In our November 2024 Showcase Auction we are pleased to offer a fresh to the market rarity from one of the many banks to serve rural Oklahoma. It was issued by the National Bank of Pond Creek (Charter# 7103), an institution that was one of three National Banks to serve this community in Grant County along the Oklahoma – Kansas border. Unrecorded at present in any census, this note is one of 188 Series of 1902 Red Seal $20s issued by this institution after Oklahoma gained statehood in November 1907. This was just months before the Aldrich-Vreeland Act became law, and thus was created an improbable rarity whose issue can be traced to a span of mere months.
The bank itself would be succeeded by the Farmers Guaranty Bank of Pond Creek after its assets were liquidated in May 1909. A total of $61,900 in National Currency was issued by the National Bank by the time of its liquidation.
Already rare due to aforementioned factors, this note represents a divergence from conventional wisdom thanks to when Oklahoma became a state and when the Aldrich-Vreeland Act became law which saw the discontinuance of the Series of 1902 Red Seals.
It is a scarce instance of a non-Territorial piece being much rarer than one of its Territorial counterparts. The National Bank Note Census records 130 Series of 1902 Red Seals for Oklahoma when accounting for both Statehood and Territorial issues. When accounting exclusively for pieces issued in both the Indian and Oklahoma Territories, 117 individual pieces are recorded. Just 13 non-Territorial pieces are recorded at present with this example soon to become the 14th.
Collectors will have the opportunity to claim this note for their own holdings in our November Showcase Auction, where it will be offered alongside a number of additional rarities and bear an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.
For more information about our auctions or to consign your numismatic items, please call 800-458-4646 or email Info@StacksBowers.com.
