Lot 4738
1862, $1 United States Note. The First and Last Note Printed. . Fr-17a. . KL-2. An amazing pair of Green Backs. Consists of the very first note, Serial Number 1 in PMG Very Fine 20 and the last note printed, Serial Number 100000 in PMG Very Fine 20 with splits & staining. A unique opportunity.
As stated in Lyn Knight's Oct. 2004 Sale of the John Whitney Walter Collection catalog: This is the first issue legal tender note that bears the portrait of Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln when this note was designed. The story says that his political aspirations were responsible for having used his own portrait on this note. Later he served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He remains well known among numismatists for his efforts of having the motto "In God We Trust" adopted on our coinage. The pictured notes are offered as a pair, for as you can see, they represent the first and last of the run, or better described as the lowest and highest serial numbers available on the issue. Each time 100,000 notes were printed the series number was changed. This pair of notes survived as part of the famous Robert Schermerhorn Collection and were later sold by Stack's in 1990 (lot 1046) where they realized $7000. Today these notes remain equally as rare as they have been for over 140 years.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 20,000.
Both ex John Whitney Walter.
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| Realized $17,250 |
