U.S. Currency Rarities Offered in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries November 2023 Showcase Auction

Stack’s Bowers Galleries is excited to present its November 2023 Showcase Auction of U.S. Currency. The Live Bidding sessions will be hosted at Griffin Studios in the firm’s Costa Mesa, California headquarters on November 17. The sale is highlighted by a host of impressive and scarcely encountered large-size and small-size type notes spread across a diverse range of types and denominations, as well as iconic issues like the $10 “Bison” and Educational Series of 1896. The sale also features a notable concentration of obsolete and colonial banknotes from various sources, including the Caine Collection, which presents proofs and circulated notes, a geographically diverse offering spanning from New England to Tennessee. 

Among the exciting U.S. currency rarities will be found ultra-high denomination notes, along with large-size high denomination rarities. Lot 20294 features a desirable 1934 $10,000 Federal Reserve Note, Fr. 2231-C graded PMG Choice Extremely Fine 45 from the scarcely encountered Philadelphia district. This note is pedigreed to the collection of professional poker player Johnny Chan, winner of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including two Main Event wins in back-to-back years of 1987 and 1988. It is one of four known Philadelphia 1934 $10,000s. Lot 20293 offers a scarcely encountered and highly desirable 1934 $5,000 Federal Reserve Note, Fr. 2221-G graded PMG Choice Extremely Fine 45 completing this pair of ultra-high denomination notes that will excite devoted collectors and casual observers alike.

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Connoisseurs of high-end large-size type notes will likewise be pleased by rarities such as a scarcely encountered 1882 $1,000 Gold Certificate, Fr. 1218f graded PMG Very Fine 25 “Stains Lightened” and one of only two Uncirculated large size $500 Federal Reserve Notes, Fr. 1132-L graded PMG Choice Uncirculated 64. A host of conditional rarities featuring various rare and iconic designs includes a PCGS Banknote Superb Gem Uncirculated 67 1901 $10 Fr. 121m “Bison” and an exquisite PCGS Banknote Superb Gem Uncirculated 68 PPQ $5 “Educational” Fr. 268 bearing an extraordinarily low serial number. 

A historically significant assemblage of colonial bank notes is highlighted by a pair of exceedingly rare Pennsylvania notes with links to Benjamin Franklin. These are sure to attract spirited bidding before the hammer falls due to their connection with this important personality in the American struggle for Independence. The first is an August 10, 1739, 20 Shillings PA-45 graded PMG Choice Very Fine 35, the finest known example of its type. It bears the imprint of B. Franklin and displays a nature print security device on the reverse that was created by his own hand and remained in use until the 1780s. The second is a Continental issue of May 10, 1775, $20 CC-9 graded PMG About Uncirculated 58* EPQ. Although not printed by Franklin, it is equally significant as it is printed on paper supplied by Franklin and is effectively the forerunner of the first federal issues released in 1861. The Stack’s Bowers Galleries November 2023 sale will also offer a trio of uncirculated Continental notes bearing the ever-popular “Fugio/Mind Your Business” motif later employed on the Continental dollars of 1776 and the iconic Fugio cents of 1787.

 An impressive selection of obsolete notes from the Caine Collection accounts for a significant portion of the sale. A host of rarities from New England is highlighted by a $1 obsolete from the Bangor Commercial Bank dated 1838 and a $500 Proof from the long-defunct Warren Bank of South Danvers, Massachusetts. The geographically diverse offerings are rounded out by a variety of obsoletes from the Midwest, Antebellum/Postbellum South, and Mid-Atlantic. Notes from Tennessee, Connecticut, Minnesota, Ohio, and Alabama are among the states represented in this presentation that will provide an abundance of opportunities for devoted specialists to add to their holdings.

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The entire November 2023 Showcase Auction is now available for pre-bidding at StacksBowers.com. For questions about the November sale or to consign your collection to a future auction, please contact Stack’s Bowers Galleries today at Consign@StacksBowers.com.