The Stack’s Bowers Galleries U.S. paper money session of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo, held November 7, 2013, proved to be a great success. Bidders at the convention and worldwide on the Internet competed to acquire rarities as well as popular notes, resulting in 99 percent of the lots being sold.
In all, 1,044 of the 1,058 lots offered sold with a total realization of $1,326,959, including the Internet-only session of 300 lots. Every area of the available material saw strong results from rare obsolete bank notes to National Currency.
The sale commenced with Colonial and Obsolete notes. A gorgeous $5 Baltimore, Maryland color proof on the Merchants Bank saw spirited bidding before selling for an impressive $7,638, which handily eclipsed the $5,000 high estimate. The always-popular Polar Bear vignette found on the Boston Massachusetts Continental Bank series of the $2 denomination was offered in a striking PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ state and fetched $6,462. One of the more noteworthy Philadelphia Pennsylvania Obsolete Notes was a Bank of Northern Liberties $50 Proof that brought $5,875, a level that black and white proofs seldom achieve.
Federally issued notes then took center stage with a newly discovered replacement note from the 1928C Federal Reserve Note series of the $10 denomination. The note represented the first known star note for the Chicago district, with only two other previous replacements for all districts on the 1928C series. The lot caused a bidding frenzy before the hammer fell, netting a $22,325 realization. The finest PMG Certified example an 1891 $20 Silver Certificate with Parker-Burke signatures in Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ realized $30,550, and another exceptional note — a Fr. 368 $10 1890 Treasury Note in Gem New 66 PPQ — found a new home at $21,150. An important 1918 Kansas $500 Federal Reserve Note in the modest grade of VF exceeded expectations with a winning bid of $18,800.
National banknotes were largely anchored by the Watermelon Collection, Part II, which had a major focus on Ohio and Pennsylvania but also had key rarities from New York among other states. Several of the popular “Lazy Deuce,” design types were offered with all garnering strong results. A rare Covina, California small-size $10 in Very Fine grade fetched a winning bid of $8,225. An exceedingly rare Louisville Brown Back $50 brought $7,050, exceeding the high estimate by more than $2,000.
A trove of rare Nevada notes was another highlight, with an Ely 1902 $20 Plain Back in a PMG About Uncirculated 50 grade costing the new owner $21,150. A beautiful and nearly Uncirculated Watkins Glen, NY Lazy Deuce $2 note commanded a stellar $7,050, exceeding the high end of our estimate.
Other highlights of the Stack’s Bowers Galleries Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo include:
Lot 1099 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bank of Commerce. ND (18xx). $5. About Uncirculated. $3,818
Lot 1181 — Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bank of Chattanooga. ND (18xx). $50. Uncirculated. Proof.
Lot 1221 — Hessler X134C. Assistant Treasurer of the United States. 1862. Act of February 25, 1862. $1000 Boston Designated Depositary Certificate. Fine. $6,462
Lot 1253 — Fr. 101. 1880 $10 Legal Tender Note. PCGS Gem New 66 PPQ. $7,050
Lot 1269 — Fr. 191a. 1864 $20 Compound Interest Treasury Note. PMG Very Fine 20 Net. $10,340
Lot 1272 — Fr. 216. 1886 $1 Silver Certificates. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ. $7,050
Lot 1303 — Fr. 248. 1896 $2 Silver Certificate. PCGS Superb Gem New 67 PPQ. $19,975
Lot 1320 — Fr. 281. 1899 $5 Silver Certificate. PCGS Superb Gem New 67 PPQ. $14,100
Lot 1434 — Fr. 1700. 1933 $10 Silver Certificate. PCGS Very Fine 25. $5,522
Lot 1524 — Muncie, Indiana. $2 Original. Fr. 387. The Muncie NB. Charter #793. PCGS Very Fine 30. $6,462
Lot 1716 — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. $20 1875. Fr. 434. The Fort Pitt NB. Charter #2415. PCGS Very Fine 30. $6,756.25.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries is currently accepting consignments for the February 2014 New York Americana Sale, March 2014 Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Spring Expo, and the April 2014 Hong Kong Auction. For a complete auction and lot-viewing schedule, please visit StacksBowers.com.
About Stack’s Bowers Galleries
Stack’s Bowers Galleries, a division of Fortune 500 Company Spectrum Group International Inc., conducts live, Internet and specialized auctions of rare U.S. and world coins and currency and ancient coins, as well as direct sales through retail and wholesale channels. The company’s 80-year legacy includes the cataloging and sale of many of the most valuable collections to ever cross an auction block — the John J. Ford, Jr. and Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collections, The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, The Norweb Collection, and The Cardinal Collection — to name just a few.
Topping off this amazing numismatic history is the inclusion of the world record for the highest price ever realized at auction for a rare coin, the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar graded Specimen-66 (PCGS) that realized over $10 million, part of their sale of the famed Cardinal Collection. The company is headquartered in Santa Ana, California, with offices in New York, Wolfeboro, Hong Kong, and Paris.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries is the Official Auctioneer for several important numismatic conventions, including American Numismatic Association events, the New York International Numismatic Convention, the Professional Numismatists Guild New York Invitational, the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Spring, Summer and Winter Expos, and the Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio April and August Hong Kong Auctions.