Hey there folks. Here are a few confederate/North Carolina notes that are available to me as part of a small older collection. I’m not much of a paper currency guy, but these are interesting, historical and available. I know condition is everything, but can anyone give me any insight as to a ballpark value on the lot or on individual notes. I chencked the serial numbers and they seem to be authentic, so that’s a start. Thanks in advance!
Sorry, I own one Confederate note and only know the basics...like where to check the serial number to see if it might be bogus. After that I check values on eBay and Heritage on recently sold similar notes. It takes some time but I prefer that to trusting the price guides. I would trust @MEC2’s evaluation.
5 of the notes are CSA notes, all fairly common as indicated by the higher serial numbers. Nothing strikes my eye on them as being special in any way. The other notes are state or bank issues. They are too damaged to be worth money. My top price would be $150 to $175.
The $10 and $20 CSA look to have nice full borders and be in good condition, those notes have decent value, even though they are common. The obsoletes from the Bank of Washington with red overprint protectors look issued and are always in decent demand, they'd get $35 a pop easy on theBay. Definitely $200+ for the batch.
I’m no expert, but I have the Fricke book checked out from the ANA right now if you’re interested in knowing the exact types. I also own a book on detecting confederate counterfeits is we come across something suspicious.
Any additional input would be great. I spoke with the seller and he seems to think that the $2 confederate note and the $5 bank of Washington (not the red one) are the most rare and most valuable. I do not know where he is getting his information only that it is information recently gathered.
UPDATE: I ended up purchasing two of the notes. I settled on the $10 and $20 Confederate notes for a couple reasons. One: they were in the nicest condition...full borders, sharp corners. Two: they are the most historically significant and will show well in my classroom collection. The seller wanted far too much for the Bank of Washington notes so we settled on what I thought was a fair price for these two:$65. Any input on grade/value would be appreciated. I am a stranger to paper currency but these seem very crisp. Thanks!
Nice ones i think it was a smart choice to stay away from The other ones just because of the condition issues.
@Mark Metzger Both are nice looking but they are common notes. Nothing special about them. The value can only be determined by condition, folds, paper crispness, stains, fading, pin holes, etc. It appears the border is cut very close on the right side of the twenty and missing a little on the left side of the same bill. Chances are you paid top dollar or close to it for these CSA notes. Look at the obverse of the $10.00 bill. At the very top there are 2 pen marks. Normally this would lower the value but not in this case. Look at both of the signatures on the bottom of the bill. The marks at the top of the bill are from the signatures on the bill that was above this one. This is common. Value is increased when you are in possession of both bills. The serial numbers are the same but the plate number is different. Here is an example from my collection. This shows both bills which are a set of 1861 $10 T-30 notes. They are from the same sheet and are very rare. This shows a closer view of the signature of the Treasurer. Please note the large curvy line in the lower photo. Here are the same notes matched up. And here is a close-up of both bills together. Please take a close look at how the top note is cut. All CSA notes are hand cut, hand signed and all serial numbers are hand written. The Treasurers signature is on the top note but it continues onto the lower note. If you look at the first two photos, the serial number on the left side matches. The serial number on the right side also matches but in the last two photos you can see the bottom note is missing the last digit, a 1, from the end of the serial number, also making this an error note. The serial number on my notes are 49771. No rips, no tears, folds and crisp paper, perfect in every way. This is the first set of T-30 notes to be located. I have documented proof that both bills were held by a family line dating back to the Civil War. Relatives owned a store in the south and these notes were taken in by that store in exchange for goods. They have been passed down by that family for years. The hand cut matches exactly. All details are dark including the signatures and serial numbers. Plate 5 note is fully framed and is in Choice Fine condition. Plate 6 is nearly fully framed and graded Very Fine plus. Due to signatures, overall condition, rarity of the bill, each bill is worth $700.00 minimum. Adding both bills together and with the serial number error, they are worth of 2,000.00 as a set. Hope this helps you in the future as you stated you are new to paper collecting. I'm not trying to hijack your thread, just hoping to provide a little education. Mark, please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or wish to discuss. Merry Christmas!
who actually did the printing of the locale notes back then? Each towns bank or each towns newspaper?
The printer is usually on the note. Op's $10 is Evans and Cogswell. The $20 is by Keatinge and Ball. Both are from Columbia, SC. The 2 notes I posted are from B. Duncan, Columbia, SC.
