PMG Discovers New Friedberg Variety!

Posted on 11/6/2008

Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) is thrilled to announce that it has discovered a new variety of the 1915 10 Dollar Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Note which has been given the Friedberg number 817b.

Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) is thrilled to announce that it has discovered a new variety of the 1915 10 Dollar Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Note, which has been given the Friedberg number 817b. The Friedberg number refers to Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg’s Paper Money of the United States, the authoritative reference of US currency. The discovery note features hand-signed signatures rather than the engraved or stamped signatures seen on previously known varieties and is graded About Uncirculated 58 EPQ. It will be included in an upcoming Heritage Auction Galleries sale.

Chad Hawk, a grader at PMG, discovered the note. Chad comments, ”This discovery is very special to me. I’ve been blessed to see some of the world’s finest notes, but this will stick with me forever.”

click image to enlarge

On its potential impact, Chad notes, ”This discovery is important because it will encourage collectors to keep looking, because discovery notes are out there, waiting to be discovered. If more notes of this type surface, we may be able to find out why they began signing and hand-stamping the signatures in the first place. As Federal Reserve Bank Notes were among the first transitions from Nationals to Federal Reserve Notes, this discovery could help us understand more about the transition from signed notes to engraved plates.”

Federal Reserve Bank Notes came into existence with the creation of the Federal Reserve System. Two separate issues were issued: the series of 1915 and the series of 1918, and they are avidly collected and studied. The 1915 10 Dollar Notes from the Kansas City issuing bank carried the signatures of Teehee & Burke (Register and Treasurer of the U.S.) and Cross & Miller (Cashier and Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City).

There was thought to be only two varieties of the note: one with the bank signatures plate engraved (Fr. 817) and another with bank signatures hand-stamped in red with Cross as ”Acting” Secretary (Fr. 817a). The discovery note carries the same signatures as both 817 and 817a, but the signatures of Cross and Miller are hand- signed. Glen Jorde, President of PMG, adds that ”This is the first time this has ever been seen on any of the 1915 Federal Reserve Bank Notes, let alone the Kansas City district. This is perhaps the most important discovery in the past 10 years in the Federal Reserve Bank Notes series.”


PMG Grader Chad Hawk and the Discovery Note

Stay Informed

Want news like this delivered to your inbox once a month? Subscribe to the free PMG eNewsletter today!

Thanks!

You've been subscribed to the PMG eNewsletter.

Unable to subscribe to our eNewsletter. Please try again later.

Articles List