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“Currency in Chaos: How the Civil War Changed America’s Money” will be the topic of a program June 2 the Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The free public program will begin at 10 a.m. in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room. Registration will open at 9:30 a.m. Participants who bring samples of Civil War currency will also have the opportunity for experts to evaluate their items.

For information on attending, contact Liza Terll at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or (919) 548-1203.

Author and numismatic educator Wendell Wolka will deliver the keynote speech, “And the World Turned Upside Down: The Effect of the Civil War on the Paper Money of the United States both North and South.” Wolka is a governor of the American Numismatic Association and is governor and past president of the Society of Paper Money Collectors.

Other topics and speakers include:

• Fractional paper money, issued by the federal government to ease the shortage of circulating coins (Dennis Edens, vice president of the Raleigh Coin Club);

• Printers who produced Civil War paper money, with a focus on North Carolina’s state and private issues (Jerry Roughton, co-publisher of the “North Carolina Numismatic Scrapbook,”and author of several books about North Carolina numismatics); and
• Counterfeiting and its effects on the war and the Southern economy (Bob Schreiner, past president of the North Carolina Numismatic Association, and author of several articles on obsolete paper money).

Following the presentations, local experts, along with some of the speakers, will examine notes, coins and other Civil War money items brought by attendees. The experts will evaluate currency, but will not provide appraisals.

The event is sponsored by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library, the FriendsoftheLibrary, the SocietyofPaperMoneyCollectors, the North Carolina Numismatic Association, and the Raleigh Coin Club.

Library contact: Linda Jacobson, (919) 962-0104, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it