SELECTIONS FROM NEWMAN VIII: TALE OF TWO TENS

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V20 2017 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 20, Number 41, October 8, 2017, Article 17

Catalogers Bruce Hagen and Maureen Levine submitted these interesting selections from the upcoming Heritage Eric P. Newman Collection VIII sale. Thank you! Neat items. -Editor

Selections from the Eric P. Newman Collection VIII, to be sold November 1-2 in Dallas, features over 1,200 lots of significant American paper currency from all genres. Cataloged in two volumes, this sale is the eighth in the ongoing Signature series. Bound in the first volume are Colonial, Continental, Obsolete, Confederate, Federal, and National notes. The second volume is dedicated to Eric’s Missouri currency collection. ranging from the handwritten pre-banking “Bon Scrip” payable in pelts or skins to 20 th century Depression-era scrip. Collected across nine decades, most of these notes have never appeared at auction. Part VIII is sold in conjunction with Part IX, which presents Colonial and United States coins highlighted by the finest privately held Original Confederate States of America Half-Dollar.

In this currency sale, two items stand out historically and are certain to garner strong attention from numismatists. This “Tale of Two Tens” revolves around a pair of exceptionally interesting $10 notes from different genres and circumstances, but both deeply woven into the fabric of Missouri currency.

The Bank of St. Louis $10 type engraved by Leney & Rollinson in 1817 features the titled vignette, “Partial View of St. Louis,” created for the series and bank. In his first published numismatic article for the Missouri Historical Society in 1941, Eric identifies the buildings and landmarks portrayed in the vignette. The article (reproduced in Volume 2 of the catalog) discusses in a compact seven- page narrative the genesis of the Missouri Territorial banks evolving from the handwritten “bon scrip” backed by warehouse-stored skins. The sale includes a high-grade, fully issued note of the type as well as the unique proof originally from the Leney & Rollinson archive proof book.

To read the complete lot description, see:
St. Louis, Missouri Ty. - Bank of St. Louis (1st) $10 18__... (https://currency.ha.com/itm/obsolete-banknotes/st-%20louis-%20missouri-ty-%20bank-of-%20st-louis-%201st-10-%2018-mo-%2045-g26-%20proof-%20pcgs-choice-%20about-new-%2058-apparent/p/3547-%2011232.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-%20071515)

Our second “Tale Telling Ten” is a legendary Federal Currency rarity offered at public auction for the first time. The Newman Fr. 10 1861 St. Louis Demand Note is the finest by far of the four known. Demand Notes were the first circulating “greenbacks” to fund the Civil War and were initially payable in gold until the specie suspension in late 1861. Only 48,000 St. Louis $10 Demand Notes were printed, far less than the three eastern offices, making it rare from the start.

Despite the specie suspension, Demand Notes were still receivable for United States fees and duties, acting as gold, and were retired by the Government when so applied. These redemptions made all Demand Notes rare by the end of the war. The condition is a mesmerizing PCGS Very Fine 30, making the Newman example a most impressive survivor. It boasts a fascinating pedigree with the note obtained in 1939 from Obsolete currency scholar and dealer D. C. Wismer for $125.00.

This documented transaction (two letters are included in Volume 1 of the catalog) was concluded at the same time Eric significantly augmented his Missouri Obsolete currency collection with the acquisition of Wismer’s unique color proofs and other rarities. This is one of the rarest Federal currency types and is in superb condition.

To read the complete lot description, see:
United States of America - Fr. 10 $10 1861 St. Louis Deman... (https://currency.ha.com/itm/demand-notes/united-%20states-of-%20america-fr-%2010-10-%201861-st-%20louis-demand-%20note-pcgs-%20very-%20fine-30/p/3547-%2011417.s?ic3=ViewItem-Auction-%20Preview-%20SearchResults-120115&lotPosition=0|0)

The Selections from the Eric P. Newman Part VIII sale promises to be a historic numismatic event. Cataloged within the two volumes are notes in all price ranges and interest areas from the 18th to 20th centuries. Catalogs will be available from Heritage Auctions approximately mid- October, and all lots are currently in preview at HA.com.