PMG-certified D. Brent Pogue Note Collection Realizes More Than $9 Million in Auction

The famed D. Brent Pogue US currency collection certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) realized more than $9 million in an auction held Thursday, March 19, by Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

The incredible results showed the resilience of the numismatic marketplace in the face of the current health and economic challenges. Of the 224 PMG-certified notes in the collection, 27 sold for more than $100,000 each.

Pogue, who died unexpectedly in July 2019, assembled the most valuable collection of coins and banknotes in history, with a market value well above $100 million. His notes, which were recertified by PMG in January 2020, include many finest-known examples, special serial numbers, Star / replacement notes and other great rarities. Many of the notes are pedigreed to some of the most important collections of the last century.

This 1863 $100 “Spread Eagle” Legal Tender note graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ realized $432,000. Click image to enlarge.

“We are extremely pleased with the results of the D. Brent Pogue Collection,” said Stack’s Bowers Director of Currency Peter Treglia. “We also deeply appreciate the efforts of PMG, which was instrumental in helping us get the collection certified and ready for presentation at auction”

“It’s been our honor to handle the certification of this extraordinary collection,” added PMG Chairman Mark Salzberg. “We are thrilled to see such strong results.”

The sale results were led by an 1863 $100 “Spread Eagle” Legal Tender note graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ that realized $432,000. The note, Fr. 67a, is a Gem example of the series that has a bald eagle perched on a rock with wings spread dominating the left side of the note’s front. PMG has graded a total of nine examples, none of them nearly as fine as the Pogue note.

This 1890 $100 “Watermelon” Treasury Note graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated EPQ realized $372,000. The note earned its nickname from the design of the large zeros on its back. Click image to enlarge.

An 1890 $100 “Watermelon” Treasury Note graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated EPQ realized $372,000. The “Watermelon” design, Fr. 377, earned its nickname from a resemblance of its large zeros on its back. This example is the finest graded by PMG. In fact, it is the only example certified by PMG in any uncirculated grade.

That result was closely followed by an 1891 $50 Treasury Note, Fr. 376, graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ, which realized $360,000. Only 80,000 of the one-year type note were printed, with only 23,500 of them issued. Just 22 are known, with only 15 available to collectors. This example is the second-finest known.

Next was an 1869 $100 “Rainbow” Legal Tender Note, Fr. 168, graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ. Only 30 examples are known and this is the only one with a PMG Uncirculated grade. It realized $312,000.

Two notes tied for $300,000. One was an 1869 $50 Legal Tender Note, Fr. 151, graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ. Some 70 examples of this note are known but this is one of only two that have received Uncirculated grades.

The second note realizing $300,000 was an 1875 $100 National Bank Note, Fr. 462, graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated. This note is Serial Number 1 and is the lone example known of this Friedberg number, which has the Rosecrans-Huston signature combination.

Other top results from the monumental sale include:

• An 1875 $50 National Bank Note, Fr. 449, graded PMG 55 About Uncirculated, realized $228,000. This is another Serial Number 1 rarity, the only known Serial Number 1 First Charter $50 and also is unique for its Friedberg number.
• An 1880 $100 Silver Certificate, Fr. 342, graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, realized $264,000. It is the finest graded $100 Silver Certificate known for all series and catalog numbers.
• A 1907 $1,000 Gold Certificate, Fr. 1219e, graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, realized $264,000. The note, with beautiful gold ink on its front, is by far the finest of the 22 examples that have been certified by PMG.
• An 1880 $1,000 Legal Tender Note, Fr. 187k, graded PMG 25 Very Fine, realized $216,000. One of four examples of this Friedberg number known, it is one of only two available to collectors.
• An 1878 $20 Silver Certificate, Fr. 306b, graded PMG 50 About Uncirculated, also realized $216,000. This is one of only two known counter-signed examples of this catalog number.
• An 1882 $500 Gold Certificate, Fr. 1216b, graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, that realized $216,000.
• An 1880 $50 Silver Certificate, Fr. 328, graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, that realized $204,000.
• An 1880 $100 Silver Certificate, Fr. 340, graded PMG 45 Choice Extremely Fine, that also realized $204,000.
• A 1934 $10,000 Federal Reserve Note, Fr. 2231-K, graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated, that realized $192,000.
• An 1863 $50 Legal Tender, Fr. 150a, graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ, that realized $174,000.
• A $10 Demand Note graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ, one of the first “greenbacks,” issued as the Civil War began in 1861, has a hand-written notation on the back signed by Charles Henry Dalton, at the time the Agent of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Washington. The note, Fr. 7a, realized $168,000.
• An 1878 $10 Silver Certificate, Fr. 285, graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated, that also realized $168,000.

An online gallery of the amazing D. Brent Pogue Collection can be seen at PMGnotes.com.

All of the prices realized include a 20% buyer’s premium.

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