PMG-graded 1861 Demand Note Leads A.J. Vanderbilt Collection Sale

A spectacular PMG-certified 1861 $5 Demand Note, attributed as Friedberg 2, is the highlight of Stack’s Bowers’ A.J. Vanderbilt Collection of US Paper Money auction, to be held on March 22 in conjunction with the Whitman Baltimore Expo. Graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, this is the highest-graded Demand Note in existence.

In fact, Stack’s Bowers says this is the only Demand Note that has earned an Gem Uncirculated grade, and estimates it will sell for $250,000 to $350,000.

1861 $5 Demand Note, graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ. Click images to enlarge. (Images courtesy of Stack's Bowers)

Demand notes were issued by the US government in 1861 and 1862 amid its financial distress during the early part of the Civil War. They are the earliest form of US paper money that is still redeemable today. They were replaced by Legal Tender notes, which were used from 1862 to 1971.

Although millions of the Demand Notes were issued, only a few hundred are known to survive across all three denominations ($5, $10 and $20) combined. PMG has certified fewer than 200 Demand Notes, and this PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ note is by far the finest of all of them. (The next finest in the PMG Population Report for the Fr. 2 variety is a PMG 35 Choice Very Fine example.)

To learn more about this note, visit the Stack’s Bowers website.

Other highlights of the A.J. Vanderbilt Collection paper money auction include:

• An 1890 $2 Treasury Note, graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, estimated at $50,000 to $75,000.
• An 1870 $5 National Gold Bank Note, graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine EPQ, estimated at $50,000 to $75,000.

The next day, on March 23, Stack's Bowers will present its Session 7: US Currency Auction in Baltimore. Among the PMG-graded highlights from that sale are:

• A 1928 $5,000 Federal Reserve Note (Richmond), graded PMG 50 About Uncirculated, estimated at $175,000 to $275,000.
• A 1934 $10,000 Federal Reserve Note (Boston), graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated, estimated at $175,000 to $275,000.
• A 1934 $5,000 Federal Reserve Note (Chicago), graded PMG 30 Very Fine NET (Restoration), estimated at $70,000 to $90,000.