Stack’s Bowers Galleries Announces Inaugural U.S. Paper Money Rarities Night Auction
Stack’s Bowers spotlights rare U.S. currency—including historic serial number 1s and Gold Certificates—at its inaugural Rarities Night sale this August.
Costa Mesa, CA – Stack’s Bowers Galleries is pleased to present its inaugural U.S. Paper Money Rarities Night on Thursday, August 28, as part of their Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction. The impressive rarities in the sale range from the remarkable holdings of the McLaughlin Collection of Napier–Thompson Notes to the curated selection of Gold Certificates and other large-size type notes from the Shores Collection Part II.
In the offerings from the McLaughlin Collection of Napier – Thompson Notes collectors will have numerous generational opportunities including six Serial Number 1s (Fr. 86, 231, 254, 276, 1170, & 1184) and a Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ Fr. 1211 Series of 1882 $100 Gold Certificate, which represents the finest in the PMG Population Report by many grade levels (lot 23172). Additional condition rarities for the Napier–Thompson signature combination will cross the auction block, as will a remarkable selection of fancy serial numbers with a wide selection of single-digit pieces.
The greatest offering from the McLauglin Collection is the cut sheet of four Fr. 231 Series of 1899 $1 Silver Certificates (S/N 1, 2, 3, & 4). Long recognized as a rarity with fewer than 250 known survivors, these notes were saved shortly after their printing through the personal intervention of Treasurer Carmi A. Thompson, who gifted them to his daughter Gladys on Christmas Day 1912. With a pedigree that features just a few names on its way back to Thompson (including numismatist Harley L. Freeman), these notes have never been offered publicly at auction and have only traded hands a handful of times since Freeman acquired them from Gladys Thompson in 1934 (lot 23074).
By comparison, The Shores Collection Part II offers an impressive assortment of large-size type notes with a heavy emphasis on Gold Certificates, including what is perhaps among the greatest paper rarities known to survive. Issued during the 1860s, this note is one of six known $20 Gold Certificates authorized under the March 3, 1863, Act, and one of only four available to collectors. It is the finest survivor, graded About Uncirculated 50 by PCGS Banknote with a “Details” designation (lot 23144). However, this note is just one of several outstanding highlights from the Shores Collection Part II. Bidders will have the opportunity to vie for a Fr. 1205 Series of 1882 $100 Gold Certificate, which can trace its pedigree back to the Grinnell Collection sold by Barney Bluestone in the 1940s, when Gold Certificates were still illegal to own under the provisions of Executive Order 6102 (lot 23171). Also being offered is one of only two Fr. 1218g Series of 1882 $1000 Gold Certificates available to collectors, as the other two known survivors are held by different institutional collections (lot 23180).
Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Summer 2025 U.S. Currency Rarities Night sale will begin at 2:00 PM PT on Thursday, August 28. It will be hosted in Griffin Studios at the firm’s Costa Mesa headquarters and online at StacksBowers.com. For information regarding consigning to the firm’s upcoming auctions, call 800-458-4646 or email Consign@StacksBowers.com.
About Stack's Bowers Galleries
Stack's Bowers Galleries 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 90+ year legacy includes the cataloging and sale of many of the most valuable United States coin and currency collections to ever cross an auction block — The D. Brent Pogue Collection, The John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, The Joel R. Anderson Collection, The Norweb Collection, The Cardinal Collection, The Sydney F. Martin Collection and The Battle Born Collection — to name just a few.
World coin and currency collections include The Pinnacle Collection, The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection of World Gold Coins, The Kroisos Collection, The Alicia and Sidney Belzberg Collection, The Salton Collection, The Wa She Wong Collection, the Augustana Collection of gold rarities from across western Europe, the Richard Margolis Collection of world coins and medals and The Thos. H. Law Collection. Recently, the firm was awarded the privilege of bringing the most valuable world coin collection to auction – the L. E. Bruun Collection.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, which is also the location of Griffin Studios, the firm’s custom-built, broadcast-ready auction and event facility. In addition, the company has galleries in New York, Boston, Miami, and Philadelphia, as well as offices in New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Paris, and Vancouver. Stack's Bowers Galleries hosts a Global Showcase each summer as an Event Auctioneer Partner of the ANA World’s Fair of Money. This sale features United States coins and currency, Ancient coins, and World coins and currency. They are also the Official Auctioneer for several important numismatic events, including the New York International Numismatic Convention, the Whitman Spring, Summer, and Winter Expos, the Spring and Fall Hong Kong shows, and the Maastricht Paper Money shows.