Collection of PMG-certified US Banknotes Includes Rare Gold Note and Error Note

A group of over 300 US banknotes that are certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) is being offered in the World Banknote Auctions Navy Commander Collection Part 1 sale. Bidding is already underway for the sale, which is being held March 10, 2023. This auction is focused on National Bank Notes, including over 150 from California, which were gathered by a dedicated collector over several decades.

The PMG-certified note with the highest estimate in this auction is a First National Gold Bank, Oakland 1875 $10 graded PMG Fine 12 (lot 5051), which is expected to realize between $12,500 and $15,000. During the period of 1870-1875, nine National Gold Banks were chartered in California. Images of gold coins appear on the reverse side of the note to represent the note's actual backing.

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Another extremely rare highlight of this auction is a Boston, Massachusetts 1929 $10 National Bank Note with a Mismatched Block Error graded PMG Very Fine 25 (lot 5184). This note has an estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. There were six notes in each sheet of the Type 1 notes dated 1929, all with the same serial number but with different prefixes. There would be an A prefix on the first note, a B prefix on the second note and so on. This error note was almost certainly caused by human error involving the setting of the prefixes, converting a B into an E.

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In a news release issued by World Banknote Auctions, President Dennis Hengeveld said, “This is an extremely exciting discovery and the first example of such an error to come to light in many years. Only two examples were previously known.”

Other PMG-graded notes in this auction include:

• a First National Gold Bank, Stockton 1873 $10 graded PMG Very Good 10 (lot 5158) with an estimate of $6,000 to $7,500
• a First National Gold Bank, San Francisco $10 graded PMG Very Good 8 (lot 5077) with an estimate of $4,000 to $5,000
• an Imperial, California 1882 Brown Back $5 National Bank Note graded PMG Very Fine 20 NET (lot 5031) with an estimate of $3,000 to $4,000
• a Los Angeles, California 1882 Date Back $50 Date Back National Bank Note graded PMG Very Fine 25 (lot 5036) with an estimate of $3,000 to $4,000
• a First National Gold Bank, San Francisco 1870 $5 graded PMG Fine 12 (lot 5076) with an estimate of $3,000 to $4,000
• a Santa Paula, California 1882 $10 Brown Back National Bank Note graded PMG Choice Fine 15 (lot 5153) with an estimate of $3,000 to $3,500
• a San Francisco, California 1902 $20 Red Seal National Bank Note graded PMG Very Fine 20 (lot 5091) with an estimate of $2,000 to $3,000
• a Crows Landing, California 1929 $5 National Bank Note graded PMG Choice Fine 15 (lot 5017) with an estimate of $2,000 to $2,500
• a Hardwick, California 1902 $20 Plain Back National Bank Note graded PMG Very Fine 20 (lot 5028) with an estimate of $2,000 to $2,500
• a Marysville, California 1902 $5 Plain Back National Bank Note graded PMG Very Good 10 (lot 5047) with an estimate of $1,500 to $2,500

All estimates are provided by the auction house.