Innehållsförteckning för May 2019 från Banknote Reporter

International Auction Galleries’ March sale saw a well-known consecutive pair of Australian £20 notes arrive on the block as separate lots. Their serials are X027348 and X027349. All Aussie £20 notes are scarce. Those in high grade are scarcer than hen’s teeth. The two on offer were from the first Commonwealth of Australia issues of 1913 and signed by Collins/Allen (P-7a, R-64, McD-87). They represent the finest examples known of this £20 issue with both graded gEF/aUNC. Both catalog descriptions read, “Full bright colour [sic] with fresh original paper. Some light handling, flicks and several bends from storage.” Each has enjoyed different histories. Each was being offered by a different vendor. As the IAG catalog put it this sale is, “possibly the last such time these notes have a chance…

Fellow numismatists marked their calendars from April 24-29 for the Signature Central States U.S. Currency Auction, run by Heritage Auctions and the Central States Numismatics Society. Taking place in Chicago, IL, there are six sessions in total, with the last one online. Features at the auction this year include: The Greensboro Collection, Part IX, The Grand Canyon Collection, The Indian Collection, The Morris Collection, and the Jeffrey S. Jones Collection of Small Size Currency. One of the notes featured this year was a Fr. 2221-E $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note PMG graded About UNC. 55. It is a previously unreported Richmond $5,000, and is the lowest reported serial number for the district. At last year’s auction, the top sales price went to a Fr. 375 Serial Number One $20 1981…

Note: This article brings to an end the various World War II issues for Mindanao that were the subject of two previous presentations. Summary: The First Issue consisted of four denominations: 2, 5, 10 and 20 pesos; made without a date, but printed in 1942. The Second Issue was much more extensive and was continually printed at various locations from 1943 to 1945. The 1943 printings were covered in the previous article. This time I will list those notes made during 1944-45. 1944 Printings First printing March 18 to July 5 and November 4 to 15, 1944 Loreto, Agusan Paper was the same white stock as used for the last 1943 emission so some notes might show the PREMIER BOND watermark. Notes once again had single series letter designations, and…

In a press release by Janell Armstrong, we have learned that PMG has certified the second known example of the 1920- dated Home Bank of Canada $5. Previously, the only known example of this note was in the National Currency Collection of the Bank of Canada. It is now known that this particular note certified by PMG is the first and only in private hands. The PMG Choice Fine 15 note displays good color and bold signatures. The note face features a portrait of Major General Sir Isaac Brock at left and a “Commerce” portrait at center with ships in the background. The back of the note displays three students and the bank name in the center. It is estimated that only a little over 50 issued notes from the…

Bidders’ remorse does not apply to this top sale item! At the Kagin’s Auction ANA annual money show this year in Pittsburgh, Pa, the $10 U.S. Treasury Note of the War of 1812 brought home the top sale of $336,000, which included the buyer’s premium. It is described as the only known specimen of the First circulating banknote authorized by the U.S. Government and this is the first time it was publicly offered. The note had an opening bid of $140,000 before it quickly escalated to $280,000 thanks to a phone bidder. This note was sold along with the Joel R. Anderson collection of War of 1812 Treasury Notes. Representing the world bank notes were the complete Emergency Issue 1948 Anglo-Palestine Bank Limited Set of four PMG graded CU 64…

Doug Murray, a careful observer of minor varieties on type notes, was looking at scans of the early national bank note proofs available on the National Numismatic Collection website and noticed a subtle oddity on a Series of 1875 Original Series $1 from The Mechanics National Bank of the City of New York, charter 1250. Each plate letter had a tiny 2 next to it. He remembered that Doug Walcutt found the same thing on a $5 Original Series note from The Tenth National Bank of the City of New York, charter 307, back in 1995. That find created quite a stir with Walcutt at the time because he speculated that the addition of the 2 indicated that the plate had been reentered (Walcutt, 1996). Reentry means that steel rolls…

You are looking at a local issue of French card money in the amount of six sols from the town of St. Maixent. Though undated, it is from the 1790 period during the French Revolution. It is hand signed and numbered. There were a great many necessity issues such as this all over France because of a scarcity of small change coins brought about by the war. Such issues are generally referred to as Billet de Confiance. But this particular issue was created using a playing card as the base. The back shows a full side of the card with a jack. Such was not often done, and for that reason it creates a high degree of interest whenever it is shown or discussed.…

Released on Feb. 19, the America’s Founding Fathers 2019 Currency Set appeared to be an instant hit with collectors. In fact, all 5,000 that were available were sold out in less than a week! Each set included a Series 2017 $1 note from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a Series 2013 $2 note from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The notes have matching serial numbers that all begin with 2019. The set honoring America’s presidents are packaged in a tri-fold folder and a clear, acid-free polymer sleeve that protects each note. Originally offered at $21.95, the sets were discounted to $18.95 when ordering 50 or more, and the household order limit was removed Feb. 20. 2019 marks the first year that the Bureau of Engraving…

One note ruled them all at Stack’s-Bowers’ March paper money auction in Hong Kong: a proof People’s Bank of China 2 yuan of 1975 (P-UNL). This is the ultimate pearl of great price for all collectors of modern Chinese banknotes. It is one of a set of notes designed but never issued during the Cultural Revolution. The basic designs continued those of earlier issues in focusing on agriculture and industry but differed in featuring well-known individuals who had become elite representatives of Chinese socialist production. The face of the 2 yuan depicts ‘Iron Man’ Wang Jinxi, a worker who led drilling team No. 1205 in the Daqing Oil Field in the Heilongjiang province. The proof’s back shows a construction dump truck and excavator in operation at a construction site. The…

This Greybull, Wyoming note went by on Ebay during September 2018. The noteworthy feature on it is the rubber-stamped signature of Louise E. Craig where below her name is “For” in front of the engraved CASHIER. “For” was on the rubber stamp. This is the first time I have observed a “for cashier” signature on a national let alone a “for president.” It harkens back to the “for the Register” and “for the Treasurer” signatures on the 1861 demand notes. The bank was organized in 1915; however, the bankers delayed buying bonds and taking out circulation until 1918. They issued only large size notes from a 10-10-10-10 Series of 1902 plate. This is the earliest 1902 plain back note I have recorded from the bank, which was printed in 1920,…

That incandescent dragon that Chinese paper money has become continues to roar mightily in Hong Kong. Anyone with remaining doubts in this matter need only scan the results of Spink China’s three day sale in late March. Day one of the sale concerned the banknotes of Macau and Hong Kong. It saw one lot claim a world record price. Towards the end of the day, a card-mounted uniface model/trial for the face of a 1911 series $500 of The Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China appeared in the block. The design differs from that of the issued note (P-46) in a number of respects: bank title banner, center of left and right borders, serial numbers, geometric design around center vignette and underprint. Examples showing the final design are exceedingly…

Results from Dix Noonan Webb’s sale of British notes in late March were dominated by Bank of England rarities. There is nothing remarkable in this. Certainly, collectors of Scottish and private banks’ issue expect their moment in the sun from time to time. On Mar. 28, however, it was some classic historic BoE white notes that ruled the day. Top-priced lot was an eminently collectable extremely rare £500 dated 30 September 1936, signed by Kenneth O. Peppiatt and issued at Liverpool (EPM B246e; cf. P-340). It came in fresh and original condition with well-defined embossing. Graded gVF it easily bid-up to its $15,720 [£12,000] upper estimate. A little distance in the rear came a similarly extremely rare white fiver issued at London, signed by Thomas Rippon, dated 13 August 1833,…