Banknote Reporter January 2023

Congratulations to Banknote Reporter on its Golden Jubilee of service to the currency collecting community. I am delighted to have been an integral part of the Banknote Reporter contributing team since 1997 – half of its existence! This month, as part of that celebration, I am going to reflect on my experiences writing for 25 years and how the currency market and currency collecting have changed, in my view, over that time. I first got involved with Banknote Reporter through former long-time editor David Harper, who I got to know at the annual American Numismatic Association Summer Seminars, held each summer in Colorado Springs. At that time, I was instructing courses in U.S. Large Size Currency with Gene Hessler, and later a course on U.S. National Banknotes with Peter Huntoon. David…

Drink in this extraordinary find. Yes, it is a 1902 red seal from Hawaii—the first ever reported from that territory. Arrival of this Kahului note in Andrew Shiva’s collection represents the last piece in the puzzle required for someone to assemble a complete red seal collection from every territory and state. Not only that, it is the last remaining territorial type to appear. There is now at least one Original/1875, 1882 brown back, 1882 date back, 1882 value back, 1902 red seal, 1902 date back and 1902 blue seal plain back from every territory in which those types were issued. A 1902 red seal territorial has been the most anticipated territorial discovery since an 1882 Territory of Alaska brown back arrived a decade ago. Only two of the four banks from Hawaii that issued…

A lot happened in the year 1973, and many will argue about what was the most important event. Perhaps it was the signs of peace in Vietnam, or Elvis Presley’s televised concert, which was the first worldwide telecast by an entertainer and had more views than the moon landings a few years prior. Perhaps it was the political scandals, or the first handheld cell phone call being made. The list could go on, but to us here the year is marked as momentous because it marks the first year of this very magazine, Bank Note Reporter. The year 1973 saw the sale of millions of CC Morgan silver dollars throughout the year by the General Services Administration. It took a few tries, but eventually all the coins were sold. It is…

Montana collectors had a heart stopping moment when this discovery uncirculated Rosebud, Mont. $10 Series of 1902 blue seal plain back bearing bank serial 1-A note went by in the Nov. 20, 2019, Stacks-Bowers Baltimore sale. It is the only note reported from the bank and sold for $48,000. The bank was organized August 9, 1919, chartered August 25, 1919, and liquidated four years later on Dec. 31, 1923. Rosebud is an unincorporated community that had a population of 76 at last count. It is located in the eastern Montana plains country on the south bank of the Yellowstone River a bit north of I94 between Miles City to the east and Forsyth to the west. The economy of the region revolves around wheat production although there isn’t a grain…

Hundreds of rarities are being offered in an upcoming Trigometric sale. Bidding for the three sessions (Session 1, Session 2 and Session 3) is currently underway, with the sale’s sessions ending Dec. 17-19, 2022. The top single note in the sale is a Malaysia, Bank Negara ND (1972-76) 1,000 Ringgit graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated EPQ (Session 1, lot 1215). Out of 114 PMG-certified examples of this rare note, only 13 graded higher in the PMG Population Report. PMG has graded over 440,000 notes from Malaysia, the most of any country besides the U.S. and China. This lot has an estimate of RM180,000 to RM300,000 (about $41,000 to $68,000).…

I attended the Michigan State Numismatic Show over Thanksgiving weekend. A good attendance, but not like the old days. I was appointed to the Board of Michigan State and look forward to serving. The board is looking into moving off the Thanksgiving weekend in order to draw more dealers. I shop regularly on the internet for my paper money purchases, but I really enjoy going to shows and visiting old collector and dealer friends. The internet is, I think, cutting into attendance. At most major shows, however, you have the opportunity to learn from various presentations that are featured at large shows. We usually see ANA representatives, as well. They brief us on things numismatic, and, or during election cycles, let us know their plans for the future. At shows,…