Favorite Unobtainable U.S. Currency Note

Why did they glue this all on!!!

 

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Nice website! A lot of good information and Great images -- especially the cherubs.

 

They are held on by the little clear tabs on the sides and top/botton. You have to look close, but I guess that's the point.

 

thank you ronterry and gsalexan. i worked a long time on how to best display the notes. it was a fun exercise.

 

I got my hands on a great book, "U.S. Essay, Proof and Specimen Notes" by Gene Hessler, and found a *truly* unobtainable piece -- an 1862 $3 Legal Tender Note. Well, specimens of the front and back designs anyway. This was prepared by the American Bank Note Co. but never issued, obviously. I was so amazed to discover that $3 federal currency had even been designed, I had to share it. Wish it was in color, but it's a b/w book.

The central vignette, "Army and Navy" was engraved by Louis Delnoce. He was one of the rare engravers to work independently in later life, and produced engravings for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, ABNC and a number of other bank note firms.

 

wow, that is a really cool note, gslexan! Now is that related to the 1862 US Note series? I know that on the $1, they had little circles that would be highlighted for the various denominations $1, $2, and $3. However the $3 bill was never issued. If this would have been the design for the $3 note, i wonder why the dropped the little highlighted circle design?

You can see the 1, 2, and 3 circles on this 1862 $1 note (center, bottom)

 

gsalexan:

I actually have the "Army and Navy" Central Vignette Engraving Proof, it is something I cherish very much!

RickieB

 

Yes, wonderful site, WingedLiberty. It's visually interesting to look at too, which is always something I like.

One request... next time you make an update, please see if you can manage to make that text a bit larger! I'm the same age as you, so my eyes are probably failing at the same rate yours are, and it's tough to see! Perhaps I have more DPI on my monitor than you do (96 for me), but man is that text small!

Dave

 

Well I thought I would post this vignette..it is very special to me and is one of 5 that reside in my collection.



Enjoy this..the actual engraving is the size of a business card...lol

RickieB

 

Great piece RickieB

 

I always wondered how they were able to engrave so much detail onto so little space, by hand no less. I bet after a few years their eyes were shot.
Guy

 

Hey thanks DaveM!

Yes, I think you are right. I will try making the text bigger next time I make an update to my website.
I have a big 24" monitor, so I probably have a skewed view of the internet world.
Thanks for the feedback (always helpful!)



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Rickie, that is really neat. Thanks for sharing it...the detail is amazing.

 

I also have another great one, The Altar of Liberty.
It too is simply superb.

Coleguy. many of the engravers used loupes to work by so magnification was indeed essential to see fine line details.

RickieB

 

Nifty! But...why does the flag have 19 stripes?

 

here's mine:

http://www.papermoneyauction.com/notes/bb1_executivecurrency_100USNA1.JPG

It's a 1966 $100 United States Note serial number A00000001A

there's a family memory that goes with the note, so I love this bill, but I don't think that Mike Abramson is going to just give it to me!

 

i love those old red seal $100's

cool picture posted ... is that from the Civil War?

 

Yes, that's definitely a Civil War vignette, with Union uniforms. And yes, the $3 note would have been part of the U.S. Note series -- but the Treasury liked National Bank Note's design better than American Bank Note, so NBN got the contract. On the dollar note you posted I always noticed the 3 in that 1,2,3 motif, too. So clearly a $3 bill was contemplated, but for some reason they decided a $1 and $2 was sufficient.

Rick thanks for the close-up of "Army and Navy" -- I'd love to see the Altar of Liberty if you want to do some scanning. I have quite a number of BEP and ABNC vignette proofs. This might call for a separate thread!

 

Mike, you OWN that note?? Man, I sure am jealous if you do!

 

No problem, my pleasure..no need for another thread as I will just post these here for you.

Two have some foxing going on as they are very old indeed, The Eagle, Barbara, and Panama Girl are from a very special friend of mine.
Sorry to have marked them up with copy protection but these are meant for viewing only.

Woyuld love to see some of yours as well.

Regards,

RickieB


Altar of Liberty- Used on $10,000 Bonds


E.Everett


Barbara


Eagle 1



Panama Girl