Our November 2021 Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Winter Expo will feature notes from the "Gnat" Laguna Coast Registry and Rarity Collection. As many small size specialists are aware, this collection includes the best group of San Francisco District small size notes ever formed. In addition to the many unique and rare San Francisco notes that comprise this collection, it also offers an unprecedented number of Top Pop notes. PMG bestowed its coveted Best US Set 2020 award for the San Francisco $5 Feds in this collection.
While this collection has a focus on the San Francisco District, it is far more comprehensive in scope. Rare stars and nearly 200 Top Pop notes from all twelve Fed Districts – spanning Series 1928 to 2013 – are represented in $5, $10 and $20 denominations. In fact, PMG has also rated this collection the Number 1 Set in many small size categories, including the highly competitive $5 Federal Reserve Series Set. Gnat has also assembled the finest collection of Federal Reserve late finished backs (629, 637 & 204) ever to appear at auction as well as an astounding collection of rare Mule and Non-Mule small size FRNs. Collectors of Hawaii Emergency issues will also find Top Pop notes, and what is undoubtedly the finest comprehensive set of $20 Hawaii notes ever formed. Diligently assembled over more than 25 years, many of the notes in this collection have never appeared publicly, presenting an important opportunity to acquire many true small size rarities.
The Laguna Coast Collection Part 1 will be featured in our November 2021 Auction, while the rest of the collection will be sold over three of our upcoming monthly Collectors Choice Online auctions, those to be held in December 2021, January 2022 and February 2022. Be sure to mark your calendars, as many of these notes have not traded hands publicly, and this is an unprecedented opportunity to add these treasures to your collection.
Offered in our November 2021 Auction will be a Fr. 1956-D637 1934 $5 Federal Reserve Note from the Cleveland district in PMG Very Fine 30. Late Finished Back plate 637. While these notes feature micro front and back plate numbers and the dark blue-green seals common to the non-mules, the fronts and backs were actually printed during 1945 and 1946, well into the Mule period. These rare notes are the only Dark Green Seal Non-Mules to sport the darker green backs. They are by far the rarest of all the 637 (late finished) back plate varieties. The history of the 637 (and 629) late finished backs is too complex to cover completely here, but simply put, exigencies of WWII and metal shortages meant the BEP put several older unfinished (or even "master" plates) into production. In this case, back plate 637 was put into production some 10 years after it was originally made and well after all other micro back plates were retired. All 1934 637 back FRNs are major rarities, with approximately 10 examples known for the four districts.
The Stack’s Bowers Galleries November Auction will be posted to our website within the next few weeks. We are currently taking consignments for our monthly Internet Only auctions and our March 2022 Showcase Auction. To consign your U.S. paper money and world paper money to a future sale, contact a consignment specialist at 800-458-4646 or visit StacksBowers.com. For more information on viewing lots or for assistance in registering to bid, email your inquiry to: Info@stacksbowers.com .
