Innehållsförteckning för March 2025 från Banknote Reporter

The national bank note issues from the First National Bank of Opheim, Montana, constitute one of the great rarity situations in the American West. This is what that bank issued during its short life between the time it was chartered on November 16, 1917, and liquidated on February 15, 1921: “Series of 1902” plain back 5-5-5-5 sheets 1 to 15 and 10-10-10-20 sheets 1 to 56, which only totals $3,100. The bankers didn’t subscribe for circulation until 1920 when they began maintaining an outstanding total of $2,500 for the last year of the bank’s life. No wonder none have turned up. You have to look hard to find similar statistics across the country! When chartered, the bank’s name was the Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Opheim, a title that…

Not long ago, I was headed up Interstate 81 (I-81) to a coin show in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. On the way, I passed the exit leading to Pottsville, the seat of Schuylkill County. I know Pottsville to be a very old city with a vast mining history. I resolved to check it out on the way home. The leaves were just beginning to change color, and the sun was shining as I departed I-81 at Frackville and headed south on State Route 61. Pottsville is the seat of Schuylkill County in Eastern Pennsylvania’s old coal region, about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Although once more populous (the population high was near 25,000 in 1940), today Pottsville is home to around 14,000. Pottsville’s anthracite coal history began in 1790 when a coal…

An interesting collection of Canadian paper money began in the late 1980s. Introduced in 1987, a coin of $1 CAD denomination would replace the $1 CAD bill as a cost-saving measure. This coin would be known very quickly as the Loonie because it bore an image to a loon, a popular bird from the north. Loons are seen less in the United States but are much more numerous in Canada because they like privacy in the wilds. After the 1989 $2 CAD note was issued, no more $2 CAD notes would be produced. Rather, another Loon would decorate a $2 CAD coin and be known as a Toonie. The last $2 CAD note was printed with two robins on the reverse. The robin is well-loved in Canada, and it is…

From polymer to special ink, bank notes worldwide are being released with the latest technology to prevent counterfeits. Bank note security has come a long way; in its early years, such measures in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were produced by intricately hand-carved intaglio printing plates and wooden molds. Because of the handicraft skills needed in this technical production, women were often employed in this field. Women like Mrs. Mary Smith, who was documented as one of the first females to work in bank note production, created such technology when she was at the Bank of England from 1764 to 1805. However, not all women creating bank notes during this time were like Mrs. Smith; some were the most notorious counterfeiters of their time. Committing these crimes garnered great wealth,…

When most people hear of Breckenridge, they think of the Coloradoan ski slopes, not one of the oldest communities in the Red River Valley of Minnesota. Breckenridge, a town of about 3,200 today, is located halfway down the western border of Minnesota. The city is situated where the Bois Des Sioux and Ottertail rivers form the Red River, which flows north into Canada. Across the Red River is Breckenridge’s sister city, Wahpeton, North Dakota. That geography meant that the city and the people who founded it had more ties to Canada—Winnipeg in particular—than the U.S. until the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad arrived in 1871. Curiously, Breckenridge and Wahpeton are within the southernmost part of a 1670 land grant by King Charles II to Prince Rupert of the Rhine; consequently,…

Bank note history was made after the unforgettable sale of an 1870 $2 Canadian bank note at the Stack’s Bowers Galleries “January 2025 Canadian Banknote Sale.” The note exceeded its pre-sale estimate of $360,000 ($518,000 CAD) and is now one of the highest-earning sales of Canadian paper money ever achieved. According to the auction house, this record-breaking winning bid reflects the note’s significance to Canadian bank note and currency history. This Graded Choice Very Fine 35 by PMG bank note was printed when the far reaches of western Canada were in its infancy, which housed a small population in the now metropolitan city of Victoria, British Columbia. Due to the few financial institutions in the area, there was a limited circulation of paper currency. When this note was issued in…

Since ancient times, currency has played a fundamental role in society as a measure of the value of things and as a channel enabling people to buy and sell goods. It is also an instrument that permits saving and investing, among other actions. However, its obligatory use by all individuals in a society has led to currencybeing used for other, more or less veiled, purposes. One of them is its use by the dominant classes for political purposes through the introduction of symbols specifically designed to propagate and inculcate a message among the public. This article focuses on the study of iconography used in bank notes issued in Cuba during the 19th century. After its discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the island of Cuba became a Spanish colony. Colonial…

This article celebrates Bruce Scherker’s fortuitous purchase at the 2024 American Numismatic Association Convention in Chicago of a $1 silver certificate “Series of 1935D” narrow back UE block variety. The note is among the rarest varieties by serial number block known in the extensive and avidly collected “Series of 1935” $1 silver certificates. The known specimens have serial numbers from the middle of the UE serial number block, which was the first block numbered that contained notes printed with the new narrow backs. There should be plenty of them, but there aren’t. This is a case where most of the initial stock printed with the new backs was delayed in reaching the serial number division after a small early burst. Resizing Program In December 1947, a program at the Bureau…

Belize In an effort to decolonize the nation’s bank notes, Belize has announced the upcoming release of new BZ$100, BZ$20, and BZ$5 bills. For the first time in the nation’s history, the notes will feature national heroes, such as the country’s first prime minister, George Cadle Price, and politician Philip Goldson. These notes will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth, who has been on Belizean currency throughout her reign. Falkland Islands Manufactured by De La Rue, the new Falkland Islands £5 note features a portrait of King Charles III and another type of king–a king penguin. The note was released to circulation on Falklands Day and is made of polymer and ultraviolet designs. The famous king penguin is seen in a window made from iridescent ink. Macao The Chinese special…

It didn’t take long following his coronation for King Charles III to begin appearing on the United Kingdom and associated nations’ bank notes. Here we are in 2025, and Harriett Tubman still isn’t on the U.S. $20 bank note, despite the note having been in the planning stages since 2016. The Civil War was waged for a little more than four years. Trying to get the formerly enslaved abolitionist, and social justice advocate Harriet Tubman on our $20 bank note is now projected to become a reality in 2030, 14 years after the change in bank note vignettes was first announced by Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. Is it possible Tubman may never appear on a U.S. bank note? The idea, meant to be constructive and forward-thinking, has become a…