Nina W. writes: I have a Confederate $1,000 bill dated May 28, 1861. “The Confederate States of America” in near perfect condition. Do you know the value??
Confederate 1000 Dollar Bill
The CSA $1,000 note was only issued in 1861 and was the highest denomination issued by the Confederate government. Uncirculated examples bring about $35,000 at auction. “Near perfect pieces” (called Gem CU by collectors) are unknown for this note but if discovered, would probably bring multiples of that price.
For identification, genuine CSA $1,000 notes were printed on high quality bank note paper with red silk fibers. The note features John C. Calhoun at left and Andrew Jackson at right, the colors are black and green on white linen paper. The note was signed by hand in brown ink by the CSA treasury officials, Clitherall and Elmore. The serial numbers were printed by machine in blue ink. Since this was a interest bearing note, many have issue dates written by hand on the back. Only 607 were printed. The note is very rare.
Many modern souvenir and advertising reprints exists. Some of the serial numbers of the most common reproductions are 49A, 88A, 176A and 297A. Reproductions have little or no collector value.
Beware of “play money” replicas on yellowed fake parchment printed with black ink and printed signatures. The originals were hand signed after they were printed. Value Range for genuine notes: $3,500 – $35,000 depending on condition.