T-11 PF-1 1861 Confederate Paper Money 1861 - Rarer B Plate!

Description

T-11 PF-1. 1861 .00 CSA Currency.
Sailor at capstan to the left; Liberty seated by Eagle with “5” on a scroll, center. Issued July 29, 1861 through September 7, 1861.
Serial number 4415. Plen B. Rarer B plate.
About Good using traditional grading.  Old time backing as the note was printed on poor quality paper and falling apart. Well done and note all there eave for a part of the left end. Old time dealer price tag of .25 and their buy code on the back.
Low starting price - hard to get these below 0 that look this good even with the missing end.
Genuine.
This was the first issued by the Confederacy that did not bear interest. The center has a large figure “5” engraved in a scroll, and Liberty with a cap and eagle are behind it. At lower left is a sailor leaning on a capstan, a common vignette often seen on obsolete notes from 1820 through the War. The note is dated July 25, 1861. Receivable in payment for all dues except export dues and fundable in Confederate States stock bearing 8% interest. The B plate version of this note is actually part of the group of notes that were first issued from Richmond. B plate notes were issued first, followed by Bb plate notes.
It was during this issue that the Confederate Treasury recognized that the actual Register and Treasurer could not possibly sign all of the notes. They began to enlisted substitute signers, and changed the notes to say “for Register” and “for Treasurer”. As this change was made after the printing of these note commenced, some that were issued had “for” written by hand, while most had “for” printed. One of the greatest mysteries in CSA paper money is where are the written “for” T-11s that were recorded by Thian and Bradbeer and others? As late as the mid-20
th
century, Raphael Thian recorded information in his personal Thian CSA variety guide that indicated this variety
[1]
was the “rarest variety”.
Beyond the possible written “for” varieties, there are two very rare varieties that are known in collections today. These include T-11 PF-2, the double “f” in “for” variety’ and the T-11 PF-5, which has “ies” near the terms in the upper left corner.
B plate T-11s are much rarer than Bb plate issues. T-11s are very rare in completely original VG and better condition. Nearly any VG and better T-11 offered today has some repair work; many have major restoration improving them from “fair” or “poor.” This restoration needs to be taken into account by would-be purchasers if they want to retain any hope of getting their purchase price back when they sell the note. Minor professional repairs do not hurt a T-11 very much. In fact, collectors who desire an attractive T-11 should look for one with minor edge work and/or minor crease reinforcement that is not readily visible. Unrepaired T-11s that have good eye appeal are extremely rare and worth a premium.
This type comes on thick bond paper, which did not wear well. All known T-11s come on this paper, and T-11 PF-1 and PF-2 inclusive have serial numbers written in brown ink. The brown ink issues do not constitute a different variety.
T-11s circulated heavily. Hence, few well cut examples survive. Those that do command a premium.
There have been two T-11s reported in Uncirculated. Upon further research, at least one of these notes is more likely XF. A group of T-11s in the F-VF to VF-XF range is known, as are a few scattered single pieces. All of these condition census T-11s are Bb plates with the exception of one T-11 PF-1 and one T-11 PF-2.
[1]
Actually called Thian #15 it represents two varieties in Bradbeer, #43 and #45.
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 CSA note trimmed into the margin is worth between 0 and 0. The same grade, AU 58 (PPQ or not), with a full frame and good color/inking is worth something like 0 to 00 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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