T-8 PF-7 1861 Confederate Paper Money - PMG Choice About Unc 58 - PLUS!

Description

T-8 PF-7. 1861 .00 CSA Currency.
Tellus at left; Washington, center. Issued from July 29, 1861 through October 22, 1861. Thick bond paper. "for" printed before "Treasr".
Serial number 2648. Plen C.
PMG Choice About Uncirculated 58!  Almost fully framed and nice white color! Comes with a silver PLUS sticker indicating a superior PMG 58 note!
Genuine.
This was the first issued by the Confederacy that did not bear interest. George Washington is in the center. The vignette at the lower left is Tellus, the Goddess of the Earth, holding a globe with a bird perched upon it. The bird represents the dove sent forth from the Ark of Noah. 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.
It was during this issue that the Confederate Treasury recognized that the actual Register and Treasurer could not possibly sign all of the notes. So, they began to enlist substitute signers and changed the notes to say “for Register” and “for Treasurer”. Because this change was made after the printing of these notes began, some that were issued had “for” written by hand, while most had “for” printed. Significantly more T-8s than T-7s had “for” signed.
This type comes on thick bond paper, which did not wear well. The B plate varieties all come on this paper, and T-8 PF-1 examples have the serial numbers written in brown ink. The brown ink issues do not constitute a different variety from what is already described below. The Bb plate notes were also printed on thick bond paper, and had the serial numbers in red. Early in production of the C plate, Hoyer & Ludwig substituted thinner paper that was better suited for circulating currency.
Some of the varieties in this type are due to size differences in the denominations in the rosettes. The C plate letter notes have a small “50” at upper right, and the B and Bb plate letter notes have a large 50 at upper right. T-8 PF-5 and PF-8 are some of the great rarities with written “for”. T-8 PF-1 and PF-3 are rare to very rare.
Thin paper appears somewhat transparent or translucent. You can see the design through the back when held up to a strong light. Thick bond paper appears heavier, is three times thicker, and is opaque. On notes printed on thick paper the design cannot be readily seen through the back.
T-8s are common in Uncirculated as many were saved by banks and a few were saved by individuals. T-8s can be found in Choice Unc. and are not rare; however, they are tightly held these days, and not always available. Gem Unc. T-8 notes are quite rare.
Full-frame line T-8s may be found as the number issued and saved by banks was relatively high for an 1861 note. Of course, getting any examples of the rare varieties of T-8 is quite a feat. One should look to acquire the rare variety T-8s as high in the condition census as available regardless of cut or cancellations.
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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