Genuine.

This was the second interest bearing $100 note issued in large quantities by the Confederacy. These notes paid 7.3% annual interest, or double that of the First Series notes of Montgomery and Richmond. Some were issued by hand by agents, and their signatures, and sometimes the place of issue are written on the backs. The T-40s also bear interest paid stamps on the backs indicating that the interest was collected by the bearer. The notes have a popular “Train” vignette on the front, with easily visible “diffused steam” (clear) coming out of the smokestack. To the left is a vignette of a milkmaid. Once thought to be an apple, the object in her left hand above her head is most likely the handle of the bucket on her head. These notes were payable six months after the ratification of a Treaty of Peace between the Confederate States and United States and were not fundable.

Some believe this is not a separate type, but a run of varieties under T-39. This is how it was catalogued in earlier works before Criswell put his type system in place. Indeed, it is said that Criswell stated that he created this type to sell more of them! Collectors seem to have accepted Criswell’s point of view, and I retain T-40 as a separate type.

These notes are printed on moderate quality paper. As they were interest bearing, many were saved, and high quality examples are easily found. However, many were not cut well due to the higher volume of production as compared with many of the 1861 notes. 

There are a number of different sizes of plate letters ranging from very small to very large and including small, medium and large in addition to the extreme cases. Since these were hand placed the varied from position to position on the same plate. For simplicity, I will adhere to a simplified version of the Bradbeer/Criswell basic mappings to enable a majority of people to attribute these correctly and easily. I leave it to others to describe the minutiae of every variation, which may drive the number of T-40 varieties to dozens. Additionally, there are people interested in collecting these by date, and those listings may be found in the “Register of the Confederate Debt” by Thian.

This type is common in all grades except Choice Extremely Fine to Choice Uncirculated.

A note about 3rd party grading. PCGS and PMG do a good job putting a floor on quality within a grade range and have become proficient in detecting repairs (though occasionally they miss something, or see something that is not there, as we all can).

Notes housed in Net or Apparent holders have a wide range of quality from very nice (in rare cases may be nearly choice) to dogs with major problems, so each needs to be evaluated on their own.

However, PMG and PCGS focus on technical grading due to circulation and damage and do not have a mechanism for evaluating condition or eye appeal - whether a note is average, better than average, choice or gem for the grade based on its color, trim and margins. The exception to this are slabbed notes of New or Uncirculated grades to some degree. This is important as Very Fine, Extremely Fine or AU notes can have a wide range of values depending on these factors not reflected in the slab grade. A fully framed Confederate or obsolete note is worth considerably to a lot more than one that is trimmed into the margin for the same grade. Likewise, color is important. These factors can affect the value of a note by 50%, 2-1 or even 3-1, e.g., an AU 58 (PPQ or not) T-20 1861 $20 CSA note trimmed into the margin is worth between $150 and $300. The same grade, AU 58 (PPQ or not), with a full frame and good color/inking is worth something like $500 to $1000 depending on eye appeal. I will continue to use the terms plus for above average, choice and gem to mean varying degrees of superiority of condition and eye appeal of a note within a grade as documented in my book which is based on what collectors seek out and pay premiums for.

In coins, we’ve seen the third party graders add things like full bell lines, full head, full bands which reflected the market. I’d expect either the grading services or another party to do the same for paper money. If you are just buying the number on the holder for the best price, you may well be buying low end notes for the grade!