Can investing and collecting go hand-in-hand? Yes -- especially if you are collecting coins, stock certificates, bank notes, or other rare items of value. Larry Schutts, an expert in investment-related collectibles, will review items of interest from his collection and answer your questions here each week.

During its brief four-year existence, the government of the Confederate States of America issued debt instruments valued at over $800 million. These included a variety of coupon bonds, call certificates, registered bonds, non-taxable certificates and loan agreements. After the military defeat of the Confederacy, much of this paper was lost or simply thrown away, but enough survived to spark the interest of collectors. As we approach the 150th anniversary of the founding of the CSA, that interest is growing.

Far and away, the most commonly issued Confederate debt instrument was the coupon bond. The example shown is an unissued $1000 document, with a full complement of sixty attached coupons. For one's original $1000 investment, one was to receive semi-annual interest payments of $30. These were collected by turning in individually dated coupons clipped from the bottom of the sheet. Then, after thirty years, the top portion of the sheet would be redeemed for the original $1000.

After the war, of course, the Union refused to recognize debts incurred by the rebel government and none of the long-term instruments reached maturity. That left many of the later coupon bonds intact, or nearly so, allowing patient collectors to put together handsome sets of representative varieties. It is estimated that only four to ten specimens of the particular variety pictured have survived. Five years ago, it was a $300 item. Now, the going rate is $700.

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Collectible investments: Confederate debt originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.