Our official United States Currency auction for the ANA
World’s Fair of Money will feature Lot 20264 Fr. 345d 1880 $500 Silver
Certificate graded Choice Fine 15 by PMG.
Just two examples of this Bruce-Wyman signed 1880 $500 Silver
Certificate of Deposit are known to survive. One note is permanently impounded
in the collection of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco while the note
offered here is the only privately held example of the catalog number.
These $500 notes were printed and issued in accordance with
an Act of Congress passed February 28 1878, and featured the portrait of
Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner at right. Sumner is perhaps most notable
for being the victim of a vicious caning at the hands of South Carolina
representative Preston Brooks on the floor of the United States Senate on May
22, 1856. Brooks had taken offense to an anti-slavery speech titled "Crime
Against Kansas" that Sumner had recently given. Sumner was so severely
injured that he left the Senate to recuperate. He was reelected in November
1856 and in time was able to return to Washington.
The $500 Silver Certificates of 1880 feature a large brown
Treasury Seal at top center with a brown 500 counter below. This catalog number
has the engraved signatures of Bruce and Wyman stacked to the lower right of
center. The black printed backs display SILVER in large, ornate letters at
center.
This example displays darkly printed inks and evenly
circulated paper. The design is fully framed by ample margins on both the face
and back. The grading service has added a "Minor Restoration" comment
to the back of the holder. Any such work appears to be limited in scope and
extremely well executed. There are no obviously distracting characteristics
about the note to speak of.
Just three examples of this type are privately held and
available to collectors. Two examples of the Fr.345c are available to
collectors in addition to the note now offered. The Joel R. Anderson example of
the Fr.345c sold in our August 2018 ANA auction for $750,000 and then again in
our August 2019 ANA auction for the same number. This note last traded publicly
in an October 2006 auction for $776,250.
This is without a doubt an elite level note – only one
collector can lay claim to a Fr.345d. This is a rare opportunity to obtain a
trophy note of this caliber and one that should be eagerly seized upon.
The Stack’s Bowers Galleries August ANA auction has been
posted to our website for your bidding and viewing pleasure. To consign your
U.S. paper money and world paper money to a future sale, contact a consignment
specialist at 800-458-4646 or visit StacksBowers.com. For more information on
viewing lots or for assistance in registering to bid, email your inquiry to:
Info@stacksbowers.com.
