A friend at church asked me to find out what these three are worth. Any suggestions? $10, 1864; $20, 1864; 1862 $100 interest bearing, with two years' interest paid. (CSA watermark, no line under EXCEPT) Thanks for any help!
I love these old confederate bills. Early in my construction career I got to help renovate the old Keating & Ball printing building into a modern grocery store. Been fascinated with the old bills ever since..... Though I don't have any really good info on your question but I do believe the ten and twenty notes are fairly common. I have several of them myself. Don't know about the $100.
Thanks. Yes, I know the $10 and $20 are the most common of the CSA notes, but it's been many years since I was in the market for any of them (I think the last time I bought CSA money was around the Civil War Centennial), and I am a rank amateur at grading paper. I have looked at Great Collections archives, but I can't seem to find anything that exactly matches the $100 except one in better condition that ends today. It is close but not the exact variety. So that doesn't tell me much.
@Neal The first note is very common, Horses pulling wagons and cannons. Printed 1864 with a serial number of 11581. The condition of your note is low so I would expect a retail value of $35.00. The second note is also common and in a low grade condition. The only question I have would be in the upper left corner. There is red by the Y in TWENTY. That color is not part of the note. If it’s a red marker the value drops. If it’s blood from the soldier that held this note it will increase the value. Still, nothing real exciting from the wear, stains, folds, etc. so probably around $50.00. Also issued in 1864. The lady note you posted is the best note of the three. Issued in late 1862, its slaves hoeing cotton. The Grover Criswell number is T-41. $100.00 face value when issued. It has a hand written Interest Paid notation on the back side. That’s to cover date of issue to January 1863. There is also a stamp Interest Paid below the hand written to cover the year of 1863. Interest was paid in Knoxville, TN so you know the area this note was in. The ink is a little faded but still readable. Overall a decent note that should bring between $100-$150. Not sure if the area you’re in but it could bring a bit more in a different area. I will attach my T-41 note so you can see the difference in condition. I’ll also explain my note for you. You can compare my note to yours to get a better idea of how to read these notes. I love collecting CSA Notes. Only 72 different CSA Notes were issued. I have about 1/3 of them.
Thanks! That's great information. I'll print it to give to my friend. I can't tell about the red on the $20 note. It's possibly blood, since it's not obviously anything else, but I can't tell. The area is Alabama. They recently found these in a box in their attic and have no idea where the box came from. I should have such an attic! Thanks again!
@Neal and @Randy Abercrombie Here are photos of my T-41 CSA Note. This is the prize of my Confederate Note Collection. This note was graded by PCGS as VF-35. Not the differences in the condition of the notes. The Plate number is Z. My note has three Interest Paid stamps on the back. All three are from Augusta, Georgia so the note stayed in that area. My has a small split on the left edge at the bottom as noted under the grade. No stains or writing snd the wrinkles are minor. The thing about this note is the Serial Number. It’s number 2. Hand written as usual in red ink. Serial Number 2 is the lowest serial number to be found on any of the CSA Notes. I paid $2250 for this note about 10 years ago. Today it’s value is into five figures. I have been offered but no way do I want to sell. The issue date is August 20th, 1862. It was printed in Columbia, South Carolina by Keating & Ball. Notice the dates on the Interest Stamps as the blue stamp is from 1865 when the war ended. All ink is strong in color and the note itself has a feel of not being to worn.
Please question your friend about this. The interest stamp is from Knoxville and you’re saying the note was found in Alabama. Did his family move from Tennessee during the past 163 years? Family history can be very valuable in the CSA(Confederate States of America). Let me know.
All three notes are well worn which limits their value. The first two are very common 1864 issues. The retail values are listed a the levels @Collecting Nut noted, but I am not sure about how much a dealer would be willing to pay. The $100 interest bearing note lists for $60 retail in VG. These notes interest me because of the interest paid stamps on the reverse. Sometimes they were issued and signed by Confederate Army officers which can add greatly to their value. That, unfortunately, does not seem to be the case here. The interest stamps come from various Confederate cities and designs. They interest me, but they don’t seem to bring huge premiums.
Thanks for the information. Sunday, when I returned the notes to her, I told my friend and her husband the values given were for retail and that a dealer would not give that. I don't think they are interested in selling, just knowing. They had assumed they were not worth much more than the current exchange rate for Confederate money ($0). I'll ask them about family history when I see them Wednesday night.
That is the coolest part of this old CSA money. My wife's family lineage goes all the way back in the deep south. Back in the 1980's I helped her clear out her deceased great aunts house and we recovered several CSA notes from her home... My dining room table was built by one of her ancestors. The story goes that it was built from what was left of their front door when General Sherman burned their place. Though I rather think that may be a story that grew in stature over the years. Still is a cool very old hand hewn dining table.
The name Abercrombie is a very southern Scottish name itself. There is a long road in Savannah named Abercorn that seems to run 15 or 20 miles long. I used to call it the "road from hell" because of about different 200 traffic light intersections on it.
