1914 5$ Blue Seal Star Note FR-891A

Discussion in 'Paper Money' started by AirborneReams, Dec 15, 2021.

  1. AirborneReams

    AirborneReams Supporter! Supporter

    Hey all!

    I usually collect coins but found this hidden bill at a local antique store and something drew me to it. I know it’s not a very rare FR# from my understanding. I looked everywhere online and could not find anything on them. I checked for ones on eBay or sold ones within 90 days and could not find a single sale or listing. When sold
    to me this was marked as a FR-863B but someone determined from from placement and sizes of different markers in the bill it was the FR-891A (I do not know the right terminology).I asked a few buddies that are into currency and they could not give me a solid answer and the answers were all mixed. Either not common up to being a possible very rare note. Someone looked in their note book and could find this variety and the star note for it but there was no further info. Also I was reading for the star notes if the serial number does not end with a letter it is less common. Any insight and possibly info where I can look is greatly appreciated.

    AC4B8228-6677-4A7F-8C53-4F1EFD9471F1.jpeg 3E3A6F0F-DE5A-4A81-B2EE-A9690C6BCDC4.jpeg
     
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  3. SteveInTampa

    SteveInTampa Always Learning

    I’m pretty sure it’s an Fr.891a*. Even in its condition, it is worth several hundreds of dollars. If you don’t mind me asking, what did you pay for it ?
     
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  4. AirborneReams

    AirborneReams Supporter! Supporter

    Yes that’s what a friend of mine told me but he said he could not find anything on it value wise in the books he has or online. I got this right under 300. I wonder if it would be worth grading possibly just to get an official answer on it?
     
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  5. Gam3rBlake

    Gam3rBlake Well-Known Member

    Nice note!

    I noticed something interesting. At the bottom it says "It is redeemable in gold on demand at the Treasury Department of the United States in the city of Washington, District of Columbia or in gold or lawful money at any Federal Reserve Bank".

    So based on that its basically a gold certificate!

    That's interesting to me because I would've assumed it would be similar to $5 silver certificate.
     
  6. AirborneReams

    AirborneReams Supporter! Supporter

    Thank you sir! Could you imagine being able to do that these days just turn in your money for gold or silver?? So is this why they were called silver certificates?
     
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  7. Gam3rBlake

    Gam3rBlake Well-Known Member

    Yup. That's exactly why they were called silver certificates.

    You could walk into a bank and hand them a $5 silver certificate and they would hand you back 5x silver dollars (or some combination of silver coinage equal to $5).

    Or if you handed them a $20 gold certificate they would hand you back a gold $20 Double Eagle or maybe 2x $10 Gold Eagles (or some combination of gold coinage equal to $20).

    Although in a numismatic sense I'm not sure if yours qualifies as a "gold certificate". There might be something I am missing. I just think it's interesting that your note mentions being redeemable in gold and not silver because the front of the $5 silver certificate is very similar to the front of that note.
    link.jpg
     
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  8. Penna_Boy

    Penna_Boy Just a nobody from the past

    What the OP posted: It is NOT a Gold Certificate or a Silver Certificate it is a Federal Reserve Note Series of 1914 issued by the FRB in San Francisco.
    The Whitman Official Red Book of United States Paper Money page 99
     
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  9. Gam3rBlake

    Gam3rBlake Well-Known Member

    I appreciate the clarification. I wasn't speaking of a gold certificate in the official numismatic sense. I just meant that it was a note redeemable for physical gold.
     
    AirborneReams likes this.
  10. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    It is in darn good condition for its age. You did very well, thanks for sharing it.
     
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  11. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    I like it, but not for $300. But I don't collect paper
     
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  12. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    The reverse of this note is a work of art. This one is a bit circulated/creased for the price. It does say on the bottom reverse that is redeemable in gold. So that is confusing as it is an FRN and not a gold cert.
    I like it but I think $100 is a better price. You have to go to honest coin shops to get a better price (and condition). Stay away from antique stores, they are over priced and the condition will be poor. Unless you are cherry picking a miracle, and they don't know what they have you are never going to get fair value from an antique store for coins or notes. In a coin store that's their whole business, and their inventory is larger, with better quality and price.
     
  13. AirborneReams

    AirborneReams Supporter! Supporter

    I sent a picture of the front and back if this bill to old currency values . Com and they replied fairly quickly saying they’d give me 300 so it’s my assumption there is something of value here? Because I know they’d definitely under cut me but they also replied to nothing about my question on what it is they just threw that at me so sounds like they want it for whatever reason. Do you have a recommendation where I can take this to get it valued for what it is? Also I read without the serial number ending with a letter it is far less common.
     
  14. AirborneReams

    AirborneReams Supporter! Supporter

    Thank you friend.
     
  15. AirborneReams

    AirborneReams Supporter! Supporter

    Not a collector myself but a company that buys and sells offered 300 so that must mean they are under cutting me for their profits so I believe something is being missed on this. The company did not give me info just a price.
     
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  16. lettow

    lettow Senior Member

    A bank did not have to hand you anything back except $5.00 in whatever format they had. You could only demand gold or silver at the Treasury.
     
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  17. Gam3rBlake

    Gam3rBlake Well-Known Member

    I didn’t say they had to do anything.

    I’m saying chances are back in the day if you took in a note issued by a bank they would usually redeem it for coin.

    Back in the day almost every bank issued their own notes and it was expected for them to redeem their own bank notes for coin. Although often they would not redeem other bank’s notes.
     
  18. love old coins

    love old coins Well-Known Member

    I've never seen one of those and it's absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for sharing it with us!
     
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  19. Marsden

    Marsden Well-Known Member

    Aside from gold and silver, exactly what "formats" would they have had available for exchanging paper notes?

    Pennies and nickels I guess? I daresay all banks had silver on hand, and lots of it. Even gold was common before 1933.
     
  20. SteveInTampa

    SteveInTampa Always Learning

    I have an example of the note with a courtesy autograph from the Secretary of the Treasury at the time, Andrew Mellon.
    AFDED465-9335-48A4-914C-EFDAFBEDB601.jpeg
     
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  21. lettow

    lettow Senior Member

    Legal tenders, national bank notes.
     
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