Our official United States Currency auction
for the ANA World’s Fair of money will feature an Uncirculated Fr. 126b 1863
$20 Legal Tender note. Continuing the general design used on the $20 Demand
Notes, the face displays Liberty standing at center with sword and shield in
hand ready to defend the Union. Ornate denomination counters flank her to left
and right with a large green 20 seen at top center. This issue has the Second
Obligation back layout with the text inside an oval frame. At the bottom of the
face are printed signatures of Chittenden and Spinner, along with
“American Bank Note Co. New York” at the bottom border. Treasury Seal
nearly at far right. Red serial numbers at lower left and upper right. New
Series 21 to 28.
The example crossing the
auction block in our August auction offers bright paper and bold ink. The eye
appeal is excellent and there are four nicely framed margins with good
centering and nice originality. It appears that a small spot of foxing in the
bottom left corner prevented the PPQ designation. We estimate that about
734,000 were printed and believe that fewer than 200 can be accounted for
today.
This note will be
presented in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries Official ANA Auction, scheduled for
August 17-20 and 23-25 at our headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. Lot
viewing will be available at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont,
Illinois from August 7-13. The sale will be available for viewing and bidding
at StacksBowers.com. For more information call 800-458-4646 or email
info@stacksbowers.com.
