5. The Mulatto House Servant: $3,000 in Richmond
In 1860 Richmond, a light-skinned young woman known as a “mulatto” house servant was sold for $3,000—a fortune at the time. Her sale price reflected not only her domestic expertise but also the era’s disturbing emphasis on certain physical traits. House servants with lighter complexions were often assigned higher value, especially if they possessed poise and refined manners. As documented by the Library of Congress, these factors combined to yield some of the highest prices ever recorded for enslaved women in urban settings.
