Innehållsförteckning för May 2025 från Banknote Reporter

As I write this during April 2025, it would appear likely that this Tacoma 1882 brownback illustrated will be crowned the territorial revelation of 2025. Little more needs to be said than that this sensational note is the first Washington territorial reported bearing bank sheet serial number 1. Of the 1,191 notes in my territorial census, there are only 14 Washingtons. Washington is tied with Puerto Rico as the 4th scarcest territory after Nebraska (8), Idaho (9) and Alaska (9). This is the note’s print media debut courtesy of Jess Lipka. Good ‘ol Jess quietly landed this whale a couple of years ago but kept it under wraps from me until he figured I was old enough that springing it on me might give me a heart attack. Almost did!…

Curaçao and Sint Maarten For its “World Under the Sea” series, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten has updated its Caribbean Guilder with colorful illustrations of native marine life. The vibrant images of fish and other ocean life are featured on landscape obverses, and for the first time in the series, vertically oriented reverses are used to display illustrations of cultural landmarks. United Arab Emirates Fresh from winning “Best New Banknote” at the 2025 High Security Printing EMEA conference for the AED500, the Central Bank of the UAE has released a new AED100 into circulation. Made from polymer with updated security features, the new note is designed in shades of red and shows the Umm Al Quwain National Fort, the Port of Fujairah, and the Etihad Rail. Namibia…

In celebration of its 100th auction, Archives International Auctions (AIA) went big for its “AIA Sale 100—U.S. & WW Banknotes, Scripophily and Ephemera” event on March 26. The auction sold a vast collection of rare, historic bank notes that, according to AIA, featured pieces that had never gone to sale and others that had been in collections for up to 50 years. There was a lot to choose from for the U.S. bank note aficionado. The auction included U.S federal and Liberty Loan bonds and never-beforesold government agency federal drafts, warrants, checks, and other fiscal documents. Other new to auction pieces included U.S. colonial, obsolete, and Confederate currency, as well as rarely seen 1907 Panic currency and U.S. Large and Small type notes that had not been seen in auction…

Where is Indiana? The proof for the “Series of 1882” 50–100 brownback plate certified August 26, 1882, for The First National Bank of Centreville, Indiana, charter 2696, is missing the state at the bottom of the title block on both subjects. Someone noticed and got the siderographer to roll it in. Very lightly penciled below “FIFTY DOLLARS” is “Ind has been put in” (see inset above). A second proof was not lifted to show the correction, which was unusual. Matt Hansen found this while perusing the certified proofs. It is the first time I have seen an omitted state among the proofs. This bank was organized on April 26, 1882,, chartered on May 18, 1882, and liquidated three and a half years later on October 3, 1885. At the time…

Encased postage is the child of the Civil War. When small change became increasingly scarce in 1862, Julian Gold was inspired to invent a system of encasing stamps from the 1861 series in specially designed holders. These holders, known as “Abbass Holders,” featured an open face holding a stamp, backed by a piece of cardboard, and covered by a piece of transparent mica. This design was patented on August 12, 1862. Their usefulness largely expired in 1863 with the issue of Spiner’s fractional currency. From 1862–1863, encased postage was issued in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 24, 30, and 90 cents. Additionally, a 2¢ stamp was used for a very rare internal revenue issue. The denominations of 24¢ and up are particularly rare. In total, 341 different examples…

The end of March signified the arrival of two major auctions for Heritage Auction’s paper currency department. The first event, “World Paper Money Signature Auction,” featured notes from 138 countries. Due to its large size, the event was split into two sections: Session 1 on March 27 and Session 2 on March 28, and was arranged in alphabetical order by country. Many of the notes in these auctions are sourced from well-known collections, such as the Rex Hilligan Collection of Southwest Africa, the Globus Collection, the Louis Winterfield Collection, and the IL Collection. Session 1 highlighted paper currency from Afghanistan through India. A high-earning note from the day was the famous 1912 Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank 500 rupien from German East Africa, which garnered a $45,600 winning bid. According to Heritage Auctions,…

Introducing The Coin Collecting Podcast! Hosted by Jeff Starck, Numismaster market analyst and World Coin News “Coin of the Year” judge, and Christopher Bulfinch, appraiser and sales specialist at Doyle’s— Boston. The Coin Collecting Podcast aims to inform and entertain, connecting with collectors of all types, regardless of their experience. The show explores the history of the hobby and places the modern market into that context. Meet decisionmakers and stay up to date with market movement. The first episode went live on March 21. The pilot episode discusses their background in the hobby and their aims for the show. Meet the hosts and learn about the Ides of March coin. Visit NumismaticNews.net to learn more.…

Polymer bank notes are gradually replacing traditional paper notes. Made from a synthetic polymer, these bank notes last significantly longer than paper, at least 2.5 times as long according to some experts, thereby reducing environmental impact and production costs. Polymer bank notes are also cleaner than their paper counterparts because they are waterproof and resistant to dirt and moisture. And most important, they are much harder to counterfeit. Polymer bank notes are not exempt from criticism as they are harder to fold, and, in some cases, the colors applied to the polymeric support have been found to fade. In August 2012, Nigeria’s Central Bank planned to switch from polymer to paper notes after finding significant difficulties associated with the processing and destruction of the former. The plan never materialized, though.…

MAY 2025 U.S. Paper Money Price Guide President Donald Trump on a $250 bill? President Donald Trump on a $250 bill? Is someone brownnosing the president? Is it about patriotic yet irrational exuberance? For the answers, you’ll have to ask Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) since, according to Wilson’s posting on X, he’s the one who announced he was drafting legislation to make this a reality. According to Wilson, “Bidenflation destroyed the economy, forcing American families to carry more cash. Most valuable bill for most valuable President!” We’ve been scratching our heads for years, asking why we don’t have a bank note denomination higher than the $100 bill. The usual canned answer is that a higher denomination note would be used by criminals and would signal to the world the U.S.…

Spink UK took bank note collectors around the world at its “World Banknotes” online auction on April 10, 2025. The auction showcased a diverse selection of over 800 notes from the nineteenth century to contemporary era. Among the standouts of the show was a collection of Bank Polski specimen notes from 1939. All three notes, 50, 100, and 500 zlotychs, were won each with £8,000 bids. All previously mounted, incredible, and rare, the 50 zlotychs is in a PMG holder 64 Choice Uncirculated, the 100 zlotychs is in a PMG holder 63 Choice Uncirculated, and the 500 zlotychs is in a PMG holder 58 Choice About Uncirculated. When these notes were created in 1939, Nazi Germany had invaded the country, and the Polish government was forced to flee, first to…

Bank note errors are design anomalies made during paper money printing production. Printing errors can range from hard-to-spot minor misalignments to dramatic misprints. These mistakes are usually caught and destroyed before they reach circulation as they are considered “defective” for public use. However, when those notes accidentally do go into circulation, they are prized for their rarity and, at times, high worth by collectors. If the bank notes in your collection are too perfect and in need of some misaligned currency, or you are interested in adding more diversity to an already established error collection, here is an abbreviated selection of the many bank note mistakes to look out for. Print Misalignment Misalignments occur when different printing plates are not aligned during the printing process, making the note’s obverse and/or…