Confederate Matching Vignette Collection