March 2026 Greensheet Market Analysis: Small Federal Reserve Notes Show Strength in Sales

Last month’s Greensheet deadline came before the conclusion of the massive Heritage FUN sale in which 1,893 lots sold and only sixty-six did not. By the time the auction ended on January 16, the total of prices realized, including the buyer’s fee, was $9,124,286. Fifty lots sold for over $20,000, and two dozen of them surpassed the $30,000 barrier.

A notable aspect of these results is that this was another sale in which the dominance of large-size type notes took a back seat to other categories, in no small part because large size is taking a breather as the market seeks equilibrium. Just 19 of the 50 were what would be considered large-size type, 12 were National Bank Notes, and eleven were high denomination ($500 and above) small-size Federal Reserve Notes. Patrick covered the National Bank Notes last month, so we will feature some of the others here.

The latter category accounted for four of the sale’s ten highest prices. An Fr.-2231A $10,000 of the Series of 1934 and the Boston district in PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 was $317,200, the highest recorded auction price for the note in this condition. One of eight known $5,000 bills from the Atlanta district and the much scarcer 1928 Series (Fr.-2220-F) realized $244,000 in PCGS Banknote AU 50, with small restorations. This was $28,000 higher than what Heritage received for this same item in May 2025, when it bore a grade of EF 45 from PMG.

One of two known Fr.-2231F 1934 $10,000s from Atlanta in PMG VF 30 was $183,000. This lot was also in the Heritage May 2025 sale where it went for $156,000. Finally, one of only four 1934 Superb Gem $1,000 notes graded by PMG, a 1934 Fr.-2211I from Minneapolis in Superb Gem Uncirculated 67 surpassed a five-year-old record by $5,600 by selling for $51,240. The Minneapolis bank issued only 12,000 pieces, and PMG has graded four 1934 $1,000s as 67 for all districts combined.

A trio of proof notes were also among the auction’s highlights. The plate note in Paper Money of the United States for Fr.-202, a face proof of a $5,000 1863 Interest Bearing Note, a note unknown in issued form, sold for $48,800. Only two of these are known. This one was labeled by PCGS Banknote as Extremely Fine 40 Details.

Also at $48,800 was a face proof of an Fr.-346e $1,000 1891 Silver Certificate in PMG Choice Uncirculated 63. It is printed on India paper with an unusual portrait of Liberty on the left and the bust of New York governor, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State William L. Marcy on the right. Only two examples are known of the issued note, one of which sold for $1,920,000 in 2019. The other is in the Smithsonian.

A probably unique face proof and one of possibly two known back proofs of an Fr.-183 $500 1862 Legal Tender note, the former described by PCGS Banknote as Choice Uncirculated 64, the latter as Very Fine 30 Details realized $30,500 for the pair. One of the more unusual U.S. currency designs, the face has a facing bust of Albert Gallatin, Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of the Treasury. The back proof is of the First Obligation. The only issued example of this design that has sold in recent memory was an Fr.-183c in PCGS Choice Uncirculated 64 for $900,000 in 2018.

The highest large size result was $64,050 for a serial number 29 Fr.-268 $5 Educational Note that in PCGS Banknote Superb Gem Uncirculated 68 is tied for the finest certified. The result was less than the $74,750 the consignor paid for it at the 2009 FUN sale, a price that remains the auction record price for the note. The price was nonetheless a realistic one in the present market.

A cut sheet of four Fr.-1072a $100 Boston Red Seal Federal Reserve Notes, all graded Choice Uncirculated 64 by PMG, was hammered down at $44,800, a result significantly off previous results. This may reflect the fact that although there are 26 of these recorded by Track & Price, 17 of them are uncirculated. The supply exceeds the demand at this price level for a note that is primarily collected by type.

The “bargain” of the sale was the $48,800 paid for one of the two privately held examples of the $50 1875 Legal Tender Note (Fr.-153). PMG called it Choice Fine 15. The other one is a Very Fine 20 that last went for $102,000 in 2024. There are two others known but barring deaccession, will never be available. An Extremely Fine is in the collection of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the other, About Uncirculated, is part of the Beebe collection at the ANA’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs.

Finally, an update for those who keep track of this sort of thing. It has now been 17 months since the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has posted a press release about anything. And it has been at least that long since we have had any news about the putative redesign of United States currency.