Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2020 i Banknote Reporter

Anyone who knows me knows that I am no condition crank. Paper money was made to be used. If you can’t respect that, you are in the wrong game in my opinion. What I celebrate the most are circulated notes that happened to survive that are still attractive. My idea of a truly nice grade is a solid Very Fine. The definition of Very Fine that I cut my teeth on was an overall clean note that retains the sheen from the sizing in the paper, that has no impairments, that has folds that do not break the ink on the paper, and that has not been doctored. As I was entering notes into the Wyoming census recently, just such a note went by from a Scottsman (St. Louis) February…

Now is the Time to Focus on Your Collection As I write this in late April, shows have been canceled right and left. It looks like we’ll be collecting on the internet for the foreseeable future. Like everyone else, I’ve been going stir crazy although it looks like Michigan is easing up a bit. I’ll be able to go up to my cabin in northern Michigan in early May. The auctions that would have been held at the Central States convention have taken place at Heritage’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas. A large number of Platinum notes came in light, especially Rare Very Fine notes; $5,000 and 10K notes, however gained. A 1934 $5,000 FRN from the Philadelphia district brought $138,000 in PMG 55., a $10,000 note on Boston brought $132,000,…

In correspondence with collector-researcher Bob Byrne over the years, he would occasionally send me copies of some of his more exotic pieces. He apparently had some wonderful sources combined with exceptional luck and also the knowledge to acquire excellent items. One of the best notes he sent is this piece with a face value as seen in the four stamps (three 3c and a single 1c) attached. It was issued by a grocer in Newport, R.I., on July 1, 1862, exactly the time when the scarcity of small change would have been at its worst. Such a note, privately issued in this manner, is virtually unique for its style and may be the only one known from this issuer. It was formerly in the John J. Ford Jr. Collection sold…

Treasury Department Office of Treasurer of the United States National Bank Redemption Agency Washington November 29, 1932 Director of Bureau of Engraving and Printing Attention: Mr. Swigart [Assistant Director Production] In accordance with our telephonic conversation of yesterday there is transmitted herewith for inspection the upper and lower halves of a $5 Federal Reserve note found in a shipment of canceled currency forwarded by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston under date of November 25. It will be observed that this note was prepared for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York whereas the serial number indicates that it was issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. It is understood that the note will be returned to this office when it has served its purpose with you. M. E.…

Heritage Auctions World Paper Money Auction April 23 & April 27, 2020 featured offerings from The Adderley Collection and theYuri Solovey Collection of Persia and the Middle East. The world paper money offerings brought close to $2 million, led by a Specimen 20 rupees note, Pick 4cts1, from Zanzibar which is graded Choice Uncirculated 64 by PMG and sold for $72,000. My favorite five items of interest from the world grouping included Lot 28305, Lot 28358, Lot 28449, Lot 28485 and Lot 28572. These notes are from different countries and are all visually beautiful. The first, Lot 28305, was a Bank of Montreal, Lower Canada, $1 (5/- Shillings) note dated 1.1.1844 graded F-12 by PMG. It is a well-preserved example of this rare note with bold signatures and both a…

The decision was made in January 1913 to change the act date in the upper left part of the open field on the faces of the $10 Series of 1907 gold certificates from July 12, 1882, to March 4, 1907, to reflect the fact that the 1907 act authorized the issuance of $10 gold certificates. This impacted the plates bearing Napier-McClung and Napier-Thompson Treasury signatures, which were in simultaneous production at the time. The 1907 date was changed on still-serviceable existing plates and added to new plates made thereafter. The last plate manufactured in the Napier-McClung/Napier-Thompson group was plate 345 bearing Napier-Thompson signatures. The 1907 act date was inadvertently left off the plate. Two proofs were made, one without the date and the other after it had been added. The…

The Heritage Central States Numismatic Society April 22-27 auctions were moved to their Dallas, Texas, headquarters and worldwide on HA.com. Despite the change in venue, collectors were able to bring sales totaling millions of dollars to fruition. Two high-denomination U.S. currency issues: a rare Series 1934 $5,000 from the Philadelphia district, graded AU-55 by PMG; and a Series 1934 $10,000 from the Boston district, bearing the same grade lead the event’s currency auctions to an overall total of close to $4.8 million. There were currency offerings included in the Platinum Night Session Four from the J. Wayne Hilton Confederate Currency Collection. There were five note offerings that really caught my eye at the U.S. auction. The first, Lot 20008, was a James-Wilson signed, Continental Currency Yorktown Issue note dated April…

This is the last installment of the 4-part series on 20th century stamp money of the United States. *Thurston County Independent, Tenino, Wash., 1933. 1 cent. Stamp inserted between two pieces of Sitka spruce wood, cellophane covering stamp. Red face, blue back. 80 x 47mm. 2 cents. As above. Reported to have been given to the A.N.S. 3 cents. Stamp inserted as described above, cellophane over stamp. Dark purple text and date on face. Red text on back. 80 x 47mm. 3 cents. Exactly as above except red face text and purple back text. *NOTE: The above pieces were made experimentally, and were not prepared for circulation. A total of only about four or five examples are believed to exist. They are listed in A Trial Listing of Washington State…

Online auctions have become the order of the day in The Age of Coronavirus. Several numismatic auction companies who have never previously contemplated selling online have found themselves forced to change their ways at short notice. Down Under in sunny Queensland, Bob & Jacquie Innes’ Roxburys’ auction house found themselves required to do just that. The results proved more than pleasantly surprising. Aussie collectors – and dealers – relieved their lock-down tedium and bid-up large, as did many of their overseas counterparts. Sleepers became commonplace. It was a sleeper than topped the Roxbury catalogue: an 1880 $5 issue from Sarawak. The auction catalogue was the soul of brevity in its description: “Numerous small wear holes” … “Rare” … “F.” Importantly, the note carried the first (handwritten) date of issue. This…