By Peter Treglia – Director of Currency, Stack’s Bowers ……
The official Stack’s Bowers Galleries United States Currency auction for the ANA World’s Fair of Money will feature an Uncirculated Fr. 126b 1863 $20 Legal Tender Note.
Continuing the general design used on the $20 Demand Notes, the face displays Liberty standing at center with sword and shield in hand ready to defend the Union. Ornate denomination counters flank her to left and right with a large green 20 seen at top center. This issue has the Second Obligation back layout with the text inside an oval frame. At the bottom of the face are printed signatures of Chittenden and Spinner, along with “American Bank Note Co. New York” at the bottom border. Treasury Seal nearly at far right. Red serial numbers at lower left and upper right. New Series 21 to 28.
The example crossing the auction block in our August auction offers bright paper and bold ink. The eye appeal is excellent and there are four nicely framed margins with good centering and nice originality. It appears that a small spot of foxing in the bottom left corner prevented the PPQ designation. We estimate that about 734,000 were printed and we also believe that fewer than 200 can be accounted for today.
This note will be presented in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries Official ANA Auction, scheduled for August 17-20 and 23-25 at our headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. Lot viewing will be available at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont, Illinois from August 7-13. The sale will be available for viewing and bidding at StacksBowers.com. For more information call 800-458-4646 or email [email protected].
