I recently bought a storage unit at auction and, in a small envelope in one of the boxes, I found a small collection of random currency. In particular, I had never seen paper notes from Texas before, so I was curious what they were. I did some research and heard that many of these are fakes, but I'm curious to learn more about them. Do they have any value?
The notes are identified by Criswell Numbers and Rarity (R-1 being common and R-11 being extremely rare). The following info comes from A Guide Book of Southern States Currency by Hugh Shull. The $1 is Cr. #A1 and has a rarity of R-4 (1,500 to 2,500). Value = $175 in average circulated condition. The $3 is Cr. #A3 and has a rarity of R-5 (800 to 1,500). Value = $295 in average circulated condition. The $500 is Cr. #A9 and has a rarity of R-8 (51 to 100). Value = $1,500 in average circulated condition. That is IF the notes are genuine (which I doubt). Modern reproductions of old notes like this are common. Your best bet is to take the notes to a reputable coin dealer who handles obsolete currency and get his opinion as to authenticity.
The backs all have a star pattern, with the 1 and 3 in red and the 500 in orange. The paper feels thin, with not much texture. Also, oddly, it looks like the signatures, dates (except for the '18') and serial numbers are written by hand, as the ink looks darker there. The 1 has a serial number 2150 and there is a handwritten forward diagonal slash to the upper left of the "No." marking. I can't make out the month and day (illegible handwriting), but the year is 1840. The engraver is marked as Endicott & Clark New Orleans The 3 has a serial number 383. It's dated Sept 1, 1841. Also has Endicott & Clark New Orleans. The 500 has a serial number 1381. It's dated Jun 1, 1840. The top says "Receivable for all government dues." and the engravers are marked as Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson New Orleans and Rawdon, Wright & Hatch New-York.
The ink color on the reverse should be red-orange. And that reverse was used on the $500 but apparantly not on the $1 or $3. I strongly suspect your notes are modern reproductions.
Very nice find (hoping they're real) in that storage unit! Anything else coin/currency you found in there?
Didn't find any coins, but there were a few other paper notes. The Russian one has a hammer and sickle on the back and is dated 1951, which is interesting. There were a bunch of other $2 bills, but this one looked different, as it had red ink and an odd little star printed before the serial number. This one is marked "Series 1963 A". The other $2 bills are all 1976 and one 1978. I'm not really sure why these particular $2 bills were in there, though I was reading that collectors sometimes look for patterns in serial numbers and I did notice that they were sorted in order of the serial number letter, but I don't know if that means anything. One of them is oddly kinked in the middle and has an area taking up about a quarter portion of the right side with odd purplish red spotting.
Known reproductions of Texas notes... Hope this helps. TEXAS Republic of Texas; $1; June 10, 1840 / 2150 Republic of Texas; $2; March 1, 1841 / 5214 Republic of Texas; $3; Sept. 1, 1841 / 383 Republic of Texas; $5; Jan. 15, 1842 / 2231 Republic of Texas; $10; Jan. 25, 184? / 5480 Republic of Texas; $20; Jan. 10, 1840 / 1575 Republic of Texas; $50; Jan 1, 1840 / 1112 Republic of Texas; $100; 1839 / 15? Republic of Texas; $100; May 29, 1830 / 663 Republic of Texas; $500; Jan. 1, 1840 / 1381 Texas Treasury Warrant; $5; Oct. 6, 1862 / 112586 I cant see the numbers provided, however, the $1 $3 looks to be fake as I can make those # out. The $500 looks fake too. That paper just does not look right either!! Check em good... RickieB
nice find! reproductions or not -- the notes look cool i own some repos myself .. but i bought them knowing such. Just keep the notes safe - no bending, folding, licking or bathing!!!! and as TheNoost mentioned - no $2 in '78... must be a 76
