T-44 PF-3 1862 Confederate Paper Money

Description

T-44 PF-3. 1862 .00 CSA Currency.
Liberty at the left. Steamship at sea, center. Lucy Pickens to the right.
Third Series.
Serial number 76184. Plen 4.
Good to Very Good using traditional grading. Small tears, pin holes and edge nicks. Nice color for the grade. Probably a PMG or PCGS Very Good 8 or 10 Net or Details.
Genuine.
This was the first note issued by the Confederacy. All have the date of June 2, 1862. The center of the note presents an old-fashioned side-wheel steamship also under sail (auxiliary steamship). Some believe it is chasing the sailing ship in the background. To the right is a vignette of Mrs. Lucy Pickens, the wife of the governor of South Carolina. The left features a female representing Liberty standing by a shield. This note was “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 lower quality paper. Most notes of this type were heavily circulated, many were printed, and Uncirculated examples may be readily found. Choice Uncirculated notes with a good cut (clear margins all around), are tougher.
NEW Research regarding he central vignette
- The steamship is clearly pointed in the opposite direction of travel than the other ship. This steamship is a combo of sail and paddle wheel for higher speeds making this most likely a CSA Blockade runner. The ship in the foreground is most likely a Union ship on Pickett duty.  They were basically watch  (spotting)  vessels watching for CSA Blockade runners and signaling for much faster Union Interceptor ships to catch them.  Why on earth would this steamship attempt to intercept this slow moving 3 masted sail ship? This Union ship is no match for this high speed combo Blockade runner and it would catch it without a problem.  It's Captain has part of his crew out in a longboat in choppy seas. The steamship is clearly maintaining its position with just enough speed to compensate for the choppy seas hitting its forward bow.
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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