The Official Currency Auction of the 2010 Central States Numismatic Society Convention in Milwaukee will be conducted by Heritage Auctions April 28 to May 3. The auction will include three floor sessions and an online session. Lot viewing will be conducted at the Midwest Airlines Center, Rooms 201 A thru D, 400 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203 and the floor sessions will be held in Rooms 203 A and B.

Session One starts Wednesday evening, April 28, at 6 p.m. CT, and includes Colonials, Fractional Currency, Obsoletes, Confederate Notes, and Canadian Currency. Featured lots include: Fr. 1330 50¢ Third Issue Spinner PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ; a rare Kirtland, OH- The Kirtland Safety Society Bank $50 Mar. 9, 1837 G16 Wolka 1424-16 Rust SV6; New Orleans, LA- Citizens’ Bank of Louisiana $10 Uncut Sheet of “Dixie” Notes PMG Choice Uncirculated 63; T2 $500 1861 PF-1 PMG Choice Very Fine 35; and a unique Windsor, NS- Commercial Bank of Windsor $20-$20-$20-$20 Ch. 195-10-02S Uncut Specimen Sheet PMG About Uncirculated 50.

National Bank Notes will be sold during Session Two, on Thursday, April 29 at 6 p.m. CT. The auction includes Part II of selections from the Lone Star Collection, an assemblage of National Bank Notes formed over three decades consisting of the very finest notes that could be obtained from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The consignor’s Arkansas collection is almost certainly the finest ever formed, with his Oklahoma holdings ranking as one of the two greatest collections ever formed on that state, and the Texas collection rivals any ever assembled save for that of William Philpott.

Among the notes from the collection being offered are a unique Serial Number One $50 Date Back from Oklahoma Madill, OK - $50 1882 Date Back Fr. 564 The First NB Ch. # (W)5404 PMG Very Fine 20 and Marietta, IT – $10 1882 Brown Back Fr. 490 The Marietta NB Ch. # (W)5958 PMG About Uncirculated 55.

Additional National Bank Note highlights from Session Two include: Oakland, CA – $10 1875 Fr. 419 The Union National Gold Bank Ch. # 2266 PCGS Very Fine 35PPQ; Serial Number One Lead, SD – $5 1882 Brown Back Fr. 472 The First NB Ch. # 4631 PMG Very Fine 30; and Serial Number One Lake Ronkonkoma, NY – $20 1929 Ty. 1 The NB of Lake Ronkonkoma Ch. # 13130 PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ.

The floor sessions of the auction will conclude with the Friday evening Session Three offering of Small Size Currency, Error Notes, and Large Size Type Notes. The session will begin at 6:00 p.m. CT. Small Size selections include: Fr. 2221-H $5000 1934 Federal Reserve Note PMG Choice Extremely Fine 45 Net; Fr. 2231-J $10000 1934 Federal Reserve Note PMG Extremely Fine 40 Net; and Fr. 2407 $500 1928 Gold Certificate PMG Choice Very Fine 35. (more…)

The new design for the $100 note will make its debut on Wednesday, April 21 during a ceremony at the Department of the Treasury’s Cash Room. The U.S. government redesigns currency in order to stay ahead of counterfeiters and protect the public.

Decisions about the redesign of each denomination are guided by the government’s close evaluation of the range of ongoing counterfeit threats, whether from digital technology or traditional printing presses.

The ceremony in Washington, D.C., will be held at 10:00 a.m. U.S. EDT and will feature:

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner

Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Ben Bernanke

Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios

Director of the United States Secret Service Mark Sullivan

When the new note begins circulating, it will be important for people to know that it is not necessary to trade in old-design notes for new ones. All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued.

The unveiling of the $100 note is the first step in a global multi-government agency public education program implemented by the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Secret Service, to educate those who use the $100 note about its changes before it begins circulating.

The $100 note is the highest value denomination of U.S. currency in general circulation, with up to two-thirds of $100 notes held outside the United States. (more…)

On the 23rd and 24th of January 2010, Spink held a magnificent sale of Stamps, Banknotes, Coins and Bonds of Hong Kong and China, at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
The sale featured a number of rare and valuable items which resulted in fantastic prices at auction including a new record for a Chinese banknote.

This note was the first one yuan note available for public purchase and it caused quite the bidding frenzy on the day of the sale. A Taiwanese Collector was the lucky buyer in the end.

The highly valuable note features 2 black dragons signifying the prowess of the Emperor and Monarch and accordingly named as the “Ooi-Long note”, in the middle “Xuan Tong Yuan Bao”.

The Kwangsi bank existed for a brief stint of less than 2 years before being reorganised in 1911 and the notes were subsequently recalled.

To date, only 3 examples of this note have been discovered, and it is noteworthy that all 3 are believed to be in the hands of collectors outside Kwangsi.

Barnaby Faull, Director of Banknotes at Spink, commented, “This was an absolutely fantastic auction. We offered a fresh collection of Chinese notes from an English collector and the new material resulted in great interest from collectors around the world. The Chinese market is very buoyant and potentially unlimited and this was without doubt the finest sale to be held in Hong Kong for banknotes. The sale also featured a wonderful collection of coins and bonds. In the end, nearly HK$11 million was sold at auction on the day.” (more…)