Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i Banknote Reporter

This time we feature a note from Northern Ireland, a Specimen 20-pound commemorative from the Bank of Ireland. This issue honors the bicentenary of the establishment of the bank, 1783-1983. This is Northern Ireland’s only commemorative issued until 1999. Design is exactly like many from this country; the only way to tell its commemorative status is to observe the added line of text and bicentennial dates just below it. The piece was available for a while but has now largely disappeared from the market. The form that has never been collectible is as a Specimen. I was told by the late Raymond Lloyd, head of the FAO office of the UN, that such notes were not publicly distributed, that he was presented with an example, and he wanted to present…

Lately we’ve been running a few examples of the newly recognized distinctive C-prefix letters used in the paging machines that were employed to stamp serial numbers on Series of 1929 replacement notes. These Cs have a round shape rather than appearing bent in on the right side. The round Cs are the only prefix letters on type 1 replacement notes that differ from those used on the production numbering presses for currency of that era. What contributor Adam Stroup discovered here is a truly exotic example. Notice on this note that the C on the left is a standard C printed from a production press whereas the C on the right is from a paging machine. This is a case where the C005300A sheet was misprinted in such a way…

A note from the first sheet issued to The Phoenix National Bank, Territory of Arizona, just docked in Andrew Shiva’s collection. This 1882 brown back, in beautiful condition, is numismatically significant as one of the greatest Arizona brown backs to be discovered and drips of historic significance for the founding of one of Arizona’s largest national banks that operated during the national bank note issuing era. The note is simply a beauty to behold, being graced with bold penned signatures of president James A. Fleming and cashier Ephraim J. Bennitt, that remain as strong as when they were inscribed in 1892. This is a note whose value transcends numismatic grading, because for what it is, grade means nothing. It is a piece of paper, a delicate object, that is no…

The release of new notes honoring some person or event has taken hold virtually worldwide. Whereas before the turn of the century such issues had been very controlled and fairly infrequent, it appears that during the last number of years the volume of such special pieces has grown exponentially. Subjects are substantive for the most part; a limited number have their stated reasons for existence as relatively superfluous- at least, it appears to me that such is the case. Here are some examples of issues that I personally feel do not represent anything of great importance. I realize that I have no background on the development of the ideas for these subjects in the particular circumstances of this country. So I’ll let you judge for yourself about these three notes…

The town name of Republic on this proof is a standout, evoking patriotic linkage to the founding of our country. Republic, Pennsylvania, is the only town with that name with an issuing national bank in the country. Instead of referring to the nation, at least directly, the name of the town was derived from the Republic Iron and Steel Company, which operated a coal and coke operation there. All that remains of that industry now are the ruins of the coke ovens and a large slate dump. Republic is an unincorporated community 34 miles south of Pittsburg that is less than 3/4 square mile in area with a population of about 1,100 people. The bank was small, chartered on December 9, 1913, that went into receivership on February 13, 1931,…

There were a lot of interesting notes in this early 2021 auction to watch. One of the primary ones to mention is lot 30071, a Royal Canadian Bank 2 Dollar dated 1865. Signed by T. Woodside and A.M. Smith, the note has a blue serial number on its face. There is a coat-of-arms at center flanked by a lion at left and a unicorn at right. At lower left is a portrait of Edward VII, the Prince of Wales, and a lower right a female seated by a grape vine with an over-flowing harvest basket. Graded PMG 25 Very Fine, the note estimated at $17,500-$25,000, the note realized $30,000. The second item I watched was lot 30269, a Panama 10 Balboas note dated 1941. The HBNC printed note’s face coloration…