The Civil War is one of the most popular areas for collectors — it was the decisive moment in American history, deciding whether the United States would survive as a democracy. It began on December 20, 1860, when South Carolina became the first state to secede, and it cost more than 600,000 American lives. It was the last conflict in which officers led their men into battle with swords raised, under elaborate uniforms and ornate flags.
Popular, romantic — and faked
The romance of the "Lost Cause" makes Civil War material some of the most sought, and most forged, in the trade. (Civil-war collecting has recently diminished as Confederate monuments have been taken down nationwide and some public museums step back.)
More "Confederate" relics trade hands each year than the Confederacy ever made.
What the chapter covers
- Swords, flags, and uniforms — and the "marriages" assembled from parts
- Forged provenance tying ordinary objects to named soldiers
- Why the supply math has never added up
- How the market launders a claim simply by repeating it