Closer look at 1918 battleship note

Interesting
https://coinweek.com/paper-money-2/a-closer-look-at-the-series-of-1918-2-battleship-note/

 

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What ship is that? NY, maybe?

 

Yes, its the New York. If memory serves me correctly this was the only Federal currency $2.00 bill. Also the last large size $2.00 note that was issued.

 

Excellent post & article! (Thinking: Damn, now I need one of these!!!! When will it end???? ).....

 

It never ends! That's the problem.

 

Wow Meow just made a lucky guess!

 

These can get expensive. Your best bet on a budget is finding a problem free mid-grade example with original paper.

 

I'am new to currency collecting. What does PPQ mean?

 

Premium Paper Quality

 

Cheers guys/girls ! Nice Note, PPQ for sure, lots of history. I'm jealous . Good day mates ! From New England, lol

 

Very nice note Mountain Man. I'm just now getting a first look at it, I too am jealous. Thanks for posting it Be safe and careful up there in Big Sky country.

 

You mean it's supposed to end? Oh no!

 

I'll tack this on for fun. If you're looking for a less expensive alternative, the BEP put out a souvenir card in 2018 that features the back of the note. Although it's marked COPY, the card was printed from the Bureau's original plates. This is cataloged as B-329 in the SCCS numbering system.

 

That's a really a cool note in any condition

 

It's a Nevada Class Battleship. Some say it's the New York but, being a Nevada Class ship I'm going with the Nevada. The Nevada was at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,1941. It was able to get underway during he attack and survived the attack. After the battle the Nevada was refitted with the main guns from the Arizona. They were salvaged from the sunk Arizona. The Nevada survived the war and it's "Arizona Guns" were used to shell many Jap held islands throughout the war. I believe it was in Tokyo bay during the surrender. After the war it was used to test the effects of an A Bomb when used on naval vessels. The A bomb didn't sink it. It was later sent to the bottom by the navy. It's a shame they didn't keep it as a museum ship.

 

That is most definitely not a Nevada Class Battleship. The Nevada Class had only four main battery turrets, whereas the New York Class has five main battery turrets.

 

Wow, was not aware of this...nice reference!

 

I stand corrected the USS New York wasn't a Nevada class battleship. But I doubt the USS New York is on the battleship note. If you compare the Nevada at time of launching to the note the Nevada had two anchors as shown on the bank note the New York had one. Both ships could be equipped with anchors the same way. Both ships were modified before WW 2 so you need to look at early pictures. The battle ship Texas also had two anchors same as the Nevada. I had a battleship note and gave it to my son who is a naval academy grad and presently works as a engineer for the US Navy. I asked him what ship he thought it was. He couldn't pin point a name but he didn't think it was the New York. His comment was why use the image of the New York when the Nevada was commissioned in 1916 as the United States first super dreadnaught battleship. The New York was an older design. The Texas is also from this time and that ship is still with us today. It's docked in Huston Texas. There is a great video on the history of the USS Nevada BB36.

 

I must politely disagree with your assessment @1865King. In my opinion, the USS New York remains the most likely candidate for being depicted on the series of 1918 $2 Federal Reserve Note.

Delaware Class

The arrangement of the smokestacks and the placement and number of casement guns excludes the Delaware class from contention.

Florida Class

Compared to a 1918 $2 FRN, the placement of the casement guns precludes it from being the USS Florida or Utah.



Wyoming Class

The Wyoming class, for comparison, has six large-caliber turrets. In contrast, the battleship depicted on the note appears to have five large-caliber turrets.


New York Class

When comparing the placement of the casement guns and the location of the 5"/51 caliber gun on the forecastle, the New York class closely resembles the battleship on the reverse. Nonetheless, it would seem that the engraver did take some artistic license in regards to the anchor placement. For example, here are some portside views of both ships.

USS New York: http://navsource.org/archives/01/034/013468l.jpg

USS Texas: http://navsource.org/archives/01/035/013500c.jpg

Now consider the placement of the searchlights on the foremost lattice mast.

USS New York: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_York_(BB-34)#/media/File:USS_New_York-2.jpg

USS Texas: http://navsource.org/archives/01/035/013533.jpg


Nevada Class

Both of the Nevadas only had a single smokestack. This would exclude both the USS Nevada and Oklahoma from being depicted on the reverse.

 

Fascinating diagrams Bradley -- thanks for posting those! Let me hijack this thread slightly with another souvenir card. This is B-275 and it features a BEP engraving of a battleship that was used on Navy Honorable Discharge certificates. It was engraved from a photo of the USS California, taken in 1921. What class of battleship would this be? It only appears to have four casement guns.





Incidentally, I know of four other BEP engravings of battleships, if anyone is interested.