Rare PMG-certified Gold Certificates Shine in US Banknote Auction
Posted on 8/19/2025
An impressive selection of US banknotes that are certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) is turning heads in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction on August 28, 2025. The sale includes a variety of high-grade Gold and Silver Certificates, Legal Tender Notes and Treasury Notes, offering collectors a rare opportunity to acquire some of the finest surviving paper currency from America’s storied financial past.
Gold Certificates were issued in the United States between the 1860s and 1930s, backed by gold held in the Treasury and redeemable in coin upon demand. With vivid orange or gold overprints and bold designs, they circulated primarily in large denominations and were used mostly by banks and the government. Most were recalled and destroyed after the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, making surviving examples rare and highly sought after by collectors today.
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Among the highlights of this auction is an 1882 $20 Gold Certificate graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ and pedigreed to the Dauer Collection (lot 23150), with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. This rare and exceptionally well-preserved $20 note with a Bruce-Wyman signature combination was printed between 1883 and 1885 on threaded security paper with a brownish-red Treasury seal. There are a mere 15 examples of this catalog number in the PMG Population Report, and only one graded higher than this.
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Also offered is a 1922 $1,000 Gold Certificate graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ (lot 23183), with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. Unlike most surviving notes, typically found in mid-grade without the Exceptional Paper Quality designation, this piece avoided the harsh fate of redemption and retains remarkable originality. Only 29 examples of this catalog number are found in the PMG Population Report, with this one earning the sole-highest grade.
Other PMG-certified notes in this auction include:
- an 1863 $100 Legal Tender graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine and pedigreed to the Mike Coltrane Collection (lot 23066), with an estimate of $75,000 to $125,000
- an 1882 $100 Gold Certificate graded PMG 25 Very Fine and pedigreed to the Dauer Collection (lot 23171), with an estimate of $75,000 to $125,000
- a 1906 $20 Gold Certificate with a Serial Number 1 graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (lot 23157), with an estimate of $60,000 to $90,000
- an 1899 $2 Silver Certificate with a Serial Number 1 graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 23092), with an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000
- a 1907 $10 Gold Certificate with a Serial Number 1 graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (lot 23145), with an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000
- an 1880 $50 Silver Certificate graded PMG 30 Very Fine EPQ (lot 23124), with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000
- an 1880 $100 Silver Certificate graded PMG 30 Very Fine (lot 23127), with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000
- an 1890 $2 Treasury Note graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 23130), with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000
- a 1922 $50 Gold Certificate graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ and pedigreed to the D. Brent Pogue Collection (lot 23170), with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000
- a 1922 $500 Gold Certificate graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated (lot 23178), with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000
To check out some of the coins certified by PMG’s coin-grading affiliate, Numismatic Guaranty Company®, available in this auction series, click here.
Estimates are provided by the auction house. The $ symbol indicates US Dollars.
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