Gift from grandmother to grandson could bring $20,000+

DALLAS, TX – The only serial #1 star note from the Bicentennial $2 series known to exist in private hands will be offered by Heritage Currency Auctions of America in its Central States auction, May 1, at Cincinnati’s Duke Energy Downtown Convention Center.

The newly surfaced note had been hidden away by its owner since 1976, when it was obtained – along with the serial #2 San Francisco District $2 star, which accompanies it in this sale – by the consignor’s grandmother from a Bank of America branch in Oakland, Calif. She went in with the express purpose of obtaining a couple of the newly issued $2 Bicentennial notes for her grandson’s budding coin and currency collection.

The notes were placed in an envelope and forgotten until more than three decades later when that same grandson, for whom they were purchased in the first place, discovered the envelope. Now these pristine notes are going to be offered to the general public and the level of curiosity from the collecting world is expected to be high.

Each of the two notes has one light storage fold, acquired over the years, a minor exception in both instances. Otherwise each note is as pristine and undisturbed as the day they were pulled from the pack of bills at the Bank of America in the Bay area. Each piece is graded Choice About Uncirculated 58 EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) by PMG. The pre-sale estimate for the serial number 1 example is $20,000-$30,000 – which could prove to be quite conservative – as only one collector in the world will be able to boast of owning a serial number 1 Bicentennial star deuce when the hammer falls on this lot.

To see the rest of the lots in this auction, read detailed descriptions and download enlargeable hi-res images, go online to www.HA.com/Currency.

Exciting paper money discovery features unknown stamped signature pairing

The interests of rare U.S. currency collectors, and numismatists across the spectrum, have been piqued by Heritage Auction Galleries with the announcement of the discovery of a previously unseen significant rarity in the form of a 1915 $5 Federal Reserve Bank Note type. The newly listed Fr. 788a $5 1915 FRBN will serve as one of the anchors of Heritage’s 2009 CSNS Signature CAA Auction, in Cincinnati, May 1.

The Houston B. Teehee/John Burke signature combination on the note features the previously unknown stamped signature pairing of M.W. Bell as Secretary and Joseph A. McCord as governor.

“This is the first note ever reported with that combination,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage, “and the fact that a new Friedberg number has been created adds to the overall appeal of this note, which is already a beauty without the added value of this ‘new’ pairing.”
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Following six very successful auctions last season, Champion’s first sale for 2009 will be held April 1st at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers 3F Tang I , 20 Nathan Road, one block from the April Hong Kong Coin Show, being held at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile.

The lots in this sale can be viewed in the printed catalog and at Champion’s website: www.cghka.com.Both the catalog and the website listing appear in English and Chinese. Champion is the only auction house in the world to publish a fully bilingual catalog. Bidders may bid by phone or email or through a live auction website. http://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/18453

Although paper money highlights this Champion sale, there are many rare and interesting coins in the sale. One of the most important coins is the 1884 Kirin Half Tael silver coin (Kann 917; Lin 505), with 1987 ANACS Certificate, in choice uncirculated condition, estimated at $10,000. This coin is from a set of experimental coins which were soon discontinued and melted.

A newly discovered variety of the 1901 Kiangnan Dragon Dollar, which has a dragon with 6 claws instead of 5, appears in the sale, estimated at $8,000. Another recently discovered coin in this sale is a Kwangtung pattern 1 cash, without center hole, probably made in 1890, NGC SP62, estimated at $1,000.

Another key coin in this auction is the 1867 Hong Kong-Shanghai Tael with rays (Kann 912), rated Proof 65 by NGC, expected to bring $70,000 to $100,000. Most of the important coins in this sale have been certified by NGC , including a 1904 Hupeh Tael (Kann 933) NGC MS63, estimate $6,000, and a 1907 Tientsin Mint silver dollar with wave design border (Kann 212), MS63, estimated at $4,000. A seldom seen 1936 silver pattern dollar, with Sun Yat Sen and ancient spade coin design (Kann 635), NGC MS62 is also offered here, NGC MS62, estimated at $6,000. (more…)