Register of the Confederate Debt

Excerpt from the Foreword: It is probably that Thian (the author), as one of the earlier collectors of Confederate currency and bonds, should have wondered about the rarity (and therefore value) of the items which he possessed in his ample collection. His position as a dealer with a published catalog dictated the need for adequate information rather than the crude guesses made by other collectors. Finally, Thian must have realized that some quantification was needed in his proposed history of the Confederate finances. The result was his Register of the Confederate Debt published in 1880. This book was organized to meet certain objective. First, he wanted to summarize the total issues of each type of not: first by series, if any, and second by serial letters or numbers in their various combinations. Second, Thian tried to compile a complete list of those who signed for the Treasurer and those who signed for the Register. Third, Thian decided to give the signature series for all the Treasury notes he could, dividing them first into series and then by serial letter or number. Fourth, Thian decided to treat the bonds in much the same way.