Heritage Offers Vintage High-Denomination US Rarities Certified by PMG

More than 1,600 US banknotes certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®), including several high-denomination Federal Reserve Notes and others with Serial Number 1, are being offered in a sale presented by Heritage Auctions. Bidding is already underway for Heritage's GACC U.S. Currency Signature Auction, which opened in mid-September and will conclude on October 8-10, 2025.

The top PMG-graded highlight in the auction is a 1934 $5,000 Federal Reserve Note (Dallas) graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (lot 22327), with an estimate of at least $300,000. This exceptionally well-preserved example of the coveted high-denomination note features the portrait of Founding Father James Madison, who served as the fourth President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. According to the auction house, a mere 2,400 examples of these $5,000 notes were printed for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Today, only 21 examples of this particular catalog number are in the PMG Population Report, with only two earning higher grades.

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Another PMG-graded highlight in the auction is a 1934 $5,000 Federal Reserve Note (New York) graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated (lot 22325), with an estimate of at least $250,000. Printed for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, this similar high denomination note also features Madison's portrait and an attractive lime green overprint. For this particular catalog number, the PMG Population Report includes only eight examples, with only one graded higher.

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The Heritage sale also includes five PMG-certified Federal Reserve Notes with Serial Number 1 from San Francisco that were printed with Red Seals. To take a closer look at these US rarities and some of the other highlights of the auction, go here.

Other PMG-certified notes in the auction include:

• an 1882 $100 Gold Certificate graded PMG 15 Choice Fine (lot 22233), with an estimate of at least $250,000
• a Tucson, Territory of Arizona 1875 $5 National Bank Note graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated EPQ (lot 20210), with an estimate of at least $200,000
• a First National Gold Bank, Petaluma 1874 $100 graded PMG 10 Very Good (lot 20276), with an estimate of at least $200,000
• a 1928 $500 Gold Certificate graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (lot 22337), with an estimate of at least $100,000
• an 1882 $100 Gold Certificate graded PMG 20 Very Fine (lot 22231), with an estimate of at least $60,000
• a Shoshoni, Wyoming 1902 $10 National Bank Note graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (lot 21063), with an estimate of at least $60,000
• an 1880 $100 Legal Tender graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated (lot 22064), with an estimate of at least $50,000
• a Houston, Texas 1875 $2 National Bank Note graded PMG 8 Very Good (lot 20890), with an estimate of at least $50,000
• a Galveston, Texas $5 National Bank Note with Serial Number 1 graded PMG 20 Very Fine (lot 20878), with an estimate of at least $50,000
• a 1914 $100 Federal Reserve Note (Boston) graded PMG 67 Super Gem Uncirculated EPQ (lot 22194), with an estimate of $40,000

Estimates are provided by the auction house.