This note is one of two of Leggett, Keatinge & Ball’s (later just Keatinge & Ball after Leggett was driven out of the business) high quality $5s printed in 1862. At right is a figure that represents Minerva, the Goddess of War. The bust of Christopher Gustavus Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury, graces the center of this note. Yellow-green or blue-green overprint. 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 high quality bank note paper of several types – plain as well as watermarked with “FIVE”, CSA in block letters, and the very rare J Whatman watermark. There are a good number of very rare T-33 varieties – all of the CSA block letter paper and all of the Whatman notes. Further, many exhibit a plate state where “Va” at the end of the engraver’s name to the left is worn off the plate and didn’t print on the note (the “No Va” plate states). Finally, there is an error where “receivable” is misspelled “reoeivable” at the bottom of the note. The “FIVE” and “CSA” block letter watermarked versions of this misspelling are great rarities (and unlisted in Criswell despite Dr. Ball having at least one of them in his collection). In general, the Leggett, Keatinge & Ball varieties are tougher than the Keatinge & Ball equivalents, as Leggett left the business fairly early in the printing period for these notes.
This type is available in AU to Uncirculated, and they do appear from time to time. But they are rare and are tightly held. This note is generally not easily found in grades above Fine and even true Fines are getting tougher to find. Most offered are VG and many have problems. This note circulated heavily as it was a low denomination note needed for smaller day-to-day purchases.
This is a display of a complete collection of all of the collectible T-33s. This collection also include 2 of the 4 T-33 NCs or "non-collectibles" - the unique PF-15 (CSA block paper with "reoeivable" error) and the unique PF-18 (Plain paper with the "reoeivable" error and yellow-green overprint). Missing are the NC PF-2 (Leggett, Keatinge & Ball on CSA block letter paper) which has not been seen in atleast 50 years if at all, and the PF-4 (Whatman watermark on yellow-green paper) of which the only known is in the Museum of the Confederacy.
These notes have been grouped into the three major plates
Master Plate 1 - "Leggett, Keatinge and Ball"
Master Plate 2 - "Keatinge and Ball" facing out
Master Plate 3 - "Keatinge and Ball" facing in
In addition, there is a section showing all of the known "No Va" plate states where "Va" in "Richmond VA" has worn away (or less than 25% remains rendering it essentially unreadable) as well as a fifth section showing engraver name alignment errors where the engraver's name was buried in the overprint, giving rise to the "No engraver's name" varieties highlighted in Criswell and other historical works.
This is the first known complete collection of T-33s. The closest to approach this level were (in order) - Dr. Douglas Ball, Gene Mintz and the 19th century famous John Browne.
Note: The differences between yellow-green (or lighter green) and blue-green do not always show clearly in these scans. The differences in the two primary colors can be subtle with shades in between.
T-33 PF-2 and PF-4 are "Non Collectible". No known PF-2 can be traced, though they have been reported over 50 years ago in Bradbeer's book as well as in at least one auction catalog. PF-4 is represented by a single known example from the Ball collection now residing in the Museum of the Confederacy.
Some historical information about the Leggett, Keatinge & Ball firm.
Leggett, Keatinge & Ball (August 1861 – March 1862). Later Keatinge & Ball (March 1862 – February 1865). Keatinge & Ball established this firm in New York in August 1861. Leggett joined as a senior engraver in September 1861. The firm began operations in October 1861 and collapsed in February 1865 after the capture of Columbia, S.C.
William Leggett was an American Bank Note Company employee. His specialty was lettering. He was forced out of the firm in March 1862 by Secretary Memminger for associating with Captain Leonard, a Union spy. Leggett retaliated by joining Duncan and Halpin in denouncing Keatinge by charging him with treason.
Edward Keatinge (1826 – 18??). Keatinge was a British subject and expert portrait engraver. He also was an employee of the American Bank Note Company. Keatinge moved South in 1861 with Leggett. He became the leading partner in March 1862. Keatinge then moved to Columbia, S.C. in May 1862 to escape the advancing Union army. He was the sole Confederate Treasury note engraver (except for the 50 cent notes) after December 1862. He argued with the CSA government over payments, and quit in February 1865. He partnered with Ludwig from 1865 to 1867, and finally dissolved that partnership and returned to New York.
Thomas Ball was a lawyer who was about 40 years of age when he was hired by Secretary Memminger to set up a banknote engraving firm for the Confederacy in August 1861. Ball handled Keatinge’s back office paperwork, provided some of the firm’s capital, and supported Keatinge very effectively (with a double-barreled shotgun) in their brawls with other printers.
No "Va." at the end of the engraver's name - Plate State II errors
The engraver's name wore down on some plates to the point that "VA" (Virginia abbreviated) wore away on the plate removing that from the design of the note. I categorize these notes into two "plate states" or condition of the plate as it wore:
State I - "VA" complete or readable.
State II - "VA" missing or less than 25% seen, essentially unreadable.
The State II plate States were given variety numbers/letters in the 1996 Criswell which rendered T-33 essentially unusable. Further, these are not as historically significant as the varieties nor are they technically the same. Hence, I introduce the notion of a plate state progression (similar to die states for coins).
These are a nice edition to a variety set of T-33s.
This is a complete collection of known "No VA" T-33s and the only known to have been assembled!
Image:
"Missing" engraver's name. Actually, the engraver's name is hidden in the color overprint to the left of where it should be.
These were called out in one form or another in some historical CSA paper money guides including Criswell's 1976 edition. These need more study and are included to help people identify them. I have several different which are listed in the book as PF-21 thourgh PF-24. An example is shown below.
These are optional for a complete historical T-33 variety collection.
While given variety numbers in Collecting Confederate Paper Money, these are newer additions and while rare, the rarity ratings represent a current status and estimate. Worth a premium, but not a large one.
