Heritage's FUN 2001 Sale to Offer Rare $50 Second Charter Value Back National Bank Note

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Numismatic Auctions, Inc. is pleased to announce the offering of a rare $50 Second Charter Value Back National Bank Note in its upcoming 2001 FUN Signature Sale. Believed to be the fifth specimen reported, and one of a mere four known in private hands, this Series 1882 example was issued by the Winters National Bank of Dayton, Ohio, one of only two banks to ever issue a $50 note with this design. "This is an incredible item whose importance and rarity cannot be understated," noted Bob Korver, Director of Heritage Numismatic Auctions. "This is the first time we have had the pleasure to offer a note of this rare type, and this newly discovered example is the first to reach the market since the sale of the Levitan collection nearly three years ago. While National Bank Note collectors often focus on individual issuing banks, this specimen is certain to gain acceptance among a wide variety of bidders. I believe that both type collectors and National Bank Note specialists will have much interest in this remarkable rarity."

National Bank Notes were issued beginning with the National Currency Act of 1863, and were intended to stabilize the system of banking and currency in the United States. These first National Banks had charters that lasted 20 years, and by 1882 many of these institutions began to express concern over the rapidly approaching expiration date of their charter. The Act of July 12, 1882 provided for the extension of these charters for another 20 years, and mandated a change in the designs of the National Bank Notes that were currently being issued. The first issues of the second charter period were the Brown Back notes.

In 1908 an Emergency Currency Act known as the Aldrich-Vreeland Act amended the charters of existing National Banks, allowing them to issue notes that were not only backed by United States Bonds, but by other securities as well. This act, designed to increase the elasticity of the nation's money supply during economic panics, also provided for a new design on the reverse of the circulating National Bank Notes. The resultant notes were the Date Back issues, with new wording that indicated the change in backing securities. The Aldrich-Vreeland Act expired in 1915, and a third reverse design, the Value Back, was mandated on all notes in the second charter period. Since this period ended in 1922, the window to issue Value Back notes was open for a brief seven years.

Only two banks took the opportunity to issue both $50 and $100 notes with the Value Back design: one in Dayton, Ohio, and another in New Orleans, Louisiana. Only four specimens of the $50 denomination were known to exist prior to the discovery of this note, one from the Ohio bank and three others from the Louisiana bank. The other known specimen from the Winters National Bank of Dayton, Ohio is in the collection of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, leaving only four specimens in collectors' hands. The remaining three examples are all from the Canal-Commercial National Bank of New Orleans, Louisiana.

This new discovery specimen of the $50 Second Charter Value Back type recently surfaced in an accumulation of large size U.S. currency that was saved by a woman who was a bank teller in the Midwestern United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Found in an envelope by her nephew in an old desk drawer that he had inherited, this assortment of large size notes included many common 1917 $1 Legal Tender notes, several 1923 $1 Silver Certificates, and one very worn 1899 $5 Silver Certificate of the "Indian Chief" design. Mixed in this unremarkable lot of old currency, however, was a "pearl of great value"--the fifth known specimen of the $50 Second Charter National Bank Note Value Back design. Of course, this discovery is fortuitous for the note's consignor, but it is also a stroke of luck for collectors of United States currency, one of whom will now have the opportunity to own one of the monumental rarities in the National Bank Note series.

"This note has many remarkable qualities, not the least of which is its remarkable rarity," noted Jason W. Bradford, Heritage's Currency Cataloger. "The paper is somewhat aged, not unusual for a circulated note of this vintage, and this fact limits the overall technical grade of the note. There are several folds present, including a rather heavy horizontal crease through the center of the note. Nevertheless, with solid remaining body and overall aesthetic appeal, I have no hesitations about grading this note Fine. A few minor pinholes are present, but these are more than offset by the nice black pen signatures and the excellent centering. The technical condition, while wholly acceptable, is overshadowed in importance by the rarity of this note as a type. The opportunity to own one of the only four $50 Second Charter Value Backs in private hands should excite many potential bidders."

Heritage's upcoming Florida United Numismatists Signature Sale is the official auction of the FUN convention. The auction will be conducted January 3-5, 2001, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. For more details about this collection, or for information on consigning to our FUN Signature Sale, please contact the Heritage Consignor Hotline (1-800-872-6467 Ext. 222) or bids@heritagecoin.com. Images of these and other auction highlights are available at HeritageCoins.com.