Lot 1165
Fr-278. 1899, $5 Silver Certificate. The margins are slightly askew, but the note is very nice quality for this very popular design. Serial number M86754094.
The famous Indian Chief note. It is a fun bit of trivia that the Indian is wearing the incorrect war bonnet on his head. What happened is this; a high ranking member of the Oncpapa or Hunkpapa Sioux Tribe was chosen to portray a Native American on this note, so Running Antelope was photographed by the Bureau of Ethnology wearing his traditional 3 upright eagle feathers bonnet. However, the feathers were too tall to fit into the small area on the center of the note, so the Bureau decided to use a different war bonnet that was not quite so high. The National Museum was contacted and a Pawnee war bonnet was procured, and a new photo shoot was ordered of Running Antelope. As the other war bonnet was from a rival tribe, Running Antelope refused to wear it. Undaunted, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing used one of its own employees to pose with the Pawnee war bonnet, and thus photographed, the Bureau then cut the photograph up and placed the offending war bonnet on the head of Running Antelope, and thus engraved the note we have here. Crisp Uncirculated.
Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,200.
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| Realized $1,121 |
