Numbers: Why or what is it about the Series 1934 through 1934 D Star Notes that seems not to shed any light on production figures? I am having the hardest time trying to find out details on some of these Star notes. If you have an explanation, I for one would really be interested in learning about why? Thanks.. RickieB
Much of the data on early production does not differentiate between specific series. To BEP operators at the time there was only "Series of 1928" or "Series of 1934," not A or B or C, etc. Many times the first serial number printed on a different series was recorded, but the last serial was not. For example, I have all the delivery records for Series of 1928 regular notes and star notes, but the problem is that none of it is divided into 1928, 1928A, or 1928B. It takes observations of many notes to find the breaks between one series and the next. And because the face plates were mixed during this era, the changeover between two series can span hundred of thousands or millions of serial numbers.
Rickie, it took only 5 minutes to find this 1934 $10 LGS note on Heritage. S&L's high # listed in the new book is G19222143A. This could become a full time job!
Sorry for the slow reply; long weekend, y'know. Jamie already covered one aspect of the topic pretty well: And in addition to that, most of the records of 1934-series star note printings appear to have been lost. So for most denominations we don't even have official high serials for the end of Series 1934D; all the numbers in the references are estimates based on observed notes. (And as you've been noticing, there are plenty of notes out there that've never been observed by anyone who bothered to report them to the authors....) So the bad news is that, for the 1934 FRN stars, there's not a lot of precise information available as to just what was printed when. And the corresponding good news is that, with a little effort and recordkeeping, you can find yourself knowing more about the topic than the books do--which can be an advantage when judging what prices are worth paying....
So would it be safe to say that this includes- Silver Certs and possibily Legal Tender Star Issues as well? RickieB
To varying extents, yes. In those cases we've at least got official high serials--e.g. the 1934-dated $10 SCs ended at *01980000A, at the end of Series 1934D--but still no official records of the first/last star notes printed for Series 1934A, B, C. So all the references can do is list the low/high observed serials. Those listings tend to be more accurate in the widely collected series and denominations, and less accurate in series where there's been less interest.
I could be WAY off what you"re talking about, but I have some *'s on a few of my early notes and was told they were replacement notes....?
In regards to Numbers, he supplemented my post with very good additional information, and I would like to add that not all is lost. There are ledgers in the National Archives that contain handwritten entries of daily serial number printings for regular notes for various Series of 1928 and 1934 classes. I believe, as do other researchers, that identical ledgers were maintained for star printings. After all, the BEP is simply a production plant, and everything had to be accounted for, down to the last sheet. The problem is that the BEP operators were not always diligent about labeling these ledgers with the actual contents. They also tended to add data to a ledger originally used for a different purpose. (For instance, the plate records for 12-subject backs are in a book titled "Series of 1902 plates.") This confusion is compounded by the archivists at the NA who frequently do not know what they are looking at, and enter these ledgers under incorrect titles in the call records. Surrendipity is your friend when looking through 20th-century BEP records! I am meeting Peter Huntoon at the archives this Friday, and will continue the search...
Thanks for the info Jamie and Numbers.. might as well post what I have so you two will have some Idea of the SN's New Low SN for Non star High SN for Boston $20 High SN for New Back 34 C Star RickieB
