Innehållsförteckning för December 2019 från Banknote Reporter

Shown are proofs from two banks in New Salem, Pa. Or are they? Observe that the BEP siderographers even used the roll lifted from the same engraving to lay in the tombstone on both title blocks. New Salem even appears in script opposite the plate date in the title blocks on both proofs. There is a problem here. The Delmont National Bank is located in Westmoreland County 29 miles east of Pittsburgh whereas The First National Bank is in Fayette County 38 miles to the south. So, what gives? Place names are essential to us in order that we may place ourselves in space and navigate through it. They also impart on us a significant part of our identity. We adopt all sorts of place names that serve many different…

A big surprise to me is the decreasing values for Fractional Notes. Although the Gem notes are holding their own, circulated notes are bargains. For instance, a Fr1357 (a nice hand-signed Justice note) went in the recent Heritage Internet-only auction for $385 in AU 53. I would have raised the bid if I had noticed it. Fractional collectors are known for their fussiness about condition, however. If you want to put together a nice Fractional Type set in AU, now is the time. I might be a little biased about Fractional notes, as I am a Life member and president of the Fractional Currency club (FCCB.) I think Colonial and Continental Currency are good buys at the present time. If we can get Ken Burns to do a series of…

Of all the vignettes used on banknotes around the globe few rival the popularity of those showing Santa. This is particularly so stateside where Santa-themed banknotes occupy the No. 23 spot on the list of The 100 Greatest American Currency Notes. Most U.S. Santa notes are scarce with far less available than can satisfy demand. A number are extremely rare and can fetch remarkable prices. In 2017 one Santa note in well-circulated condition sold for $40,000. Few collections have ever managed to match the completeness achieved by Roger Durand. He started collecting Santa in 1960. In 2011, Heritage Auctions sold the 37 items he had managed to acquire in 50 years of effort and expenditure for $272,688 or $7,367 per lot. That Heritage sale catalogue provides an authoritative, easily accessible…

Bank notes are great relational tools for understanding our ever-evolving culture. They depict history in terms of historical people, events and cultural beliefs. They are locally attributable yet universal. There is a lot to be discovered when you look at what is behind a bank note. The Landing of Columbus Another painting from the U.S. Capitol appearing on the back of a National Bank Note is by John Vanderlyn. The painting, entitled “The Landing of Columbus,” shows Christopher Columbus landing in the West Indies on the island of Guanahani on Oct. 12, 1492. He went on to name the island San Salvador. It is featured on the $5 National Bank Note, FR 399. Landing of the Pilgrims Another example of historical art depicted on National Bank Notes I would like…

The Collector’s Guide to Japanese Invasion Money, Second Edition, by Gregory Hale. Includes photos, descriptions and values of Japanese Invasion Money from World War II. Printed in Australia, 2019. Soft cover, large octavo, 212 pages, illustrations in color. Author’s website: www.japaneseinvasionmoney.com. Original cost $45 Australian. To acquire this book, I suggest you contact the author before doing anything else. A first edition was published in 2014; I never saw a copy, so my knowledge of the amount of improvement from that one to this is based solely on what various individuals have told me. I understand that it is very substantive. This catalog is special in a way that I have not encountered very often. It’s one thing to provide background details about a given subject, but quite another to…

The most elusive proof or specimen from the national bank note series is the back of an Original/1875 series $1,000. An issued note remains unreported. Mated face and back specimens, attributed to the Treasury Department of a Series of 1875 $1,000 from The First National Bank of Salem, Massachusetts, charter 407, a bank that received 60 sheets of 500-1,000 notes, is illustrated in the Friedberg and Hessler/ Chambliss catalogs. The face carries A000-000 serials and a large, round unscalloped Treasury seal centered over the bank title block. I have never seen it in the flesh. It is very doubtful that the large seal was used on issued notes because the known Carter/Shiva Series of 1875 note from The First National Bank of the City of New York carries the standard…

To continue the diversity I intend to present in this column, I have invited expert market analyst of United States paper money William Brandimore to share some of his thoughts on collecting bank notes. Q. What inspired you to collect bank notes from the United States? A. In 1953, I received a 1909 Barber quarter in change. The coin was older than my 34-year-old dad. In the early 1970s, I discovered an interest in Large Size notes. I remember buying an XF Buffalo for $150 from a downtown Detroit dealer and an Uncirculated Battleship from my favorite dealer, Ed Marusak. Q. What is the most interesting bank note you have encountered? A. My most interesting note is a Sword in Hand Colonial note. Paul Revere engraved the plates and printed…

Heritage Auctions brought some interesting Proofs and Silver Certificates to their Oct. 29, 2019 U.S. weekly auction. Their World Currency auction, also on Oct. 29, had two notes that caught my eye: a Cuba Banco Nacional 500 pesos and an Equatorial African States Banque Centrale 1000 Francs. Full catalog details and hammer prices are available from currency.ha.com/. A buyer’s premium of 20% has been included in all prices shown. The three Silver Certificates I kept my eye on were Lot 84456, Lot 84478, and Lot 84480. The first lot, 84456 (KL# 217), was a Fr. 87 Large Size $5 1907 Silver Certificate, PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ bank note. The Henry Gugler design, used from 1869 to 1907, features The Pioneer vignette at center and Andrew Jackson at lower left.…

The last live U.S. Currency auction of the year for Stack’s Bowers Galleries contained several great notes. What captivated my attention was a special collection of “Santa Claus” notes in obsolete currency. This group was curated by the beloved Dottie Freeman, who the currency collecting family lost last spring. Santa Claus notes are always sought-after, and the supply is generally short of the demand. Winning bidder’s eyes will be twinkling through the upcoming holiday season because of these nostalgic notes: Lot# 10020 was an 1854 $50 Proof from Bucksport, Maine. This PMG Choice Uncirculated 63, has a Type-III Santa Claus vignette seen at center. The note shows three dogs at bottom left and a Native American with bow and arrows at right. Estimated at $3,000-$5,000, the note sold for $3,600.…

There is nothing quite like landing a national from the town where you were raised, particularly if it turns out to be the first of its kind in the census. Gerald Dzara reeled in this very attractive Perryopolis note under exactly these conditions. It is the first type 2 $10 reported from the bank. Perryopolis is located 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh along the Youghioheny River. The town was built on land purchased by George Washington with its core laid out as designed by Washington in the shape of a wagon wheel with a flagpole at its center. The bank building used to be on what is now a parking lot south-southeast of the flagpole. Perryopolis was named for Commander Oliver Perry who was victorious over the British on Sept.…

In recent times, the U.S. Mint has begun producing non-traditional products in an effort to appeal to the general population and the younger generation. These items are popular buys during the holiday season, and this year the Mint has tailor-made seasonal items for just that reason. It has issued two holiday ornaments: a United States Mint 2019 Ornament and a Mighty Minters™ 2019 Ornament geared toward kids. Mixing the numismatic with the festive, the Mint ornament features a traditional green, red and silver toned wreath encircling an uncirculated Kennedy half dollar. The coin’s reverse appears on the front of the ornament, along with “UNITED STATES MINT” and “2019.” The Mint’s official seal is engraved on the back. The wreath portion of the ornament is solid brass with an imitation rhodium…