Just Picked these up the other day. Real beauties!! I'm very happy!! These notes were printed on a full sheet of 8 bills. Each note printed was signed and numbered by hand. Red ink was used for the serial numbers. A wee bit faded but what do expect after 156 years? They are more faded in the photos than in hand. All 8 bills on each sheet have the same serial number. The difference, which makes it easy to distinguish, are the plate numbers. No uncut sheet of 1861 $10.00 T-30 notes is known to exist, and no individual 1861 $10.00 T-30 notes from the same sheet have ever surfaced on the market to my knowledge, aside from these, and these just surfaced for the first time. I had no problem in purchasing them when offered, sight unseen. I do trust my dealer and once again, he came through with absolute perfection. (It pays to have a good dealer.) Plus, I got them at a very good price. These are cataloged as a set of 1861 $10 T-30 notes. I have never seen a set of this issue from the same sheet before, and seriously doubt if any others will surface. These notes are much scarcer than finding notes with consecutive serial numbers. These 2 notes have been handed down through generations from relatives that owned a store in the south. The family line has been traced to their store and these notes were taken in by that store in exchange of goods in the final days of the Civil War, and passed down in the family. Both notes have serial number 49771, and were placed right next to each other in the placement on the sheet. You can see the exact cut between the two bills that someone working for the Confederacy did with scissors in 1861. Each one has crisp paper, nice signatures, and clear numbering. Dark details on both. No rips, tears or repairs on either note. Plate # 5 is fully framed (Black lines around the bill to frame it in) and grades CHOICE VERY FINE+. (The upper left corner is missing the border.) Plate # 6 is nearly fully framed and grades VERY FINE+. A Bonus Exists ~ Whoever wrote the serial number on the Plate #6 note forgot to add the 1 (last digit) at the top serial number, which also makes it a nice error note. The manufacturer of these bills is B. Duncan, Columbia SC. This is the very desirable "sweet potato note" from the first year of issue for the Confederate States of America. The 'Sweet Potato Dinner' nickname came from the more detailed depiction of General Francis Marion, Revolutionary War hero and native of South Carolina with an aide standing at a table with sweet potatoes. The necessity of financing military operations during the Civil War forced the Confederate government to print paper money, just as the U.S. government did for the first time. Currency Highlights: These are the first series of notes to be issued by the Confederate States in 1861 during the Civil War In Crisp Very Fine+ condition Face: Central vignette of a "Sweet Potato Dinner". It also depicts an oval portrait of R.M.T. Hunter, who served as the Confederate Secretary of State, at left, and the goddess Minerva on the right Back: Intentionally left blank For the purpose of posting them for your enjoyment, I tried to show that these CSA notes due in fact, line up. The Treasurer's signature on Plate #5 flows onto Plate #6. The cut line is perfect in hand but difficult to show in photos. I had the camera a little to close in the 2nd obverse photo but all detail shows in the first photo. 1,939,810 notes were issued for this series. These notes are serial number 49771 so it's on the low side.
I heard possession of these classified you as a hatemonger, but then again.......I love the artwork of 19th century paper money. (sorry for my obvious sarcasm in the first part of my reply)
Awesome additions. Trivia question; What other Confederate currency did the image of R.M.T Hunter appear on ?
I'm just lol at that. I really like these CSA notes and they continue to rise in price as demand is increasing while supplies are extremely low.
Indeed, but there's a sweet, sweet irony in being labeled a "hate-mongerer" by those who are, in fact, revisionist hate-mongerers themselves... Very nice, OP; congrats!
He was on 5 different $1861 $10.00 notes, 1 1862 $10.00 and 1 1964 $10.00 note that I know of. I'm sure it's more than that. I do believe he appeared in the lower left hand corner of an 1861 $100.00 note.
Thank you. It's a fine addition to my growing collection of CSA notes. I find them fascinating and full of history.
Although not a collector, I too find them fascinating, and this goes well beyond the historical significance they possess. I really did enjoy seeing them, so thanks again for sharing.
Very much outside my collecting lane but extraordinary. If you can't appreciate these notes your: (1) dead; (2) visually impaired; or (3) can't appreciate history (because of your skewed politics).
Nice notes and write up. And glad you acquired them before some special interest group has them banned.
Always liked the design of the sweet potato note, but Hunter's engraving is bad, bad, bad... looks alot better on the later $10's... even the 1862 Hunter looks better. Oh, and Hunter is all over CSA 10's. I mean all over... I see him on the T46, T68, T24, T52, T29, T26... hooray for sort by denomination... he might be on more but that's all I got with him on it...
Hunter is on CSA tens like Washington is on our current ones. It amazes me that there are a good number of gods and goddesses from the Roman days on CSA notes as Minerva is on the notes I posted.
Nice, very nice. But what's the answer in your first response to the question: "Trivia question; What other Confederate currency did the image of R.M.T Hunter appear on ?"
I'm sorry @Collecting Nut, I believe @MEC2 answered it pretty good in a previous post. I knew Hunter was on several notes, but I didn't know about all the notes he mentioned. I am a casual CSA note collector and in no way any kind of expert in this area of paper currency.