October 4, 2012

1902 Alaskan $5 Could Reach $200,000+ at Heritage Auctions

DALLAS — A rare early National Bank Note from Fairbanks, Alaska, with prestigious serial number 1 and a pedigree from the family of the city’s namesake, leads the offerings in Heritage Auctions’ ANA Currency Signature® Auction, the official auction of the 2012 ANA National Money ShowSM in Dallas, Oct. 18-22.
 
The Series 1902 Red Seal $5 National Bank Note, Fr. 587, First National Bank of Fairbanks, Apparent Choice New 63, was issued in 1905 along with $10 and $20 denominations. The city of Fairbanks was named for a then-U.S. Senator from Indiana, Charles W. Fairbanks, who had been a key participant in the 1898 negotiations over the border between Alaska and Canada. The high-grade, low-serial-number note comes directly from the family of Charles W. Fairbanks, a striking pedigree that gives an already rare piece of currency even more importance. The estimate is $200,000+. 
A major Featured Collection of U.S. currency auction, The John Henderson Collection, contains a number of important highlights. Chief among them is a Fr. 2221-K $5000 1934 Federal Reserve Note, PCGS Very Choice New 64PPQ. One of seven such notes discovered and offered to discerning private collectors in 2006, this example with two-digit serial number 55A is offered at public auction for the first time with an estimate of $120,000+.
 
A face proof for the Fr. 202 $5000 1863 Interest Bearing Note, a design unknown in issued form, is a rare opportunity to own a seldom-seen Friedberg number. A fascinating allegorical design with a woman dropping a pendant into a burning altar bearing George Washington’s portrait adds further interest. The proof is estimated at $50,000+.
 
Further important Federal Reserve currency includes the unique Fr. 788a 1915 $5 Atlanta note with Bell - McCord signatures, PMG Very Fine 25, estimate $50,000+; a Fr. 1132-G $500 1918 note from Chicago, PCGS Extremely Fine 40, estimate $40,000+, and a Fr. 1133-L $1,000 1918 note from San Francisco, PMG About Uncirculated 55, estimate $50,000+.
 
Historic Gold Certificates also are among the highlights. A Fr. 1180 $20 “Technicolor” 1905, PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ, bears an estimate of $35,000+. A Fr. 1220 $1000 1922 certificate, PMG Choice Very Fine 35 Net, has an estimate of $40,000+.
 
Among the noteworthy Legal Tender currency up for bid are a Fr. 161 $50 1880, PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ, part of The John Henderson Collection, estimated at $30,000+, and a Fr. 187j $1,000 1880, PCGS Apparent Fine 12, with estimate of $35,000+.
 
An additional Western first-serial-number Red Seal National Bank Note, Fr. 588 1902 $5 from The Morgan County National Bank in Fort Morgan, Colorado, PMG About Uncirculated 55 Net, is estimated at $25,000+. While a Fr. 382 Original “Ace” from The Wyoming National Bank, Laramie City, Wyoming Territory, PMG Very Good 10 Net, is one of three known and is estimated at $37,500+.
 
Heritage Auctions is far and away the largest auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s third largest, with annual sales of more than $800 million, and 750,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and receive access to a complete record of prices realized, with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com
 
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