Monk741 Posted July 12 Report Posted July 12 (edited) Hello, I was hoping to get some information on paper money ancestor kept. He was a banker end of 1800s. From what I can tell we have colonial and confederate notes, along with some foreign $. I am curious on options, if any of this is worth sending in for grading? Also would like suggestions on preserve it, if I don't send it in for grading. (Couldn't fit all photos in this post) Edited July 20 by Monk741
Fenntucky Mike Posted July 13 Report Posted July 13 (edited) On 7/12/2024 at 6:24 PM, Monk741 said: Hello, I was hoping to get some information on paper money my 2nd GG father kept. He was a banker in shaniko oregon end of 1800s. From what I can tell we have colonial and confederate notes, along with some foreign $. I am curious on options, if any of this is worth sending in for grading? Also would like suggestions on preserve it, if I don't send it in for grading. (Couldn't fit all photos in this post) Hello, welcome to the Forum. The notes your GG Grandfather saved could turn out to be the start of one heck of a collection. Unfortunately, Continental Currency and Confederate Currency are two fairly specialized areas of collecting as they are riddled with contemporary counterfeits, forgeries, varieties, etc.. That's not to say that a contemporary counterfeit wouldn't be worth anything, sometimes they are worth more than the actual note, but you'd need to be able to tell the difference between the two. If there is a local coin shop near by it might be worth it to take these down to them and see if they know anything about them, chances are they won't but it might be worth a shot. Other option would be to research each note on the web, specifically sold listings at auction houses like Heritage Auctions, Stack's Bowers, Great Collections, etc., Ebay is a good resource to but there are a lot of fraudulent sales on there so you have to be careful. Assuming that the CC is all authentic with no contemporary counterfeits you're probably looking at $100 - $300 a note due to their condition, could be a rare note in the group but unless you provide better images I won't be able to tell. The few that I can make out like the 1/3 dollar, # CC-20, in that condition is probably a $200-$300 note, the September 26, 1778 $5 note, #CC-79, is probably worth around $100 in that condition. It's amazing how many of these survived and many in generally decent condition. I also see that @wickedladderman has offered to help you and since it sounds like he has a specialized reference for these he may be able to shed more light on them than I can. The confederate currency I'd have to research note by note and if I have time I might look at a few. The Dominion of Canada in the other thread is in too poor of condition to be worth anything more than a buck or two. The Hungarian Fund $1 note in the other thread is in decent shape, looks like notes in similar condition are going for around $20 or so on ebay. As far as storing the notes I'd recommend buying a few mylar sleeves to put them in and just keep them in a cool dark place. You could buy a special storage box if you want but really any container will do, below is a link to Wizard Coin Supply, they also have an ebay store. For fragile notes like the CC pieces I might try to go with a sleeve that flips open as opposed to one that just has an opening at the top as it can be a little tricky to get fragile notes into a top load sometimes. https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/products/currency-sleeves/ EDIT TO ADD: As far as having the notes authenticated and graded goes I'd hold off for now and get everything identified, organized and properly housed/stored first, then once you have a better idea of what you have you can make a decision on sending them in to a third party grader. If your goal is to sell then I'd contact a few auction houses and if they are interested in having you consign the notes to auction they'll take care of having the notes sent off to a TPG, that is if they think it's worth it. Edited July 13 by Fenntucky Mike
wickedladderman Posted July 13 Report Posted July 13 i am happy to help, let me do some research when i return home after work and i will get back to you.
Monk741 Posted July 13 Author Report Posted July 13 Thank you both @wickedladderman @Fenntucky Mike truly appreciated. I ordered some mylar sleeves. I will plan to update better pictures of both sides once the sleeves arrive. Definitely dont want to handle them anymore in the condition they're in. I was blow away once i realized what i found in a box that had probably sat there a century in my family stuff. I would assume these are authentic with all the rest of his bank belongings but have not a clue.. Picked up a new hobby, probably the coolest thing ive ever found. Will update shortly. Fenntucky Mike 1
wickedladderman Posted July 14 Report Posted July 14 if the pictures didn't turn out well i do apologize. so i do need to see the front of the notes, i had to guess at a few but the dates should be all correct that i sent. the 1775 one, 1775 four, 1775 two, 1776 four, are the ones i need the front of. the 1775's they can be from may 10th or November 29th. and the 1776 four can be February 17, may 9, or July 22. the pictures have price list Monk741 1
wickedladderman Posted July 14 Report Posted July 14 look for these signatures, Monk741 and Fenntucky Mike 2
wickedladderman Posted July 14 Report Posted July 14 its not all the signatures of the declaration of independence but some to look for Monk741 1
Monk741 Posted July 15 Author Report Posted July 15 Big thanks @wickedladderman. This is helpful. Thought I would share my finding today as well.. I found the original brochure my gg kept. These lots were sold as collectibles early 1900s. This flyer is from 1905, has his check marks on the lots he purchased. Seems to match some of the bills we see here along with the lewis and clark coin we have in our possession featured in this brochure. Bit blow away but really excited about the findings. wickedladderman and Fenntucky Mike 2
Fenntucky Mike Posted July 15 Report Posted July 15 On 7/15/2024 at 12:55 AM, Monk741 said: Big thanks @wickedladderman. This is helpful. Thought I would share my finding today as well.. I found the original brochure my gg kept. These lots were sold as collectibles early 1900s. This flyer is from 1905, has his check marks on the lots he purchased. Seems to match some of the bills we see here along with the lewis and clark coin we have in our possession featured in this brochure. Bit blow away but really excited about the findings. The pamphlet is so cool. I'm sure the people on the coin forum would enjoy seeing this if you get a chance to post it over there or, if it's ok with you, I can. Sure seems likely that he could have order some of these note from Zerbe, very likely. He was the mail-order king of the time, bundling up a bunch of low value items and selling them off along with other trinkets. I see no mention of the Continental Currency in the pamphlet so your gg may have, probably, picked those up somewhere else. Monk741 1
Fenntucky Mike Posted July 15 Report Posted July 15 Took a look online for the Confederate States of America $5, Richmond 1863 note and it looks like notes in similar condition are going for around $30. This one sold for just over $30 Monk741 1
Monk741 Posted July 15 Author Report Posted July 15 Cool! Thanks @Fenntucky Mike. Feel free! I have recently joined reddit and posted to the r/coins & r/papermoney. I've been updating my recent findings on there. I realized last night that we have multiple matching items off his check list above. Including the "Nutshell fact coin book" attached. We have the Chinese cash/coins and the souvenir admission coin at another location that I'll be updating. Would these connections and history add more to the overall value as whole due to being a early example of currency collecting? Fenntucky Mike 1
Monk741 Posted July 15 Author Report Posted July 15 Here are some more of his pamphlets. Fenntucky Mike 1
Monk741 Posted July 15 Author Report Posted July 15 (edited) I was able to find one hand written reference to the colonials. " Scott Stamp" - NY Edited July 16 by Monk741 Was stoned and asked a dumbest question I already knew lol Fenntucky Mike and wickedladderman 2
Fenntucky Mike Posted July 15 Report Posted July 15 (edited) On 7/15/2024 at 10:50 AM, Monk741 said: Cool! Thanks @Fenntucky Mike. Feel free! I have recently joined reddit and posted to the r/coins & r/papermoney. I've been updating my recent findings on there. I realized last night that we have multiple matching items off his check list above. Including the "Nutshell fact coin book" attached. We have the Chinese cash/coins and the souvenir admission coin at another location that I'll be updating. Would these connections and history add more to the overall value as whole due to being a early example of currency collecting? Cool, I'll post it over at NGC, maybe some of the people will come over here and take a look at the rest of these. I think the pamphlets and anything else associated with the collection adds value both historically, monetarily, and adds context and depth. If I found something like this, that I collected, I definitely wouldn't mind paying a little extra to have everything included in the sale. On 7/15/2024 at 10:59 AM, Monk741 said: Out of curiosity. Are the mentions of civil war notes in the pamphlet above, not the colonials? Not the same thing, two completely different eras of history. Also the notes you posted are Continental Currency, not Colonials, Colonials are a different animal all together. On 7/15/2024 at 10:59 AM, Monk741 said: Interesting, I'm not sure if this is the same company, I have a feeling that it is, but here is an article chronicling the history of a Scott Stamp & Coin Co. The address, looks like a "7" but maybe a "1" could place this note as post 1926, not sure if that makes sense with what you know. I know the Zerbe pamphlet is from much earlier (1905), interesting stuff. https://www.numismaticmall.com/encyclopedic-dictionary-of-numismatic-biographies/scott-stamp-coin-company-ltd I cropped and reoriented this picture so that is easier to read. Edited July 16 by Fenntucky Mike Correction
Monk741 Posted July 16 Author Report Posted July 16 (edited) Thanks man this is awesome. The Zebre stuff makes since on the time frame. Since he was murdered in 1911(case of mistaken identity by a drunkard). Hence why all these collectibles were just left in a box and forgotten. Edited July 20 by Monk741