I wish I too could afford historical moments like this... Such a nice piece of history! God bless America!
Had to go to Collector's Guide to Modern Federal Reserve Notes Series 1963 - 2009 by Robert Azpiazu on page 1 You find C60800001A to C61440000A And the value is "Gilbert unknown. But I read about it somewhere else. Great find.
Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for a Gilbert Test Paper note?!! I'm happy to finally see one. Once again, Steve, I'm very envious.
I've been searching for a "Gilbert" note for over 4 years. A member displayed this note in a thread on a different currency forum asking for value. I researched the Heritage archives, and only once has a Gilbert note come up for auction. http://currency.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=32031&lotIdNo=1122 Some collectors refer to it as a test note, but technically it was not test paper. The Gilbert Paper Company submitted similar paper in the amount of 20,000 sheets for 640,000 notes, but was unable to supply the BEP as an alternative supplier because of their higher prices. There wasn't much fanfare while this was happening, so I'm guessing not to many collectors at the time knew to look for these. They were distributed like any other currency at the time, lived their life cycle, and eventually disappeared.
The history behind this is truly fascinating and thanks so much for sharing, as well as the Heritage link. Only auction for this was back in 2002.
If you recieve Paper Money magazine, there is an article I wrote with photos about this note and pamphlet in the May/June edition.
I recieved my copy of Paper Money Magazine and the article that was written was quite interesting.It's a shame I can't find any of those dollars. Thanks for the article its a great magazine.
A fellow SPMC collector contacted me Monday about the article, and sent me some photos of a memento given out to the employees of the Gilbert Paper Company. ...and the note that came with the memento sorry about the quality of the scans.
A fellow Coin Talk member, Numbers, sent me a BEP notecard that notates the printing of the initial $1 Federal Reserve notes (Philadelphia District) on Gilbert paper. I've also received handwritten records from the Gilbert Paper Company office staff showing which serial numbers went to Gilbert Company officials.
A Gilbert note and pamphlet has recently surfaced and is up for auction on eBay. These very seldom come up up sale on any venue. http://www.ebay.com/itm/252084302250?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Excellent, Steve, just super! Haven't seen one; have asked about them and only one dealer recently told me he had one several years ago but had not seen any for a while. And the eBay auction is WAY beyond my budget!