Fred Reed

Shades of the Blue & Grey is book-length feature coverage of numismatic topics related to the Civil War, based on the author's extensive historical research and collecting experience. Presently the work is appearing serially as 3,300-9,300 word essays in a national hobby publication. This series pioneered study of the history of Confederate currency collecting, examination of the central government's war on state-chartered bank circulation, study of the use by Union officials of Confederate currency as an instrumentality of war, and related Civil War-era numismatic topics. Presently running is a detailed exposé on Greenback counterfeiting and the resultant changes wrought upon government notes when federal officials couldn't turn back the midnight presses in the decade-plus following introduction of a federal currency in 1861. This series has been honored as "Best Column" by the Numismatic Literary Guild six times in the last seven years, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Shades of the Blue & Grey contains information and original conclusions not available elsewhere on the subjects under consideration. Chapters are published on a monthly basis in Bank Note Reporter, the largest circulation publication devoted to paper money and related topics, published by Krause Publications (F&W Publications), Iola, WI. Each chapter is extensively illustrated, and heavily annotated by detailed footnotes. Reader feedback is encouraged, and input from readers is incorporated into the series, which features frequent "updates" on previously covered topics. After publication in the tabloid magazine, chapters are posted on the www.numismaster.com website maintained by the publishing company.

To mark the Civil War Sesquicentennial, a manuscript based on the "History of Confederate Currency Collecting" series that appeared in Bank Note Reporter from 2004-2007 and recently resumed there will be published in book form in 2012. Co-authored with noted CSA currency expert Pierre Fricke, the book's working title is The History of Collecting Confederate Paper Money, 1865-1945. A second volume of the same style in 2013 is anticipated to complete the saga up to the present.

It is anticipated that the author's 560+ pages (thus far) of pioneering information will be repackaged in one or more additional books in the future since great interest has been lavished on the legal tender counterfeiting series. In the meantime, interested parties may refer to the cumulative listing that appears below and look up articles of interest on the numismaster website.

Topics covered thus far include:

BNR Issue Pt# Title Pages

History of Confederate Currency Collecting

Oct. 2004 1 Who was the first Confederate currency collector? 34, 36, 38, 40
Nov. 2004 2 New York antiquarian was first CSA cataloger 48, 50, 52, 56
Jan. 2005 3 D.C. physician first CSA currency scholar pages 18, 20, 22, 26
Feb. 2005 4 Haseltine first big-time Confederate note dealer 18, 22, 24, 26, 28
Apr. 2005 6 John C. Browne no 'CSA notenick' latecomer 54, 56, 60, 63
May 2005 7 Widespread CSA note trade diversified in 1880s 76, 96, 97, 98
June 2005 8 Massamore catalog pivotal to CSA collecting 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 60
July 2005 9 Dealer J.W. Scott transcended boundaries 52, 54, 56, 57, 62, 63, 64
Aug. 2005 10a Scott firms promoted CSA note collecting 66, 68
Sept. 2005 10b Give Scott credit for CSA hobby survival 24, 26, 28, 30, 34, 38
Jan. 2006 14 Shared catalogs prompt further look at Scott 36, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50
June 2007 28 Serendipity is often researcher's best friend 48, 52, 54, 75,
July 2007 27 CSA note collecting gained popularity post-war 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 74
July 2011 73 Collectors owe great debt to Thian 102, 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 110, 111, 113, 114, 116, 117
Aug. 2011 74 Thian labored long in CSA trenches 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109
Sept. 2011 75 Raphael Thian's tomes important 73, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88
Oct. 2011 76 Now there are six: Rare Confederate Tome discovered 1, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99
Nov. 2011 77 Thian, the collector and dealer 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Dec. 2011 78 Hopes for CSA magnum opus fade 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91
Jan. 2012 79 Thian's legacy: A tale of two halves 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114
Feb. 2012 80 Thian's second half comeback 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88
. . . series currently in progress

The Federal "Confederate Treasury"

Oct. 2005 11 Counterfeiting was big problem for CSA 58, 60, 62, 64, 68
Nov. 2005 12 Confederacy reacted to its counterfeiting problem 67, 68, 70, 71
Dec. 2005 13 CSA Congress feared flood of Northern fakes 40, 42, 44, 48, 50
. . .series to be continued

The War on State Bank Notes

Mar. 2006 15 State bank notes got start well before Civil War 51, 52, 54, 56, 58,
Apr. 2006 16 State bank note issuance grew despite problems 48, 50, 52, 58, 60, 62, 66
May 2006 17 Should pre-Civil War currencies have survived? 50, 52, 54, 56
June 2006 18 Economic slowdown reorganized note printers 55, 56, 57, 58, 60
July 2006 19 Guthrie reevaluated his take on state notes 44, 46, 52, 54, 55, 58
Sept. 2006 20 Story opposed state issues in Supreme Court 40, 42, 44, 62, 64, 66, 68, 89
Oct. 2006 21 Chase long on rhetoric, pragmatic in actions 56, 62, 64, 65, 66
Dec. 2006 22 Stamp Notes first salvo aimed at state notes 62, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70
. . .series to be continued

Feds Fail to curtail Greenback fakes

Dec. 2007 32 Federalizing didn't solve counterfeiting problems 42, 50, 54, 56, 70
Feb. 2008 34 Bogus $10 U.S. Notes proliferated; solutions, few 48, 50, 52, 54
Mar. 2008 35 Feds ramped up enforcement to foil fakers 58, 60, 61, 62, 63
Apr. 2008 36 Early efforts against fakers proved spotty 32, 34, 36, 40, 42, 44, 48
July 2008 37 Desperate Treasury approved photographic detectors 32, 36, 38, 44, 46
Aug. 2008 38 Pardons of counterfeiters irked Congress 46, 48, 52, 54, 56
Sept. 2008 39 Paranoia over fakes brings call for recall 36, 38, 42, 44
Oct. 2008 40 Feds look to second anti-phoographic ink 38, 40, 42, 44, 48, 50, 52, 54
Nov. 2008 41 Feds roll out Rainbows with extra security 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54
Dec. 2008 42 More light shed on counterfeit deterrence 50, 52, 54, 55, 56
Jan. 2009 43 Sweeping up $10 fakes proves a chore 36, 38, 40, 44, 46. 48
Feb. 2009 44 Counterfeit fighters wound up in NY courts 50, 51, 52, 54, 56
Mar. 2009 45 Spinner's signature a counterfeit deterrent? 24, 26, 28, 30, 32
Apr. 2009 46 Inventors dream up solutions to fakes 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37
May 2009 47 Long Tom Ballard falsified Rainbow notes 30, 32, 36, 38
June 2009 48 Fakes kick off BEP and contractor turf war 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46
July 2009 49 What has been learned about these fakes? 36, 38, 40, 41, 42
Aug. 2009 50 Who is responsible for the misinformation? 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47
Sept. 2009 51 So, who was Col. William P. Wood, anyway? 46, 47, 48, 50, 52
Oct. 2009 52 Critics of Wood's tenure many, pointed 26, 28, 30, 32, 34
Nov. 2009 53 Let's scrutinize Col. Wood's tenure closely 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39
Dec. 2009 54 Slick talking Col. Wood chased coneymen 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28
Jan. 2010 55 Federal lawdog engages in fishy behavior 26, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34
Feb. 2010 56 Judge calls Wood's actions unseemly 30, 34, 36, 38
Mar. 2010 57 Federal agent dragged into courtroom 36, 37, 38, 40. 42
Apr. 2010 58 More legal scrapes for federal law officers 36, 37, 38, 40, 42
May 2010 59 Wood's practices lead to his fall 84, 85, 86, 88, 90, 91
June 2010 60 Brockway made dangerous fakes 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46
July 2010 61 Col. William Wood stalks his foes 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42
Aug. 2010 62 Col. Wood bungles fraud attempt 92, 93, 94, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104
Sept. 2010 63 Col. Wood double deals Mason 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96
Oct. 2010 64 Feds take down Cole-Ulrich ring 90, 91, 92, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105
Nov. 2010 65 Were Rainbow Fakes Covered Up? 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98
Dec. 2010 66 Fed policy was catch and release 30, 31, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44
Jan. 2011 (67) Brockway plays feds like tin drum 26, 27, 28, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41
Feb. 2011 68 Brockway wouldn't just fade away 23, 24, 25, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40
May 2011 71 Where's the Civil War 150th hype? 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, 41, 42, 44
June 2011 72 Tall tails die hard, or the big lie 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120

"Wild card" or miscellaneous Civil War-era numismatic topics

Mar. 2005 5 Two Sherman brothers appeared on notes 66, 68, 69, 70, 71

Feb. 2007 23 Rare scrip used Postage Currency as basis 58, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68

Mar. 2007 24 Beware nefarious fake Encased Postage 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 64
Apr. 2007 25 Diagnostics reveal fake encased potage 66, 67, 68, 69, 70

May 2007 26 After breather, return to CSA topics planned 38, 40, 42, 46

Aug. 2007 29 Lincoln currency portrait family tree traced 54, 58, 60, 66, 78,
Sept. 2007 30 ABNC die 141 has distinguished heritage 34, 36, 38, 56, 58, 60, 66
Jan. 2008 33 Auctions bring new ABNC die use to fore 44, 48, 50. 52

Oct. 2007 31 Kudos to Matt Rothert, Mr. "In God We Trust" 48, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62

Mar. 2011 69 Illustrious past for 'Twinkle Eye' 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100
Apr. 2011 70 New $5 image likely to be iconic 26, 28, 30, 31, 34, 36, 37, 38

Entire contents Copyright © Fred Reed 2010, 2011, 2012 All Rights Reserved