Civil War Union Documents
Rare 1864 Bucks County Pennsylvania Bounty Fund Bond
September 1st, 1864, Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. $300.00 Bounty Fund 6% Bearer Bond. Choice Extremely Fine.
This original printed document measures 4.25” x 8.25,” is printed on light green tinted and black on white wove paper, having cut cancels on the left and right. A hand-cancelled 15 Cents Internal Revenue Stamp appears on the left side. Statue of Freedom (at the Capitol) vignette at left, Justice and America at right. Stated interest of 6%. These bonds were used by various counties to raise funds for bounties to entice young men to enlist into the Union Army.

Each county was required to raise a certain number of soldiers to fight in the Civil War. If enough young men volunteered, everything was fine. But, if the county did not meet its quota, it was forced to “find” additional men. This was done by offering a bounty of $300 to any volunteer, paid with funds raised from the sale of these Bounty Fund Bonds. These ornately printed Civil War era bonds are all very rare. They represent the opposite purpose of the Commutation Money Receipts of the same period, which were used by some young men to avoid service by paying a fee of $300! A rare period issued form, as we sold a similar item in August of 2005 at $1500.00