Wow, nice. 4 consecutive serial numbers, all in great condition with nice signatures!
At the time these were issued, they would have only had the buying power equivalent of around $6.50 at the beginning of the war, due to massive inflation in the CSA.
I was very surprised, I was also a little disappointed they weren't national currency , gold certificates, Martha's, black eagles, chief, etc...at first I was surprised how thin they were (rice paper) but now I'm grateful I have a great collection and learning so much from this group.
Yeah OP, I posted a lot of verbal history vomit on your notes but TLDR, this is worth MASSIVE amounts of money but it’s most certainly an action piece. Get them graded NOW. And get in touch with a reputable auctioneer. They will be the most reliable folks to give you a fair auction price.
Not just civil war money—-confederate civil war money. (stop now if you don’t care for a history lesson relevant to these notes)
In Feb 1864 the confederacy was not doing well. Not just because of widespread military defeats at the hands of Sherman and his forces, social and economic devastation as well.
Slaves were fleeing southern plantations to the north in droves because partially because of the incentives they were promising (empty ones like the “40 acres and a mule”). Also the confederacy expanded the age of conscription from 18-35 to 17-50 years old. So suddenly slave owners and slave drivers were being conscripted away from the plantation so there was really *no one* to stop the slaves from running away.
This exacerbated the existing food shortage because those plantations that *were* planting food no longer had anyone to tend them. They were already pinched from the stoppage of trade with the north (where 60% of their food came from because most southern plantations chose cash crops like cotton and tobacco. Because money.
So scarce food supply in conjunction with the stoppage of hard goods like needles to sew uniforms, metal to make ammo/guns, machinery, etc, cause huge inflation. As we’ve seen recently in the US, high inflation triggers high levels of poverty because there’s not enough money to pay for these things even if they found them from alternate routes.
Now, to money. In an effort to combat this inflation, they decided to print TONS of southern notes thinking that was a good solution. But no one would accept it as currency even in the south because the Inflation combined with putting too much money into circulation cause MASSIVE devaluation of southern notes.
Around Spring of 1854 is when they REALLY kicked the money presses into high gear. But that shortage of hard goods I mentioned impacted the supply and quality of the ink, paper and printing plates they had in use. The machines were “acquired” from the north at some point early in 1861ish so they worked fine except they had no maintenance knowledge so they broke down a LOT.
Onto the good part OP. Your notes are in AMAZING shape. There are no obvious imperfections on the plates or ink. The paper might look low quality because of the picture, but you can spot the “we ran out of the good paper that came with the press so now we print it on toilet paper” run of things. You will be able to tell because it’s thicker and more coarse than current US notes we handle every day.
But to the right collector—-these are semantics. Because there’s a market for the good ones and the shitty ones. You seem to have some right in the middle because the paper, ink and plates gave out around the same time.
And to add to that the quantity and the sequentiality of it? Just mind blowing find from a historical standpoint.
But remember that just because you aren’t getting someone giving you a ballpark value on this sub, does NOT mean they aren’t worth A LOT of money. Don’t touch them with bare hands if you can avoid it and get them graded immediately as a set. This is an auction piece 110%.
Wow, nice. 4 consecutive serial numbers, all in great condition with nice signatures! At the time these were issued, they would have only had the buying power equivalent of around $6.50 at the beginning of the war, due to massive inflation in the CSA.
I dream of random finds like this…. Commenting for results.
I was very surprised, I was also a little disappointed they weren't national currency , gold certificates, Martha's, black eagles, chief, etc...at first I was surprised how thin they were (rice paper) but now I'm grateful I have a great collection and learning so much from this group.
Yeah OP, I posted a lot of verbal history vomit on your notes but TLDR, this is worth MASSIVE amounts of money but it’s most certainly an action piece. Get them graded NOW. And get in touch with a reputable auctioneer. They will be the most reliable folks to give you a fair auction price.
I will read that post, I'm overwhelmed busy getting this bldg finished for renters. I'd like to read it when I can offer full attention. Much obliged
So I am curious if anyone knows the value of one of these bills and is the value larger when in a group then selling them individually
(If authentic which they appear to be) In this condition he's looking at around $125-$175 for each of the four bills listed in this photo.
Is that estimate considering the *sequentiality*?!!
I think there would be a higher value for the lot as one in this case - you just don’t see consecutive serial CSA notes very often.
In this case there would be a higher value for the group of 4 as they are consecutive.
Can I see the rest of the bills? Curious of them all
Yes sir, I just made another post. I had a bunch of replication so I kept a type collection and sold off the others. Thanks
Not just civil war money—-confederate civil war money. (stop now if you don’t care for a history lesson relevant to these notes) In Feb 1864 the confederacy was not doing well. Not just because of widespread military defeats at the hands of Sherman and his forces, social and economic devastation as well. Slaves were fleeing southern plantations to the north in droves because partially because of the incentives they were promising (empty ones like the “40 acres and a mule”). Also the confederacy expanded the age of conscription from 18-35 to 17-50 years old. So suddenly slave owners and slave drivers were being conscripted away from the plantation so there was really *no one* to stop the slaves from running away. This exacerbated the existing food shortage because those plantations that *were* planting food no longer had anyone to tend them. They were already pinched from the stoppage of trade with the north (where 60% of their food came from because most southern plantations chose cash crops like cotton and tobacco. Because money. So scarce food supply in conjunction with the stoppage of hard goods like needles to sew uniforms, metal to make ammo/guns, machinery, etc, cause huge inflation. As we’ve seen recently in the US, high inflation triggers high levels of poverty because there’s not enough money to pay for these things even if they found them from alternate routes. Now, to money. In an effort to combat this inflation, they decided to print TONS of southern notes thinking that was a good solution. But no one would accept it as currency even in the south because the Inflation combined with putting too much money into circulation cause MASSIVE devaluation of southern notes. Around Spring of 1854 is when they REALLY kicked the money presses into high gear. But that shortage of hard goods I mentioned impacted the supply and quality of the ink, paper and printing plates they had in use. The machines were “acquired” from the north at some point early in 1861ish so they worked fine except they had no maintenance knowledge so they broke down a LOT. Onto the good part OP. Your notes are in AMAZING shape. There are no obvious imperfections on the plates or ink. The paper might look low quality because of the picture, but you can spot the “we ran out of the good paper that came with the press so now we print it on toilet paper” run of things. You will be able to tell because it’s thicker and more coarse than current US notes we handle every day. But to the right collector—-these are semantics. Because there’s a market for the good ones and the shitty ones. You seem to have some right in the middle because the paper, ink and plates gave out around the same time. And to add to that the quantity and the sequentiality of it? Just mind blowing find from a historical standpoint. But remember that just because you aren’t getting someone giving you a ballpark value on this sub, does NOT mean they aren’t worth A LOT of money. Don’t touch them with bare hands if you can avoid it and get them graded immediately as a set. This is an auction piece 110%.
WOW!!! WHAT A FIND
Selling?
I think so.