T-24 PF-12 1861 CSA Currency. R. M. T. Hunter, left. Vignette of the Reverend Dr. Alfred L. Elwin as a child, right. Issued from February 20, 1862 through December 8, 1862. Keatinge & Ball. Printed on paper watermarked CSA in block letters. Serial number 47102. Plen J.
PMG Choice Fine 15.
Genuine.
At first, Leggett, Keatinge & Ball printed this high quality $10 note in 1862. Keatinge & Ball continued the work after Leggett was driven out of the business. In the lower right is the picture of a child who grew up to be Reverend Dr. Alfred L. Elwyn. Ironically, Elwyn was a Philadephia minister, a Unionist, a Republican and an abolitionist. Early in the 20th century, this was thought to possibly be a picture of Blanton Duncan, but this has been disproved and, at any rate, it would not make much sense for Keatinge & Ball to place one of their competitor’s vignettes on their note. To the left, is R. M. T. Hunter, Secretary of State of the Confederacy. Receivable in payment for all dues except export dues and fundable in Confederate States stock bearing 8% interest six months after the ratification of a treaty of peace between the Confederate States and the United States.
This type comes on high quality bank note paper of several types – plain and red fiber paper, as well as watermarked with “TEN”, and “CSA” in block and script letters, the tough “J Whatman”, and the rare “NY” countermark. There are a few very rare T-24 varieties – the Leggett, Keatinge & Ball CSA block letter paper (due to the capture of shipments of this paper from England by the Union blockade), the Whatman varieties and the NY countermark. The red fiber notes are very rare, and much tougher than Criswell indicates. In general, the Leggett, Keatinge & Ball varieties are tougher than the Keatinge & Ball equivalents, as Leggett left the business fairly early in the printing period for these notes.
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!
Pierre Fricke. Immediate Past President of the Society of Paper Money Collectors; Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG); Professional Currency Dealers Association (PCDA); ANA, EAC, etc...
BuyVintageMoney.
Author of the standard guide book to Confederate money - Collecting Confederate Money Field Edition 2014.
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