PMG-certified $5,000 Federal Reserve Note Realizes $144,000 in Stack’s Bowers Auction

A rare high-denomination Federal Reserve Note that realized six figures was among more than 600 US banknotes certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) that were offered in a recent Stack's Bowers Galleries auction. The Stack's Bowers sessions included the Session 6 - U.S. Currency Part 1 on March 27 and Session 10 - U.S. Currency Part 2 on March 28, 2024.

The top PMG-certified lot was a 1934 $5,000 Federal Reserve Note (Chicago) graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine (Part 2, lot 21376), which realized $144,000. Serious collectors vied for the opportunity to own one of the rarest high-denomination notes ever issued in the United States. The fourth US president and "Father of the Constitution" James Madison is prominently featured in a portrait that adorns the front of the note. The PMG Population Report contains only 43 examples of this particular catalog number, making up about a third of the 126 total examples of $5,000 Small Size Federal Reserve Notes listed there.

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Other PMG-certified banknotes in the auctions included:

• an 1862 $50 Legal Tender graded PMG 30 Very Fine NET (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21084), which realized $96,000
• an 1891 $50 Silver Certificate graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21174), which realized $66,000
• an 1862 $10 Legal Tender graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21053), which realized $63,000
• an 1880 $50 Silver Certificate graded PMG 30 Very Fine (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21173), which realized $55,200
• an 1890 $20 Treasury Note graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21182), which realized $48,000
• an 1891 $20 Silver Certificate graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21170), which realized $40,800
• a 1918 $500 Federal Reserve Note (Cleveland) graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21242), which realized $36,000
• a 1928 $1,000 Gold Certificate graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (Session 10 - Part 2, lot 21403), which realized $34,800
• an Ashland, Wisconsin 1882 $5 National Bank Note with Serial Number 1 graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (Session 6 - Part 1, lot 20428), which realized $16,800
• a Sylvania, Georgia 1902 $20 National Bank Note graded PMG 25 Very Fine (Session 6 - Part 1, lot 20253), which realized $14,400
• a Paris, Illinois 1875 $20 National Bank Note graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ (Session 6 - Part 1, lot 20260), which realized $12,000
• a Piedmont, Alabama 1902 $10 The First National Bank Note graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated with Serial Number 2 (Session 6 - Part 1, lot 20223), which realized $10,800

Prices realized include a buyer’s premium. The $ symbol indicates US Dollars.