IRVINE, Calif. (July 2, 2014) — Obsolete and Confederate currency led the way as the Stack’s Bowers Galleries Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo currency sale proved to be a great success.
A wide-ranging collection of notes from the banks of the state of Maine offered a selection dating from early District of Maine notes through statehood into the 1860s. Highlights from the collection featured an 1862 Maine Bank (Brunswick, ME, lot 58) $2 with a popular “Santa Claus” vignette. The note, graded Very Fine 20 by PCGS, realized an impressive $7,050. A $100 ABNC Proof from the Bucksport Bank (Bucksport, ME, lot 63) realized $2,115.
The Thomas A. Gray Collection of North Carolina Obsolete Currency saw spirited bidding on a number of rare Proof and Issued notes. An exceedingly rare Farmers Bank of North Carolina (Elizabeth City, NC, lot 152) Branch Series $50-100 sheet commanded $7,637.50. A rare Bank of Roxboro (Roxboro, NC, lot 193) Temporary Series $5 note realized $4,406.25, and an extremely rare Bank of Cape Fear (Wilmington, NC, lot 211) $100 Proof crossed the block at $7,050.
The auction also offered a number of rare variety, manuscript issue and high-grade Confederate notes, which caught the attention of bidders. A T-5 1861 $100 note graded Choice Uncirculated 64 by PMG (lot 307) sold for $5,287.50, while a T-24 1861 $10 note graded Choice About New 55 PPQ (lot 332) was hammered at $2,350. A very rare T-33 1861 $5, PF-6, State II variety, graded Very Fine 35 PPQ by PCGS, sold for $2,820, and a rare Whatman watermarked T-50 1862 $50, PF-10, graded Very Fine 25 Net by PMG (lot 345) realized $2,232.50.
Among Federal notes, a Fr. 123 1923 $10 Legal Tender “Poker Chip” note graded Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ by PMG (lot 386) brought $12,925. An attractive gray background Fractional Currency Shield (lot 463) sold for $4,846.87.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries is currently accepting U.S. currency consignments for the November 2014 Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo and world paper money consignments for all future sales. Contact Peter Treglia or Matt Quinn at 800.458.4646 for more information.
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 80-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 John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection, The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, The Norweb Collection, The Cardinal Collection and The Battle Born Collection — to name just a few. World coin and currency collections include The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection of World Gold Coins, The Kroisos Collection, The Alicia and Sidney Belzberg Collection, The Wa She Wong Collection, The Guia Collection, The Thos. H. Law Collection, and The Robert O. Ebert Collection.
Topping off this amazing numismatic history is the inclusion of the world record for the highest price ever realized at auction for a rare coin, the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar graded Specimen-66 (PCGS) that realized over $10 million, part of their sale of the famed Cardinal Collection. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, with offices in New York, Wolfeboro, Hong Kong, and Paris. Stack’s Bowers Galleries is an Official Auctioneer for several important numismatic conventions, including American Numismatic Association events, the New York International Numismatic Convention, the Professional Numismatists Guild New York Invitational, the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Spring, Summer and Winter Expos, and its April and August Hong Kong Auctions.
