I know absolutely nothing about paper currency, so if this has been asked before, please bear with me. I didn't find anything while searching the forum, so here goes... I found this New Orleans Canal Bank $20 Note last week and it just caught my eye for the following reasons: 1. I have a dear friend who lives in New Orleans. 2. It was just before Hurricane Barry hit land and I wanted a memento, just in case New Orleans sunk in the Gulf (ok, not really, but kinda...) 3. It's in perfect condition. 4. I just thought the note was beautiful. I know it's obsolete and can't be used as currency, but I have a couple of questions: 1. Is it real? 2. Does it have any value? I did find an uncut sheet of 4 of these for sale on a website for $165, but am not sure if a single note has any value. Any info anyone can share on this item is greatly appreciated.
First, let me state that I am not real familiar with this series although I know about them. Next, to address the condition of the bill, from a collector standpoint of CSA notes this bill is not perfect. Let me list the reasons why. Number one: along the top of the bill the edge has been cut into the bill and the frame is missing. Number two: the bill has several white stains. Number three: looking at the reverse of the bill there are several very small dark stains, these could be pinholes. With paper money especially older paper money, condition is everything. I do not know the value of these nor the value of the uncut sheet that you mention so wait for others with more experience to chime in. I do not collect bank notes but I do collect CSA notes. This bill is in very nice condition and what troubles me most about this bill is the cutting along the top of the bill has all these bills were hand cut. Judging by your photo I have no reason to believe this bill is not genuine. However I am skeptical of it being genuine based on the price. And uncut sheet of four for $165 in my opinion would be a steal. Please proceed with caution.
It is absolutely real. It is absolutely common as hell. eBay is littered with Canal Bank remainders. That said, Canal Bank notes are popular because they are nice designs, often have colorful backs, and are easy to collect due to availability. Depending on condition - nice ones are $30+ perhaps? To be nitpicky the note is not full framed and clearly cut into the design at top, so it won't bring any premium over an otherwise common and available design. Still, looks nice overall and I'd be happy with it in my collection (I do have one...fully framed but more handling, yours is overall a bit better... so enjoy it!!) Heck, now go collect the other Canal Bank designs...
I think (it appears to me) that these are actually "cropped" photos, which makes them appear to be cut.
I thought that as well but changed my mind when I looked closely at the top right. You should be able to see the hand cut. It just looks a little too uneven to be cropped in that area.
Denley's of Boston sells many obsolete notes amongst many other types of notes and may be able to tell you more. They are reputable and honest. If your photo was cropped, make sure, if you contact them with a photo that you do not crop it this close.
Thanks for the replies. For clarification, the scanner cut off the top frame, that's just a photo cropping issue, I should have paid closer attention when scanning. There are no pinholes. The black spots are on the scanner glass, not the note. Here's a better scan of the front.
