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$5 1870's State OF Louisiana "Baby Bond" Grades Select CU

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:4.00 USD Estimated At:25.00 - 100.00 USD
$5 1870's State OF Louisiana  Baby Bond  Grades Select CU
$5 1870's State OF Louisiana "Baby Bond" Grades Select CU. These 1870’s bonds come with an interesting history. At the close of the Civil War, the federal government imposed a large tax on state bank notes. The state of Louisiana issued small bank notes and disguised them as interest-bearing bonds. These $5.00 “Baby Bonds” have a picture of a baby on the front. Thus the state avoided the tax. Everyone knew that they were worth the same as federally approved currency, so they were used throughout the state. In the 1880’s Louisiana’s State Treasurer, Ed Bunker, had used the original plates to reprint these bonds with identical numbers. About $300,000 in counterfeit Baby Bonds were discovered in his safe deposit box. He fled to Brazil