Innehållsförteckning för October 2020 från Banknote Reporter

The $1 1899 silver certificate illustrated here passed through the Heritage Auction held in conjunction with the Central States Numismatic Society in April 2020 as lot 20711. It was touted as an error wherein the ‘s’ in Treasurer of the United States was omitted. This type of thing counts for very little with me because missing items, especially minor items, can be and are routinely faked with ease. You’ve all seen small size notes for sale with missing plate numbers as perfect examples. Bob Liddell asked me for my opinion of this piece, which we could tell was from position B of Lyons-Treat face plate 2985. Instead of blowing him off with some “sure Bob” retort, I did the professional thing and pulled up the scan of the proof lifted…

This time, we discuss a related pair of printed items - a government-printed Treasury check made during the earlier Civil War period and a 5c Fractional Currency note of the Third Issue. The unfilled date on the check is 186- and the government official whose name is on this piece is none other than Spencer M. Clark, Disbursing Agent. This example is one of the most attractive such pieces I have ever seen; no doubt Clark had a strong hand in its design. The imprint indicates preparation by the Treasury Department. So who is this Clark, and why is he of any importance? Mr. Clark (1811-1890) was the first superintendent of the National Currency Bureau as it was known when it was established in 1862. (It now bears the title…

Q: What inspired you to become a bank note enthusiast? A: I have always been inspired by the culture and history that bank notes represent. Bank notes are more than paper money; they are memoirs of the past and can help educate people about the history of the countries they belong to. Q: Do you collect bank notes? If so, what do you have personal interest in collecting? A: I do have a collection; I love bank notes that have interesting images on them and intriguing stories. Bank notes with Queen Elizabeth II on them, Polymer bank notes, bank notes with animals on them and so much more. I’m always inspired when traveling the world and seeing the bank notes used in the countries I visit. Q: What is the…

Ogden L. Mills was President Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury from Feb. 12, 1932 to March 3, 1933. His grandfather was the Mills of The National Gold Bank of D. O. Mills, Sacramento, Calif., charter 2014. This lineage represents quite a numismatic connection. One thread that ran through the grandfather (Darius Ogden Mills), father (Ogden Mills) and son (Ogden Livingston Mills) was Nevada’s Virginia & Truckee Railroad, the only rail link between Nevada’s fabulous Comstock silver mining district and the Central Pacific Railroad. This story is worth a look. Much of what follows is distilled from Wikipedia and Drew (2014). Darius Ogden Mills (Sep 25, 1825 - Jan 3, 1910) was born in North Salem, N.Y. At age 15, shortly after his father’s death in 1841, he began working as…

Gem and Gem Plus Note Prices Soar I try to respond to questions. A reader asked me why the 2017 and 2017A $1 notes seemed to be exactly the same. I lost his e-mail so I’ll answer here. I got the answer from my friend Alex Delatola, a Small Size expert and New Jersey dealer. The BEP installed new machinery to eliminate damaged notes. After the installation they designated the issue as 2017A. There were no changes except for the addition of new technology. Fractional notes are displaying a trend that is beginning to appear. Notes of Extra Fine to Choice Uncirculated are languishing at really low prices, while Gem and Gem plus are soaring. This trend was apparent at the Heritage August Platinum Night. Numerous sheets of Large Size…

There are many spectacular notes in this upcoming auction. The top five I will be keeping an eye on are notes of exceptional quality. I look forward to sharing the auction results with you next month. The first note is Lot 20637, a $10,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note PMG-graded Unc. 66 EPQ. According to Heritage, the note is one of just three $10,000s certified by PMG at this level for all series and districts. Having perfect centering, ideal colors, and excellent eye appeal, it should be a great performer. The note is projected to exceed its estimate of $200,000-$300,000. At the time of writing, the note has 13 bids and registered phone bidders; the lot tracking activity stands at 94, and there have been 3,010 page views. The second note…

It’s a practice that goes back to ancient times. As with so much else, the first recorded evidence of a lottery emanates from China, during the Han Dynasty (205-187 BCE). This activity is believed to have helped fund major government projects, among them a section of the Great Wall. (An archeological survey puts the total extent of the Great Wall at an astounding 13,000+ miles.) But while the concept was certainly alive, it was not until the later 1400s and early 1500s that tickets began to appear in Europe. A bit later, in 1612, King James I (1566-1625) created a lottery to provide funds to support Jamestown in Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The main, and in most cases the only, reason for the existence…