Fr. 196a. 1863 $10 Interest Bearing Note. PMG Very Fine 20.

A Rare Civil War-era Financial Instrument Fr. 196a. 1863 $10 Interest Bearing Note. PMG Very Fine 20. No. 26072. Plate C. Issued amidst the economic peculiarities of the American Civil War and ever-increasing casualties on the battlefield. Notes like this one were not necessarily a new concept, but one that had not yet come to represent small denominations such as the $10 and $20. Traditional narratives like those stated by book after book state that many were bought by investors and speculators at a discount. Yet this narrative is flat out incorrect and woefully out of step with recent scholarship. Per Nicholas J. Bruyer's landmark book U.S. Treasury Notes 1812 - 1865: An Illustrated History many went to pay Union troops and into the cashboxes of paymasters throughout the Army where once disbursed, payees were afforded a reprieve from the effects of infrequent pay and afforded families a convenient medium for accruing savings. Moreover, these notes were often paid out alongside early National Bank Notes and ended up becoming a ubiquitous sight in commercial channels as approximately 155,000 sheets of four (620,000 total notes) were issued for the $10 denomination over a three month period in 1864 lending credence to Bruyer's description of these notes as "steppingstones" amidst the greater context of Chase's monetary experiments. In circulation, the position occupied by these notes was soon occupied by the Compound Interest Treasury Notes which in some cases traded at slight premiums as advertised by certain commercial interests and many were finally culled from circulation after the end of the conflict and exchanged for 5-20 6% bonds with $103 buying a $100 bond redeemable in gold after 20 years. Today survivors that reflect Chase's experiments whether they represent the "One-Year 5% Legal Tenders" or the "Three Year 6% Compound Interest Notes" are all rare items at any grade level and the comments applied to this piece by PMG should rightly be of little concern to the collector looking to acquire an example of this historically significant type within their personal holdings. PMG comments "Contemporary Annotation, Corner Added, & Repaired." Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000. Click here for certification details from PMG.

Estimate:$4,800

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