GreatCollections Offers PMG-certified Colorado Territorial Note that Could Realize Six Figures
Posted on 5/19/2025
More than 70 rare Colorado banknotes certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) are being offered by GreatCollections, including the only known note from Creede. Bidding is already underway for The Centennial Collection of Colorado, with individual lots closing June 8 through June 29, 2025.
A top PMG-certified highlight from the collection is a Creede, Colorado 1882 $5 with Serial Number 1 graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine EPQ (lot 1810184). It was issued by the First National Bank of Creede, Colorado, which was chartered in the early 1890s during the town’s short-lived but explosive silver boom. According to the auction house, this particular note is a grail of Colorado National Bank Notes because it is the sole surviving banknote from Creede. This is only the second time this historic note has appeared at public auction in over a century, with the note most recently realizing $101,790 in December 2012.
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Another PMG-certified highlight in the sale is a Denver, Colorado Clark, Gruber & Co. $5 - Remainder graded PMG 30 Very Fine (lot 1810178). Clark, Gruber & Co. is well-known for minting coins in Denver in the early 1860s from gold mined nearby, before its facilities were turned into a US Assay Office and, eventually, the Denver Branch Mint. This attractive banknote features an iconic Western theme that includes a frontiersman hunting a buffalo in the center and the portrait of William Gilpin, who served as the first governor of the Colorado Territory from 1861 to 1862, on the right. According to the auction house, only two Proofs are known to exist today alongside a few Remainders that, despite being classified as unissued, show clear signs of circulation. Bidding for this note and the Creede one will end on June 22.
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Other PMG-certified notes being offered from this collection include:
- a Sterling, Colorado 1902 $10 with Serial Number 1 graded PMG 30 Very Fine (lot 1810260), with bidding ending June 29
- a Pueblo, Colorado Territory $1 graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ (lot 1810212), with bidding ending June 8
- an Eads, Colorado 1929 $20 Single Sheet with Serial Numbers 1-6 graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated EPQ (lot 1822112), with bidding ending June 22
- a Colorado Springs, Colorado 1882 $20 graded PMG 25 Very Fine (lot 1810199), with bidding ending June 8
- an Leadville, Colorado 1875 $5 graded PMG 53 About Uncirculated (lot 1810185), with bidding ending June 29
- an Central City, Colorado Territory 1875 $5 graded PMG 30 Very Fine EPQ (lot 1810218), with bidding ending June 15
- a Durango, Colorado 1902 $10 with Serial Number 1 graded PMG 30 Very Fine EPQ (lot 1810263), with bidding ending June 29
- a Denver, Colorado Territory $20 graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine and pedigreed to Amon Carter (lot 1810180), with bidding ending June 22
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