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Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
Stack’s Bowers
Rare 1878 $500 Banknote May See $500,000
July 31, 2012Once every five years or so, according to currency dealer Stacks Bowers, an 1878 $500 Legal Tender Note surfaces at auction. The last time that this one appeared, in 2007, it brought $517,000. Classified technically as a “Friedberg 185d,” it’s rated ‘Very Fine’ and one of only six known, one of which is in the Smithsonian and another in the Federal Reserve Bank of N.Y. When this example comes up at the ANA World’s Fair of Money Auction in Philadelphia on August 8th, it’s expected to realize $300,000-$500,000.
Read more...Rare Chinese Tael At N.Y. Coin Auction
December 21, 2011In the Far East, the word “Tael” generally refers to weight. In Chinese numismatics, it’s a coin. One unusual example is a “Pei Yang” Tael, minted during the reign of Emperor Kuang Hsu (1872-1908). The coin didn’t meet with much acceptance. Of the few produced, most were recalled and melted, making the example that Stack’s Bowers will be offering in N.Y. next month one of the rarities of Chinese numismatics. It’s expected to sell for $100,000-$125,000.
Read more...Rare Set of Silver Certificates Fetch $1.27m
August 18, 2011An extremely rare set of $1, $2, and $5 silver certificates has sold for $1.27m at a Chicago auction yesterday. The 1896 “Educational Notes”—a bound set of three uncut proof sheets—have been described as “the apex of artistry” in U.S. paper money. In my opinion,” said Q. David Bowers of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, which hosted the auction, “this…is the most important lot ever offered at auction in the entire history of collecting American paper money.” The sale price was considerably higher than the $1m estimate.
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