Oct. 2 will see Dix Noonan Webb’s first paper money sale of the company’s new stand-alone bank notes department. To celebrate the occasion, the catalog features a large swathe of rarities from across the globe. For your reporter, one note stands out.
It may not carry the highest estimate in the sale, and it may be somewhat battered, but an Irish Provincial Bank £10 of 6 May 1929, P-40a, should see bidders turn out in force. The chance to own this note is an extraordinary opportunity. It carries serial number 01PT 000001.
Battered but unbowed: Irish Provincial Bank £10 of 6 May 1929, P-40a, that carries serial number 01PT 000001. It is the sole number 1 note of the first date of issue of Ireland’s Ploughman series in private hands. Graded aF, it will be offered for sale at DNW’s Oct. 2 sale with an estimate of $9,000-$11,500. (Image courtesy DNW)
This makes it the sole number 1 note of the first date of issue of Ireland’s Ploughman series known in private hands. Just four other serial number 1 Ploughman notes have survived. These are held either in Bank archives or in the National Museum.
Graded “about fine” with “some damage along upper edge and corners [and] pencil graffiti on reverse,” this number 1 note will go to the block with a £7,000-£9,000 [$9,000-$11,500] estimate.
When it comes to top price lots, few are expected to beat a Malaya undated false color specimen of 10,000 dollars of George VI (P-17cs). No issued notes of this type are known to have survived. Most were used for internal or interbank transfers. Graded PMG 53 EPQ About Uncirculated, it carries an estimate of £24,000-£28,000 [$30,000-$35,000].
Rare specimen: Banco de Espana 500 pesetas of 1 July 1876 (P-12s), the better of only two known. Graded PMG 64 Uncirculated, it has an estimate of $11,500-15,000. (Image courtesy DNW)
For those into Iberian issues, how about an ABNC-engraved Banco de Espana specimen 500 pesetas (P-12s)? Dated 1 July 1876, this is one of only two specimen examples known. It is the more complete of the two and is printed on higher quality paper – the same as intended for issue. The DNW catalog notes that the Bank of Spain lacks an example. Graded PMG 64 Uncirculated, it has been previously mounted with the estimate set at £9,000-£12,000 [$11,500-$15,000]
Other highlights include an Iranian specimen 5,000 rials with a previously unknown overprint obscuring the Shah (cf. P-116). Graded PCGS 58 PPQ Choice About Uncirculated, the estimate is £5,000-£7,000 [$6,300-$8,800]. An Iraqi 10 dinars printers’ archival specimen showing Faisal II as a child (P-20s) will have an estimate of £5,500-£6,500 [$7,000-$8,250] having been graded PCGS 55 Choice About Uncirculated mounting traces.
And Chinese collectors are not overlooked. They have a delightful set of eight progressive proofs of a Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation 1927 $100 (P-176) to bid on. This remarkable set is “generally between extremely fine and about uncirculated.” Estimate is £3,000-£4,000 [$4,000-$5,000].
The principals of Dix Noonan Webb’s new world bank note department: Andrew Pattison (left) and Thomasina Smith (right). (Images courtesy DNW)
Collectors should check the DNW catalog online: www.dnw.co.uk.
Some readers may be unaware that, in July, Dix Noonan Webb separated their bank note section from company’s coin department. The new department is being overseen by Andrew Pattison and Thomasina Smith, aided by consultant Michael O’Grady. Pattison and Smith were specifically head-hunted by DNW for their new roles.
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