Republic of Texas $20 Redback

➼ History & Context

Although in the early days of the newly minted Republic of Texas everyone got by with a smattering of monies, with US bank notes alongside Mexican & Spanish money and private companies’ myriad currencies commonly called “shinplasters,” keeping track of value and denominations required more concentration than it should have. Texas first began printing its own paper money in 1837; it never minted coins as it lacked the surplus of silver and gold required.

The first iteration of paper money, nicknamed “star money” with its prominent black star in the center, had a number of variations to its printing, but all had blank back which people would use to sign over to others. Sadly for the bold graphic design, star money was too easily counterfeited so Texas needed to shift, and in 1838 they printed their first change notes.

Beautiful illustrations from Greek mythology and the American West adorn the Texas notes, making them visually stunning as well as monetarily valuable – even more now than when first printed. Unlike notes printed now, these were more government-issued promissory notes and were redeemable a year from the date printed plus 10% interest. Many of the notes are now a burnt orange tone from the original ink aging over time. Also carrying blank reverse sides for endorsement signatures, these notes were only printed for a short time before “Redbacks” took over.

In January of 1939, under the leadership of Mirabeau B. Lamar, Texas began to issue “Redbacks” – a nickname derived from the red ink used for the large-scale ornate designs on the verso sides of the paper money. Along with the continuance of the detailed illustrations of the American West, Redbacks also began to print Texas heroes on specific denominations. Deaf Smith on the $5 and Stephen F. Austin on the $50. Printed only until September 1940, Redbacks quickly lost their original government-backed value along with most other Texas currency as inflation and the financial crisis running rampant across the U.S. and Texas through the mid-1840s.

Upon redemption, the representative of the Texas government cut into the paper to “cancel” the note and mark its compensation and keep them from being fraudulently re-submitted. Cut & canceled notes are highly sought-after and carry the marks of their handling and usage, and extremely few notes were never redeemed.