Innehållsförteckning för February 2024 från Banknote Reporter

Throughout their legendary 90+ year history in numismatics, Stack’s Bowers Galleries has had an unparalleled team of experts at the core of their business. Their current list of professionals is world-renowned in all areas of numismatics, a staff that is among the best in the field. To continue this legacy, Stack’s Bowers Galleries announced its 2024 Professional Numismatist Program scheduled to be held from July 15-19, 2024. The program’s mission statement: To provide practical tools and build professional connections for the next generation of young adult numismatists. The lead instructor will be Devin Hipp, joined by industry leaders Greg Roberts, Jason Carter, Matt Orsini, John Pack, Rick Ponterio, Kyle Ponterio, Peter Treglia, and Aris Maragoudakis to name just a few. Covered topics will include advanced coin grading, wholesale trading and…

A huge selection of bank notes were offered in the January Trigometric Auctions sale. The Trigometric January 2024 Auction - Session 1 & 2, was held Jan. 20-21, 2024. The top lot in the sale was a group of eight Malaysia, Bank Negara ND (1986-89) Ringgit Specimens (1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000) graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated to PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ (Session 2, lot 2530). This lot has an estimate of RM 130,000 to RM 160,000 (about $28,000 to $34,500). These Malaysian notes are highly sought after design types, and it is especially rare to find the whole series of denominations together with matching specimen numbers like in this coveted group. Other highlights in these auctions included: • a group of five Malaysia,…

The finest known example of a 1855 Kellogg & Co. Fifty Dollar PR64 Cameo PCGS. CAC. Kagin-4, High R.6 soared to a record $1.26 million to lead Heritage’s FUN US Coins Auction to $40,522,148 in total sales. That total, along with the $6,845,461 Collection of Walter J. Husak and The Liberty Cap Foundation US Coins Signature⎹ Auction that was part of FUN and Heritage’s $13,003,338 FUN Currency Signature⎹ Auction, boosted the combined total for the event to $60,370,947. “Just when some people thought the marketplace for numismatic trophies might be starting to soften given the flurry of record prices we’ve set over the last few years, our bidders once again delivered some staggering results,” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. Fort Worth coin dealer B. Max Mehl…

Feb. 10, 2024, or year 4722 in the Chinese Lunar year, starts the Year of the Dragon, otherwise referred to as the Wood Dragon. The dragon is the fifth animal in the Chinese zodiac 12-year animal cycle. The dragon is unique from the other zodiac signs in the Chinese calendar because it is the only mythical creature in the cycle. It is believed that the dragon is a symbol of strength and great power which is why Chinese emperors were thought to be descendants of dragons. In Chinese culture, dragons are said to have control over great phenoms of water, such as rainfalls, floods, and typhoons. In Chinese mythology, there are different colored dragons: black, blue, green, red, yellow, and white, which are said to manifest your goals. The various…

Without question, the best town name on a national from Arkansas is Cotton Plant; and probably many would say it is right up there in the top 10 for the nation. Larry Rogak posted a photo of this dynamite date back on the National Bank Note Collectors forum in 2020. It is the nicest of four reported. It even has a passable bank sheet serial number. Look at those strong penned signatures! Dale White, a fellow poster, responded that he brought it in from the cold from a pawn shop in Fort Smith in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Cotton Plant is located in the flatlands west of the Mississippi River the northeast quadrant of the state 80 miles by road west of Memphis, Tenn. The Wikipedia writeup for…

Hundreds of rare bank notes from China and elsewhere were offered in two Spink sales in January. The Chinese Banknotes and Coins auction on Jan. 20 and the World, Macau and Hong Kong Coins and Banknotes auction on Jan. 21, 2024. Highlighting these auctions was a Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation 1921-23 100 Dollars graded PMG 30 Very Fine (lot 1294), with an estimate of HKD 400,000 to 600,000 (about $51,000 to $77,000). The PMG Population Report records only three genuine issued examples of this catalog number, Pick# 169b, in addition to one from Pick# 169a, which shares the same design but has an earlier date. The example in this auction is the highest graded of these four highly coveted “tea house” notes. Other notes in World,…

Co-author Adam Stroup has identified another instance in Pennsylvania where two towns of the same name had issuing banks. This time it is Coaldale. We now know of four such cases in the country, all in Pennsylvania. There were two Coaldales with issuing banks. Both towns were officially established as boroughs under Pennsylvania law, one in Schuylkill County centered in the eastern third of the state west of Allentown and the other 160 miles to the west in Bedford County, which is hard against the Maryland border. The Schuylkill Coaldale was settled in 1827 and incorporated in 1906. The 2020 population was 2,426 and the land area was 2.2 square miles. It hosted The First National Bank of Coaldale, charter 9739, organized on Jan.12, 1910, and chartered on April 26,…

My first order of business is correcting a typo in last month’s issue. The number of FC Hawaiian and North Africa WW2 $1 notes was not 1,500 but was instead 150. These notes are strong at present. Currently, Large Size type continues strong. Federal Reserve Notes are a bit weak, while Federal Reserve Bank notes are weaker in circulated condition. Nationals are dependent more on bank rarity than other factors. A huge number of National notes were in the FUN auction. Small Size Red Seal $2 notes are weaker with respect to the 1963 issues for super grade notes as are the Blue Seal $1 notes of the 1957 issues in high grades. These two groups were very well printed. Nationals are largely priced according to bank rarity. As a…

The top Providence Series of 1882 brown back proof has a title block laid in using the patented lettering process invented by BEP Chief Engraver George Casilear. The plate was certified on April 7, 1883. It was replaced (bottom) by a plate with a layout fabricated from hand-engraved elements certified on April 27, 1897. The reason for the change was that plates made using Casilear’s process were deemed to be inartistic because they looked mechanical. A total of 35,696 sheets of $5 Series of 1882 brown backs were issued through the bank. The changeover bank sheet serials between the varieties were 28,000/28,001. Sheet 28,001 was numbered May 12, 1897. Proofs from these two plates were brought by Thomas Morris—discharged nine days previously as Chief of the BEP Engraving Department—to show…

Two Heritage Auctions sales featured more than 1,500 lots with 16 of them realizing prices over $25,000. The World Paper Money Signature Auction #4046 and the Queen Elizabeth II Collection World Paper Money Signature Auction — Hong Kong #4047 were held Dec. 7-10, 2023. The top lot in the auctions was a Canada, Banque du Canada 1935 20 Dollars – French with Serial Number 7 graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (Auction 4047, lot 22110), which realized $84,000. The banknote is famous for its inclusion of a young Elizabeth II, more than 15 years before she became queen. Members of the British Royal family adorned the 1935 Series of bank notes, including the 20 Dollars, which featured King George V's young granddaughter, Elizabeth. Other highlights in these auctions included: •…