Coins and bank note engravings on Commemorative Panels

I’m going to call this an SEG pseudo-presentation, since I plan to periodically expand this thread with additional information.

One of the best kept secrets, to those who collect bank note engravings, is the Commemorative Panel series, issued by the US Postal Service. I consider it the most cost-effective and comprehensive library of intaglio vignettes, portraits and ornaments any collector could acquire. Yet, because most coin and paper money collectors associate the panels with stamps (if they’ve heard of them at all), they are largely ignored in the numismatic field. Which is a huge misfortune.

The USPS began putting out these vertical cards in 1972, and the series continues, although the intaglio printing ceased at the end of 2001. They are similar to souvenir cards, but each panel contains a block of stamps and highlights the subject of the specific stamp with informative text and usually three thematically related engravings. Many of these vignettes were originally engraved as far back as the 1830s and they are often found on obsolete bank notes, foreign currency, stocks, bonds, and other securities. At least one appears on national currency: the Statue of Freedom on $5 Demand Note of 1861 (see CP373). For myself, these engravings are of much more interest than the stamps themselves. They were produced by many well known firms, chiefly American Bank Note Company, and span a vast range of U.S. history...

 

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The American Society for Philatelic Pages and Panels (APSSS) is the only organization I’m aware of that specifically serves panel collectors. You can learn more on their website at www.asppp.org/index.htm. The group takes a largely philatelic perspective on panels, but they offer a good resource for collectors and hold regular auctions where you can often get a good price on panels. Note: don’t confuse panels with Souvenir Pages, which are entirely different.

Initially the USPS averaged about 15-17 panels a year; by the late ’90s they surpassed 30 a year. In its first three decades, the USPS Commemorative Panel series put out 644 panels, representing well over 1,500 intaglio vignettes. At least a third of these would be of interest to students of bank note art...

 

Commemorative panels are readily available through a variety of sources. You’ll find them on eBay and other online auctions, through stamp dealers and occasionally booksellers. You can often pick them up for $4-7 each and if you buy a large lot they may average out to $3 apiece. Because interest in these panels has waned over the years, dealers are often happy to unload them cheaply when they are acquired in other collections. I always ask about panels if I attend a stamp show. I was once lucky enough to come across a dealer selling a collection for the face value of the stamps contained in the panels! ...

 

I applaud your active interest in this area. An extremely worthwhile pursuit , which more often than not is completely overlooked by the Young Collector today.

 

The list of topics covered by panel vignettes is long. You’ll find planes, trains and automobiles, as well as stagecoaches, steamboats and sailing ships. Western pioneering is captured in scenes of mining, agriculture, and ranching, with historical depictions of native Americans, African-Americans, and Chinese culture. There are scenes from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, landscapes, cityscapes, classic architecture, pretty ladies (alas, all clothed), presidential portraits, state seals, animals, birds and insects...

 

And, of course, coins. Many vignettes depicting coins on paper money are replicated on various panels. Two of the nicest examples are panel CP369, issued for the 29¢ stamps on numismatics. I’ve compiled the others I’m aware of, and scanned some of the vignettes at higher resolution. Commemorative Panels are listed in Scott Specialized Catalog; their catalog numbers generally correspond to the numbers listed on the bottom right of each panel. These are the ones I've included here:

CP49 - Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1975)
CP57 - Banking and Commerce (1975)
CP142 - Savings and Loans (1981)
CP207 - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (1984)
CP211 - Credit Union Act of 1934 (1984)
CP369 - Numismatics (1991)
CP373 - District of Columbia (1991)
CP554 - Philanthropy (1998)

I’m hoping this thread will be enough to jump start a few readers to add Commemorative Panels to their collections. I’ll post more scans on other subjects, as time allows.

 

awfully wonderful works of ART .

 

Fantastic presentation Greg!

More than a few others I'd like to pick up after having just recently added the NUMISMATICS panel to my collection.

Thanks for all the info and scans to go with this presentation. :thumb:

 

Ships and Sailors

I think I'll add more to this thread on a maritime theme. So many panel vignettes relate to sailing ships and steamboats because they were so prevalent in the 19th century. I want to share some of the best ones. You'll find many of these on obsolete banknotes, as well as stocks and bonds.

 

Sailors show up in many of these vignettes. One of the most famous is "The Hail" co-engraved by Alfred Jones and James Smillie. This is the one with the sailor holding something that looks like a horn.

 

You'll also find some terrific historical scenes, like the Civil War battle of the ironclads (the Monitor and the Merrimac), and whaling scenes, engraved in the period these events occurred.

 

More sailors...

 

And last -- great riverboat and harbor scenes and a few other non-maritime vignettes from these same panels, to whet your appetite for more.

 

I was scanning a few things today and noticed that the bag of coins (post #2 above) also shows up in the 1991 ABNC Archives portfolio on the "Gold Fever" panel. Even more interesting is the 1870 gold coin depicted at the top. Eagle? Double Eagle? You decide.

 

gsalexan;

Could this be a megaphone? Voice travels so well over water, I imagine ships could talk to one another when side by side. They didn't have the nautical flag code in the early days. Regardless, I consider you our resident engraver specialist in panels, bonds, deeds, certificates, paper money vignettes and the like. Over the years I have bought a few examples after seeing your posts drawing attention to them. You are definitely a diligent one man promoter of these works. Keep up the strong effort.

 

Could be -- although the mouthpiece looks a little small to talk into. You know, it could also be an ear trumpet to improve hearing.

 

Signaling trumpet?

 

The sailor appears to be on watch; looking at or for something. Perhaps it's a fog horn and he is listening for the horn's return echo, indicating unseen danger.

 

This was a joy to read and review.
Nice job and great pieces.

 

I hadn't thought about this thread for some time, but in searching for information about a particular vignette I went through my collection again. I thought it would be fun to give it a bump on a particular topic: the Civil War. In addition to the battle of the ironclads, posted earlier in this thread, I dug up seven other panels with Civil War related vignettes. Many of these appear on bonds from the era and a great number show up on the large format recognition certificates presented to Union army veterans after the war by various states.

The panel notes that this vignette was the work of engravers John Davis and James Smillie.

This one, entitled "Volunteer's Departure," was engraved by Charles Burt.

This vignette -- "Army and Navy" -- was engraved by Louis Delnoce in 1862 and was used on an essay by American Bank Note when the Treasury was considering a federal $3 note.