Issued under the penultimate signature combination for this fairly long-lived design type and series. This example features the Parker - Burke signature combination that was current from October 1913 to December 1914. Although this signature combination is fairly common in terms of total survivors, it shares a key distinction with other $20 Silver Certificates of the period. Few examples of this denomination managed to survive at this grade level and are exceedingly rare compared to most of their peers. This example is among a small handful of comparable pieces recorded by the PMG Population Report and other databases such as Track & Price and the Gengerke Census that retain a level of originality and the distinctions that could warrant the grade assigned by PMG. Rich eye appeal is easily noticed and best exemplified by various traits. The denim-blue Treasury overprint offers testament to uncommon originality while the crisp knife-like margins offer fine testament to the grade assigned. Detail endemic to the portrait of Treasury Secretary Daniel Manning among other elements does well to demonstrate the skills of engravers in the vein of Lorenzo Hatch who prepared Mannings portrait which was adapted from a period photograph. The allegorical figures seen to the left and right of Manning also show and retain a fine level of detail. Details such as the sledgehammer wielded by the mechanic and the cornucopia seen with the female figure at left show much in the way of fine detail that further demonstrates the attention paid by period engravers in their chosen craft. The green coloration endemic to verso is particularly lively and does well to demonstrate the modified nature of design introduced with the Series of 1891. A variety of geometric and floral elements are retained, but ample open space is left to the left and right of the central obligation and demonstrates the prevailing preference of open designs by the Treasury Department as they believed it made their product harder to counterfeit with success. Overall, this is a sublime specimen that managed to survive in a way unmatched by all but a tiny handful of its peers. Should you have designs of a building a remarkable collection with an emphasis on type this offering is for you and you alone and can only be had with a premium bid. PMG Pop 9/None FinerFrom the Shores Collection Part I.
