With the August Global Showcase Auction fast approaching, I would like to take a moment to highlight a personal favorite among the many exceptional lots in this auction. Although it may appear weathered and darkened with age, it is a historically significant rarity and a miracle of survival.
Offered as lot 20237 this note was originally issued by the First National Gold Bank of Santa Barbara (Charter# 2104) and represents the sole recorded $20 National Gold Bank Note out of 800 that were originally shipped to that institution by the Comptroller of Currency and the $80,000 in National Gold Bank Notes issued.
Visually similar to the National Banks Notes which circulated back East, a vignette of the Battle of Lexington can be seen at left opposite an allegorical figure entitled Loyalty leading an inspired crowd. Yet this note features the yellow-tinted paper, assemblage of pre-1933 gold coins on the back, and “REDEEMABLE IN GOLD COIN” along the top margin that clearly signal the guarantee that backed it. Such a guarantee allowed this note and its counterparts to be accepted by Californians who had a longstanding distrust of the concept of paper money. Trust in these National Gold Bank Notes led to them being circulated beyond the point where a comparable note would have been redeemed in the East.
Despite its prolonged tenure in commerce, this note does not display impairments typical of this popular type. From the lack of any comments by PMG to the presence of extant signatures from Cashier Amasa L. Lincoln and President Mortimer Cook, this note remains an attractive testament to a time when paper money was met with skepticism and subject to a discount relative to specie in circulation.
It may be years before this note is seen again at auction. Bid accordingly if you wish to call this rarity your own or you may find yourself waiting years or perhaps decades before you’ll have the chance to bid again.
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