Souvenir cards

The most direct way is to buy from the BEP when a series is issued, that's where I got these. If you want to spend retail, aftermarket, probably the best dealer is Ken Barr:
http://www.kenbarr.com/souvcd.html

But you can frequently find these cards on eBay. Just do a search for "souvenir card 1994." I, personally, don't care for cards with Visitor Center cancellations, but it's just my preference.

You can also find many souvenir cards listed in BidStart -- http://coins.bidstart.com/Paper-Money-U-S-/2201/c.html -- but I haven't seen this series much.

 

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Was really happy with my luck at the WFoM. Came home to find my copy from the BEP as well.

 

Darryl, you got a spider press proof -- well done! I didn't realize they'd be printing those for this series, since these cards aren't designated for any particular show. I'm assuming they did a daily lottery for the 100 cards, as usual. What price were the cards offered at and did you actually get to see them pulling the cards on the press?

 

Plus 1 !!!

Would also love to get a spider press version of the 150th BEP Souvenir card that I got last week.

 

Thanks Guys!

They had two drawings a day 10 cards in each drawing. The cards were $50 each. I was very happy to get the 1st card Friday morning after missing out on Thursday. I would have stayed at the show for the afternoon and Saturday morning drawing if I had to. Fortunately I didn't have too and was able to get back to Pittsburgh Friday night for a charity event I really wanted to attend. I spent some time talking with Mike again this year but I didn't get to see him print them. I am assuming he printed them on the first day. It's the 2nd year that I have been lucky enough to get one. 1 dealer and son had won 5 of them over the first few days. Some of them may show up on eBay over the next week or two. I would keep an eye out if you are really looking to pick one up. I saw multiple copies go to family members.

 

BTW: The BEP brought a 2nd press this year that they did not have at the show last year. Thought I would share:

 

My copy of the Souvenir Card Journal arrived today and with it the annual card given to SCCS members. These are always intaglio engraved and in the past have included some nice vignettes. I recognize the eagle on this as an American Bank Note design. It was engraved by James Bannister in 1864. Bannister also engraved elements of several Nationals during his career.

 

Greg, sharp looking card!

Picked up 3 very nice pieces today, cannot wait to get them and share!

 

The plan literally and unfortunately had a wrinkle in it. One package was damaged in shipping but fortunately for me the seller had a second copy and it is on it's way. The first few images are from 3 new additions that made it safe and sound. the images after that are teasers from the piece that arrived damaged. When I get the replacement I will post an image of the entire sheet.

Best Regards ~ Darryl

 

I got my BEP card a couple days ago! Not as nice as the first one in the series (Lincoln) but a good bookend.

Looks like you picked up the Big Blue Sheet (as I call it)! I was never able to figure out the purpose behind why ABNC issued that, but it's a beauty. I look forward to a full scan!

 

Card #3 of 3 celebrating the BEP's 150th birthday

 

Well here it is, survived the USPS and Super-storm Sandy! What did you think of the trains? I loved them, especially the blue. The images really pop.

 

Very cool "Blue Sheet" as are the other images. What is the Blue Sheet called?
I wonder if Ken Barr might have one?

Mike

 

Did a little hunting through the SCCS catalog and I found it. It's listed as FSO 1985A (Forerunner Semi-Official) issued in 1985 for the Int'l Paper Money Convention. According to the write-up "the American Bank Note Co. donated 975 specimen sheets to the Society of Paper Money Collectors." The SPMC sold them to members and the public by mail and at the show for $15. I think Ken stocks these, but that page on his website is temporarily down -- you could email him.

It's a gorgeous sheet and the only drawback is how big it is -- 20 x 27" -- so it's hard to display. Darrell's right, it has some great vignettes. I had to get mine back out and look at it. I think one of my favorites is the "cameo" vignette of Shakespeare. This uses fine parallel lines made by a ruling machine to create a 3-D effect, nearly impossible to counterfeit. You see this on a lot of obsolete banknotes if you look for it.

 

Well, while we're on the topic of big sheets -- and since you got me to pull out my storage tube -- here's another fun one. This is FSO 1988A -- the Ralston Purina Almond Delight Bank Note Sheet. I have NO idea what genius sold Ralston Purina on the idea of using banknote reprints as cereal box premiums, but... ABNC printed 780,000 of these intaglio sheets for them, which were mostly cut into individual banknotes, folded twice and dropped into boxes of Almond Delight (Collect All Six!). They held out 50,000 sheets and if you mailed in three UPC codes you could get a full 16 x 20" uncut sheet. I may have been the only person who liked the cereal enough to save up for two full sheets.

Despite my purchases, the scheme didn't sell many boxes and there were, as you might suspect, a lot of sheets left over. Eventually they made their way into dealer stock and you can find them now usually for less than $20. I have one of mine framed -- some really interesting odd denomination obsolete notes you almost never see in issued form.

 

Thanks for taking the time to locate it in the catalog and for the tip regarding the 3D effect vignettes. II'll have to check my ABNCo banknotes for vignettes displaying that effect.

Mike

 

Very cool Ralston Purina sheets. Had I knownabout them I would've switched to RP Almond Delight.
IS the paper oxidized or is it a yellow/brown tint?


Mike

 

The paper is actually a dull yellow tint. And it's just paper, not card stock like most souvenir cards.

As to the fine ruled engraving, you can learn a little more on this thread:
http://www.cointalk.com/t216097/

 

HEY -- I just noticed, these have the ROMPEX/BIA embossing in the lower left/right. These are the scarce cards, Darryl: F1987C & D. The union printed 2,000 of each, but only 400 of each got the embossing for the stamp show.

Okay, one more big card, just for you. This also came out of the 1987 Plate Printers convention, but only 330 were printed. I'm not sure how many were show cancelled, but either way it's rare. It has all six of the train vignettes and measures 11x14. Sorry for the glare; it's heat sealed with a cardboard backer. I'm glad I bought it, but actually I'm with you -- the colored inks on the two individual cards really bring out images. Nice pick up!

 

Love em' Gsalexan!
I'm glad someones cards collection is getting bigger and better