Banknote Reporter December 2022

Well, friends and readers, another year has come to an end. I am glad to say that it appears the COVID-19 pandemic is more or less over, though I continue to see many people wearing masks – surprisingly, some alone in their cars and others walking around outside. It seems to me that 2022 has been a difficult year for many – not the least because of the end of the bull market in stocks and the advent of serious inflationary pressures on the economy, as well as the strife going on in Ukraine and the continued serious divisions in our own political spectrum. Fortunately, we still have the diversion of national bank note collecting, our passionate hobby that diverts us from many of our quotidian problems. I recently added a…

Steve Schroeder recently snagged a note from this Greenville, Mich. bank as it went by, thrilled to get a note signed by president F. A. Johnson MD. This is the only bank bearing an MD moniker that is reported among the Series of 1929 issues. Early Series of 1929 cataloguer M. Owen Warns also was fascinated by this signature and wrote it up in Paper Money (1972, v. 11, p. 6) using the header “Professional Advertising Appearing on National Bank Currency.” A pair of $10s is included here. The B000127A note was made from a 6-subject stopgap Government Printing Office electrotype plate made at the outset of the 1929 series when Chicago contractor Barnhart Brothers and Spindler couldn’t keep up with logotype orders. A000514A was printed from a set of…

Upon extension in 1883, The Third National Bank of Syracuse received brown backs from a traditional-looking early Series of 1882 10-10-10-20 plate for that era with their characteristic early rendering of solid charter numbers on a lined background in the borders. That plate carried plate letters A-B-C-A. Although made by the BEP, the plate still bore the American Bank Note Company imprint in the bottom border (Figure 1 top). The decision was made in early 1887 to replace ABNC imprints with that of the BEP on existing plates as siderography workloads permitted. This involved removing the old imprint from the plates and rolling in the new (Figure 1 bottom). That plate wore out, so was replace with D-E-F-B with new open charter numbers in the border. As luck would have…

Hundreds of bank notes are being offered in a Noonans Mayfair sale, including Portuguese colonial rarities from the prestigious Laurence Pope Collection. Online bidding is already underway for Auction 622, which will be held Nov. 24-25, 2022. Leading the PMG-certified notes in the sale is a Straits Settlements / British Administration 1906 1 Dollar graded PMG 50 About Uncirculated (lot 1188). The United Kingdom used the Straits Dollar to provide economic stability to territories in Southeast Asia from the late 1800s until 1939. This note is among the finer graded of the 66 of its catalog number in the PMG Population Report. It has an estimate of £10,000 to £14,000 (about $11,800 to $16,600). Also featured in the sale is a Lebanon 1945 100 Livres Specimen graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ…

The Long Beach Heritage auction was amazing. Fractional notes showed extreme values for high grades. That was in the regular auction. The Platinum offerings were all 66 and above. A 4th issue Lincoln 50 cent note in grade 67 brought $13,200 and a Fr. 1296 Fessenden at $9,600 in PMG 67. Shields in Gray background brought $5,040, in Pink, $20,400 and Green in $36,000. Throughout the auction notes soared. Small Size High denomination notes reached new highs. A 1928 Atlanta FRN $5,000 note in PMG 35 sold for $216,000. A $10,000 Federal Reserve Note on the Richmond branch sold for $504,000 in AU 58. This tops all the other $10,000 notes on any district. $500 and $1,000 notes continued very strong, including a 1928 $1,000 Chicago note at $16,800 in…

Hundreds of bank notes and coins are part of a Karamitsos auction in December. Bidding is already underway for Auction 708 (Part A and Part B), which will be held Dec. 10-11, 2022. The auction’s top lot is a Greece, National Bank ND (1870-82) 100 Drachmai Specimen graded PMG 30 Very Fine (Part A, lot 6475). Printed during the reign of King George I, it is one of only two Specimens for this catalog number in the PMG Population Report. This note has a starting price of €15,000 (about $15,000).…