Noteworthy Notes: T-47 1862 Confederate States of America $20

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Our noteworthy note this time around, the T-47 1862 Confederate States of America (CSA) $20, sits at the epicenter of an unsolved numismatic mystery that will require additional legwork and perhaps a fortuitous investigative discovery in the years ahead if it is ever to be cracked.

With the exception of the T-48 (this note’s $10 sibling), all T numbers (1 through 72) are legitimate Confederate government issues. So, given the T-47’s unauthorized status to exist in the first place, would “counterfeit” be the right word to describe it?

Counterfeits abound in the world of confederate banknotes. This was due to both ease (most CSA notes were printed via lithography on paper of lesser quality, making them easier to reproduce) and the emergency conditions of the war. However, counterfeits – by definition – are supposed to mimic something genuine with the intent to deceive merchants or financial institutions. The T-47 has an entirely fanciful design that looks nothing like anything else circulating at the time. What a poor excuse for a counterfeit attempt this would have been!

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At the time, circulating a false note with a design that never really existed was not only possible but fairly common. In the field of obsolete currency we classify these notes as "spurious" and there are hundreds of different designs, some that REALLY look nothing like anything that their namesake banks actually issued. The Confederate T47 actually DOES look much like a genuine CSA note from the 1862 design by style, with similar lettering, counters and vignette as those used on CSA notes at the time.

So two spurious CSA designs are not really surprising at all, considering the practices of counterfeiters of the time. And these are fairly well done, compared to the generally poor quality of genuine CSA notes. The probably fooled many of the illiterate or poor illuminated inhabitants.

Contemporary counterfeits are rare or non existent for most CSA types. Only several designs were widely counterfeited. And this is a specialty area for some CSA collectors. Copies and CSA advertising notes are another story and exist for all types. and from all eras, as CSA notes were popular collectibles from the end of the War right until the present. And copies span 150+ years, now.