The Stack’s
Bowers Galleries Official Currency Auction of the Whitman Coin &
Collectibles Spring Expo will feature a spectacular Fr. 355 1890 “Ornate Back”
$2 Treasury Note graded Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ by PMG. The note is tied with
two other examples as the finest graded for the catalog number by PMG.
The
"fancy back" type was issued in three different variants, Fr. 353,
354, and 355, and all are very rare in Uncirculated grades, and even more so in
Gem. For this Friedberg number specifically, the number of Uncirculated notes
graded by both PMG and PCGS combined is
six. At Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ, this note has only two peers with none graded
finer. Very few collectors may own this variety in an Uncirculated grade, and
the number who can own a Gem can be counted on one hand. Certainly the number
of collectors desiring a superb note is higher, and we anticipate that the
auction result will illustrate this fact.
The
portrait on the face of this note is that of Union Major General James Birdseye
McPherson. This series of notes was designed to celebrate the strength of the
Union, undoubtedly effective at a time when many Americans remembered their own
experiences of the Civil War. McPherson, killed in the July 1864 Battle of
Atlanta, served as chief engineer under General U.S. Grant in 1862, and later
served in the Vicksburg Campaign (1862-1863) and the Battle of Shiloh (1864),
after which he was given command of the Army of the Tennessee. His death is
notable in more than one respect. The army he faced in Atlanta was led by
Confederate General John Bell Hood, who had been McPherson’s classmate at West
Point, illustrating how close associates and even brothers found themselves
opposing each other on the field of battle. Additionally he was the second
highest ranking Union officer killed in the war.
This
note hails from The Vanderbilt Collection and is estimated at $50,000-$75,000. The
Stack’s Bowers Galleries Official Currency Auction of the Whitman Coin &
Collectibles Spring Expo will be held March 22-23, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland.
To consign to an upcoming Stack’s Bowers auction,
contact Director of Currency Peter Treglia
at petert@stacksbowers.com or Currency Specialist Brad Ciociola
at bciociola@stacksbowers.com.
