T-65 PF-2 1864 0 Confederate Paper Money

Description

T-65 PF-2. 1864 0.00 CSA Currency. Series I.
Serial number 67985. Plen D.
Fine to Very Fine using traditional grading by circulation/folds. But has a small nip top margin and minor stains. Fully framed on three sides. Probably a PMG or PCGS Very Fine 25 small tear, minor stains.
Genuine.
The T-65 has the new simpler blue back. The printers used a machine to stamp the serial numbers onto the note. These mechanisms were designed to make this note more difficult to counterfeit. Nevertheless, some counterfeits exist today that are not hard to detect once one knows to look for.
The center of the note has a vignette of Lucy Pickens, the wife of the Governor of South Carolina. There was a lot of debate about whether this vignette was of Pickens or of Mrs. Jefferson Davis in the late 19
th
and early 20
th
centuries. However, H.D. Allen goes to great length to show that it is indeed Mrs. Pickens. At the lower left are figures representing the army and artillery branches of the military. George Wythe Randolph, the Secretary of War, is featured in the lower right corner. The reverse is a simple blue back with the denomination. This note was payable two years after the ratification of a Treaty of Peace between the Confederate States and United States.
This type comes on high quality bank note paper. Some of these also come on short and longer paper with a difference of 1/4 inch. Though technically varieties, I leave them out as they are not particularly rare nor are easily spotted without comparison notes.
There are at least three color variations for T-65: dusky dark pink to light red; dark red; and deep dark orange-red. The latter are very rare. Dark red examples command a premium as well. These are not categorized as varieties in this catalog, but color variations.
This type is common in most grades including Choice Uncirculated. It is rare in deep RED.
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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