Treasury Note (1890–1891)
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The Treasury Note (also known as a Coin Note) was a type of
representative money Representative money or receipt money is any medium of exchange, physical or digital, that represents something of Value (economics), value, but has little or no value of its own (intrinsic value (finance), intrinsic value). Unlike some forms of ...
issued by the
United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
from 1890 until 1893 under authority of the
Sherman Silver Purchase Act The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was a United States federal law enacted on July 14, 1890, which increased the amount of silver the government was required to purchase on a recurrent monthly basis to 4.5 million ounces, roughly the entirety of the ...
in denominations of , , , , , , and . It was issued in two series: an 1890 series with , , , , , and denominations, and an 1891 series that added the denomination. A note was designed but never issued.


Usage

The government issued the Treasury Note to individuals selling silver bullion to the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
. Unlike other redemption notes like
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
and
gold certificate Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a way of diversifying risk, especially through the use of futures contracts and derivatives. The gold market is subject to speculation and ...
s (which stipulated whether the note was backed by and redeemable for silver or gold coin, respectively), Treasury Notes stipulated only that they were redeemable in coin. This allowed the Treasury to fulfil the note's obligation in
silver coin Silver coins are one of the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 B ...
,
gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22fineness#Karat, karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia (coin), Britannia, Canad ...
, or both, at its discretion when the note was redeemed. This flexibility allowed the Treasury some control over releasing gold or silver when the relative value of the two metals fluctuated. The origin of the term "Coin Note" to describe the note is unclear – it may refer either to the coin it could be exchanged for, or derive from the fact that it was issued to pay for silver that would later be turned into coins.


Description

Treasury Notes are large-size (average dimension is ) banknotes. The portrait of General
George Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army and the Union army as Major General in command of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War from 1 ...
on the Note was engraved by renowned artist and line engraver Charles Burt. ''The 100 Greatest American Currency Notes'', a 2006 book by Q. David Bowers and David Sundman, put the ,000 Treasury Note (Fr#379b), nicknamed the "Grand Watermelon", at the top of its list. Of the seven "Grand Watermelon" notes known to exist today, only three are available to collectors: two of the Large Brown Treasury Seal variety (Fr#379a), pictured above; and only one example of the Small Red Treasury Seal variety (Fr#379b). A distinguishing feature of the Series 1890 notes (and one that greatly appeals to collectors) is the extremely ornate designs on the reverse side of the notes. The intent of this was to make counterfeiting much more difficult, but opponents of the design argued that the extensive detail would make it more difficult to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit notes. Consequently, the reverse designs were simplified on the Series 1891 Treasury Notes issued the following year.


Auction history

On January 10, 2014, at the annual Florida United Numismatist convention, in Orlando, Florida,
Heritage Auctions Heritage Auctions is an American multi-national auction house based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1976, Heritage is an auctioneer of numismatic collections, comics, fine art, books, luxury accessories, real estate, and memorabilia from film, mus ...
sold a Series 1890 ,000 Treasury Note (Fr#379b) for , setting a new world record price for paper currency. The same note had set a record in December 2006 when it was sold for in a private sale. The note was previously auctioned in 1944 for and in 1970 for . The other variety of Treasury Notes, Series 1891 "Open Backs" (Fr#379c), represented by just two notes, has also been involved in the recent string of record-breaking sales. While one of these two notes is owned by the Smithsonian Institution (pictured at bottom), the only Series 1891 note available to collectors had set the world record in March 2006. It again set the record in April 2013, when it was sold at public auction by Heritage Auctions for at the Central States Numismatic Convention, in Chicago, Illinois.


Gallery of Treasury Note images

The Treasury Notes pictured below are from the 1890 and 1891 series. Images are from the
National Numismatic Collection The National Numismatic Collection is the national coin cabinet of the United States. The collection is part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Overview The National Numismatic Collection comprises approxi ...
at the
National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
(
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
).


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treasury Note (1890-91) Banknotes of the United States Currency lists Historical currencies of the United States Paper money of the United States