Diverse Rarities Offered In Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ November 2024 Currency Showcase Auction

Costa Mesa, CA – Stack’s Bowers Galleries is pleased to announce the November 2024 Showcase Auction of U.S. Currency. Featuring over 400 lots, the sale draws together a diverse offering of bank notes, from iconic rarities to historic items that reflect pivotal times in American history.

Leading these highlights is a Fr. 2231-B 1934 $10,000 Federal Reserve Note that was once part of the legendary assemblage of $1,000,000 in cash that was displayed at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. Composed of approximately 100 $10,000 Federal Reserve Notes all issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, this display was contained within a giant golden horseshoe and was one of many Las Vegas attractions that appealed to tourists and gamblers alike. Broken up for sale in the early 2000s, the display itself has been replaced, but this note is a reflection of the Las Vegas of old and will be offered as lot 7296. 

Additional exciting rarities include a piece which can trace a continuous provenance back to the 1930s through the hands of William Philpott Jr., who for much of his adult life was the head of the Texas Bankers Association. Later the note was owned by Peter Huntoon, and most recently the consignor, who acquired it from Huntoon within the past few years. This 1934 $20 Federal Reserve Star Note from the Dallas district, representing a scarce Friedberg number and bearing serial number K00000001*, is found in lot 7237.

Lot 7059 presents a T-35 $5 “Indian Princess” note issued under the authority of the Confederate States of America during the early months of the American Civil War. Believed to have been saved by a distant ancestor of the consignor around the time of that conflict, this piece was discovered in an antique copy of John S.C. Abbott's The History of the Civil War in America that had been passed down through his family since at least the 1920s. Assigned a grade of Very Fine 25 by PMG, this is among a small number of examples representing this catalog number that are free of the restorations and impairments frequently encountered on this short-lived and extremely rare design type.

The November 2024 Showcase Auction also presents notes from the Santa Claus Collection, comprising a number of Obsolete notes depicting the jolly saint synonymous with the Christmas holiday. The Santa Claus Collection offers Obsolete specialists the opportunity to acquire multiple renditions of Santa Claus encountered on notes issued by various banks across the United States. Lot 7048 presents the sole example of a Type IV vignette known to exist on an issued note. Also included are a variety of proofs and associated items such as steel cylinder dies featuring engraved Type I, II, and III Santa Claus vignettes.

A trio of high denomination Gold Certificates in lots 7182, 7183, and 7183 round out this auction, all attractive specimens for their Friedberg numbers. Each features a denomination that has long been discontinued, and all represent huge sums of money for the time in which they were issued.

The entire Stack’s Bowers Galleries November 2024 Showcase Auction is now available for viewing and pre-sale bidding at StacksBowers.com. For questions about the November auction or to consign your numismatic items to an upcoming sale, please contact Stack’s Bowers Galleries at (800) 458-4646 or by email at info@stacksbowers.com.