Bank Notes and Related Graphic Arts from the Collections of Vsevolod Onyshkevych and Princeton University – August 30, 2010, to January 2, 2011

Paper money as a form of art might seem the makings of a rather small exhibition, to judge from the modern bills of the United States and Europe. Bank notes, however, have constituted one of the dominant forms of visual communication for the past two centuries, and in many cases can be seen as works of art in their own right. Princeton University’s Numismatic Collection is featuring currency worth looking at in the exhibition “Money on Paper” on view in the August 30, 2010, through January 2, 2011.

New Jersey, 1 shilling, December 31, 1763.
Printed by James Parker, Woodbridge.

Because British colonial policies resulted in a dearth of circulating coins, the American colonies were the home of the earliest regular issues of paper money. Illustration was applied to colonial currency as an anti-counterfeiting device as well as for aesthetic purposes. Not surprisingly, the most inventive printer of paper money of the time was Benjamin Franklin, who devised a system of transferring the vein patterns of tree leaves to printing plates to foil counterfeiters. The Princeton exhibition includes a large selection of Franklin’s nature-print notes, as well as issues of Paul Revere and the South Carolina engraver Thomas Coram, who brought classical imagery to that colony’s bank notes.

One of the highlights of the exhibit will be the first public display of the recently discovered banknote engraving of a grouse by John James Audubon, the great wildlife illustrator’s first published work. On display with a sample sheet containing the vignette will be an original watercolor by Audubon, a steel printing plate from The Birds of America, and the Princeton first edition of the elephant folio book open to the page with Audubon’s drawing of the pinnated grouse.

Asher B. Durand, one of America’s greatest painters, was also a major figure in the development of bank note art in this country. Along with his brother Cyrus, who invented a highly decorative series of anti-counterfeiting devices, he developed a classical, patriotic approach to bank note design that dominated the medium for the first half of the nineteenth century.

Montgomery $1,000
Confederate States of America, $1,000, Montgomery, May 22, 1861.
Portraits of John C. Calhoun and Andrew Jackson.

A section of the Princeton exhibit will explore the divergence of imagery on the bank notes of northern and southern issuers before and during the Civil War. Collectors of paper money will be especially interested by the complete set, in Extremely Fine condition, of six notes printed by the National Bank Note Company in New York and smuggled into the Confederacy in 1861 for distribution as notes of Montgomery, Alabama, and Richmond, Virginia. The American section of the exhibition ends with the high point of American bank note art, the Educational Series of 1896, designed and engraved by some of the most important illustrators of the day. (more…)

Heritage Auction Galleries’ Signature® Currency Auction, held Aug. 11-15, including the non-floor session held on Aug. 15, contributed more than $3 million to the $46+ million total realization of Heritage’s official ANA World’s Fair of Money auction in Boston, MA.

Highlights from Session One included a possibly unique complete uncut sheet of 16 red and black Continental Currency January 14, 1779 Extremely Fine-About New, which realized $28,750. An outstanding New York November 1, 1709 (Lyon Dollars) 2 Ounces 15 Pennyweights or 4 Lyon Dollars PCGS Choice About New 55PPQ sold for $23,000, while a number of Mormon-related pieces had strong showings, including a rare countersigned Kirtland, OH- The Kirtland Safety Society Bank $2 March 9, 1837 G4 Wolka 1424-06 Nyholm 31 Rust 5 grading PCGS Apparent Very Fine 30, which brought $20,700.

National bank notes were offered during Session Two, where a Boston note brought the highest price – realizing $20,700 – a new to the census Boston, MA – $50 1875 Fr. 444a The State NB Ch. # 1028 PCGS Apparent Very Fine 20.

Also in the session two Territorial notes drew strong prices: a Roff, IT – $10 1882 Brown Back Fr. 490 The First NB Ch. # (W)5417 PMG Very Fine 25, unique as a Territorial from the bank, sold for $16,100, while an Enid, OT – $5 1902 Red Seal Fr. 588 The Enid NB Ch. # (W)8231 PMG Choice Fine 15, one of two known, also realized $16,100.

The highest price realized for a single note in the auction came in Session Three when the Fr. 2221-B $5000 1934 Federal Reserve Note PCGS Very Choice New 64PPQ crossed the auction to the tune of $103,500.

Another highly anticipated piece of currency was the “King of Errors” double denomination Fr. 2071-K $20/$10 1974 Federal Reserve Note PMG Choice Uncirculated 63, which soared to $32,200. Among the Large Size highlights was the Fr. 1217 $500 1922 Gold Certificate PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ, a spectacular note that sold for $66,125.

All prices realized include 15% Buyer’s Premium.

Official Auctioneer of the ANA World’s Fair of Money, Aug. 11-16

The Official Currency Auction of the 2010 ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston, MA will be conducted by Heritage Auctions Aug. 11-16. The auction includes three floor sessions and one online session. Lot viewing will be conducted at the Hynes Convention Center, Room 210, 900 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02115 and the floor sessions will be held at the Hynes Convention Center, Room 203, 900 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02115.

In addition to lot viewing in Boston, a preliminary lot viewing will take place at Heritage Galleries Beverly Hills, 9478 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite #100, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 on Friday, July 30, 2010 and Saturday, July 31, 2010.

Session One will begin on Wednesday evening, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. ET and includes Continental Currency, Colonial Currency, Fractional Currency, Encased Postage, Obsolete Currency, Confederate Notes, a Confederate Bond, Miscellaneous, Postal Notes, Military Payment Certificates, World Currency, and Canadian Currency.

Heritage Currency Auctions is presenting The Collection of a Patriotic American, a complete collection of all 102 Friedberg numbers associated with Continental Currency and believed to be the finest collection ever assembled. The collection also includes 71 additional related items, including the extremely rare marbled edge counterfeit detector; eight extra Fugio bills representing the different plate positions; 21 different contemporary counterfeits; nine sheets of Continental Currency, including a very rare sheet of Fugio bills; and nine counterfeit detector sheets. Among the 71 items are 23 pieces issued by cities and states payable in Continental Currency: four notes from Albany dated 1776 and 19 typeset certificates from Georgia dated June and September 1777.

Among the many highlights of the collection is the finest known Continental Currency May 10, 1775 $20 PCGS Choice About New 58PPQ. The $20 from this first issue of Continental Currency is the only piece of the 102 different Continental Currency notes that has a different shape, size, paper, and color. Benjamin Franklin procured the distinctive marbled edge paper from his contacts in Paris.

Other exceptional rarities in the collection include: a Continental Currency February 17, 1776 Twenty Four Note Sheet Choice About New, the finest of three known examples; a Continental Currency May 20, 1777 Complete Double Sheet of Sixteen Extremely Fine-About New which is unique to Heritage’s best knowledge; a Continental Currency May 10, 1775 $20 Counterfeit Detector PCGS Choice About New 58, one of only two known examples and the only one available to collectors as the other piece belongs to the Colonial Williamsburg Museum; and a gorgeous Georgia June 8, 1777 $8 PCGS Choice About New 58PPQ that was payable in Continental Currency, hence its inclusion in this collection. (more…)