Spink has announced the sale of the famous Number Eight £1,000,000 note. It is believed that only two notes of this high denomination exist in the world today, the other numbered 000007.

The million pound note was issued in connection with the Marshall Aid Plan after World War II and was intended for internal use as ‘records of movement,’ for a period of six weeks only. It is believed that nine examples were produced and only two, Numbers Seven and Eight, survived.

The two notes were given as mementoes to the respective U.S. and U.K. Treasury Secretaries. The Number Seven was first sold in 1977 and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as being the highest denomination note in private hands.

The 8-inch-wide green banknote, numbered 000008, was issued by the Bank of England on Aug. 30, 1948, in connection with the Marshall Aid Plan in the aftermath of World War II. It bears the signature of E. E. Bridges in the lower right hand corner and is cancelled over the signature and stamped 6 October 1948, Bank of England.  Spink’s  said the defunct note, entered for sale by the U.K.-based banknote collector Bill Parkinson, may fetch 35,000 pounds to 40,000 pounds at its Oct. 1 sale of world banknotes.

“This is the highest denomination of banknote we’ve ever sold,” said Barnaby Faull, director of banknotes at Spink. “There are hyperinflation Weimar-period notes for 10 billion marks, but they would only have bought a cup of coffee.” (more…)

Auction Features Two Outstanding Collections, “The East Bay Collection of International Banknotes” and “The Eduard Kann Chinese Banknote Collection”

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, will conduct an auction of exceptional international banknotes in New York City on October 27-28, 2008, with lot viewing at the auction site October 25-28. The auction is compiled of two premier collections, “The East Bay Collection of International Banknotes” and “The Eduard Kann Chinese Banknote Collection,”consisting of more than 2,000 total lots. It will be held at the Hilton Times Square, with live auction simulcasts at the John Bull Auctions offices in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, and the Heinrich Köhler Auktionshaus offices in Wiesbaden, Germany. Pre-auction lot viewing will be available in multiple locations around the world, including California, Germany and Hong Kong, as well as at the Maastricht Paper Money Show in the Netherlands, the PCDA Paper Money Convention in St. Louis, Mo., and prior to the auction in New York. The auction will be spearheaded by Bowers and Merena in conjunction with sister companies John Bull Auctions, Ltd., of Hong Kong, and Heinrich Köhler Auktionshaus of Germany. Complete lot viewing and auction schedules are available at www.bowersandmerena.com.

“The East Bay Collection” is believed to be the largest collection of international banknotes ever to come to market. Assembled over the course of 40 years by a private collector in Northern California, it consists of more than 30,000 notes representative of over 150 countries. The entire collection will be auctioned over the coming year in multiple auctions around the world, debuting in this October auction with Chinese and related Asian banknotes and Russian and European banknotes.

“The East Bay Collection” was secured by Ronald J. Gillio, numismatic acquisition coordinator for Bowers and Merena Auctions and world coin and banknote specialist. “The scope of this collection is absolutely wonderful in both quantity and quality, and without question the most comprehensive collection I’ve ever known,” said Gillio. “The Russia and China sections constitute by far the strongest groupings of the collection,” he added. There are approximately 2,800 Chinese banknotes and 2,500 Russian banknotes included in the collection. (more…)

In the upcoming September Long Beach auction, Heritage Currency will be offering a complete paper money proof design collection for both the Kingdom and the Republic of Hawaii.

This is the largest offering of Hawaii proofs since the 1990 auction of the ABNCo archives. Proofs are the only realistic way to collect notes from this exotic locale as issued notes are unpriced in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.

These proofs were originally housed in the same printer’s binder and thus they share many characteristics. They have been printed on India paper, cut down to the size of the design, and mounted on a 9 by 11 inch card stock-like, type-written dated binder page. In all but a couple of cases, the issued stub is present. The face and back proofs are mounted on the same binder page except in two instances. The binder page also has behind it an interleaved page that was manufactured at the Crane & Co. paper mill in Dalton, Massachusetts.

The face vignettes are for the most part ranching, commercial sailing, and railroading with the occasional Hawaii specific vignette. Each face proof has from two to four punch cancels as is normal for proof notes. The punch cancels are only through the India paper and not the card stock. Also, the faces have the denomination in both English and Hawaiian.

Each back proof carries the Hawaiian Coat of Arms which includes two men in feathered cloaks and helmets flanking the shield. They are said to be the twins Kameeiamoku and Kamanawa, who helped Kamehameha I unify the islands in 1810. The motto “Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono” (“The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness”) is written on a sash under the scene. Two slightly different versions of the Coat of Arms are depicted depending if the note was printed during the monarchy or later during the republic era.

All in all, these are historical and important notes that exhibit some of the finest of the engraver’s art. Also, do not let the abundance of Hawaiian riches in this auction fool you in to believing that these notes are commonly available. These notes have been off the market for over a generation and it might be that long again before another opportunity arises.

Heritage Auction Galleries, the official auctioneer of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Expo, will conduct a 6,000+ lot Currency Signature® Auction on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, September 17-19, 2008 at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 South Pine Ave., Long Beach, California. The Convention Center is also the site of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Show, as well as the location for lot viewing for all Heritage auctions. Nearly 2,000 of the lots will be included as part of the online session.”The auction is anchored by the impressive $5mm+ Jupiter Collection and the Dr. Edward and Joanne Dauer Collection of Demand Notes,” said Dustin Johnston, Consignment Director for Dallas-based Heritage. “Other notable collections include offerings from the Albert Rollins Collection, The Norman Collection, The Sandpoint Collection of Idaho Nationals, and another installment from the Collection of a Louisiana Gentleman.”

“Wednesday evening’s session will open with more than 300 Colonials anchored by the Collection of a Louisiana Gentleman,” Johnston said, “and will then continue on move to a selection of more than 400 Obsoletes, including a complete denomination set of PMG graded Kirtland Safety Society Mormon Notes, and many high grade Proofs. Confederate Notes, MPC’s, Canadian Currency, Encased Postage, and Fractional Currency will round out the evening. Perhaps the most important highlight of this session is one of Canada’s most coveted rarities, a newly discovered DC-19 1911 $500 ‘Queen Mary’ graded Very Fine 20 by PMG.”

Johnston continued, “Session Two, which kicks off early Thursday evening, will feature over 800 National Banks Notes, including some of the most exciting discovery notes of the year. The Fr. 399 1865 $5 Original Ch. 2130 First NB Red Oak, IA Serial Number One with Black Charter Numbers, a Fr. 618 1902 $10 Date Back Ch. (P) 9512 The Peoples NB National City, CA Serial Number One, and a Fr. 616 1902 $10 Date Back Ch. (S) 7740 Claiborne NB of Tazewell, TN, will all be offered to collectors for the first time. The Tazewell note is the first reported note from this locale, and the Black Charter Number, Serial Number One note is the only Black Charter serial number one example known to exist.” (more…)