Denver, Colorado Territory. $20 Original. Fr. 427. Colorado NB. Charter #1651. PCGS Currency Extremely Fine 45.From what was once the bleeding edge of the frontier comes a rarity that predates Colorado joining the Union by roughly a decade and was issued during the 1860s. This note, although similar to its counterparts from states on the East Coast, accounts for an extraordinarily rare prospect on account of both geography and the status of Colorado as a Territory. Even though the Colorado Territory was amidst a period of growth in the late 1860s prompted by the discovery of gold deposits roughly a decade prior that saw the formation of firms like Clark, Gruber & Co best known for its privately-minted gold coinage produced during the early 1860s. Banking services nonetheless remained scarce in the Colorado Territory and largely confined to population centers and mining towns like Central City and Georgetown.
Denver, being the political and commercial center of the Colorado Territory, was the site of the earliest National Bank to be organized under the provisions of the National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864. The First National Bank of Denver (Charter# 1016) was the earliest to organize in the Colorado Territory and was chartered days after President Lincoln was fatally shot at Fords Theatre in April 1865. The Colorado National Bank (Charter# 1651) was chartered roughly a year later in June 1866 succeeding the banking firm established by the Kountze Brothers. The penned signatures of Cashier Charles Brewer Kountze and President Martin Luther Kountze are neatly penned in their respective panels. Martin Luther is particularly notable owing to his connection with Denvers early history and was only in his 20s when he signed this note before becoming a prominent figure with the Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company that eventually linked Cheyenne and Denver by rail in 1870. Martin Luther eventually moved to New Jersey in 1881 and commissioned the construction of a large estate in Morristown.
His brother Charles remained in Colorado and served as President of the Colorado National Bank from 1874 to 1911 succeeding his older brother Augustus who had succeeded Martin Luther as President and served from 1869 to 1873. Even though these individuals are long dead, their legacy is spoken to by this note and the history it represents for Colorado even outside of a numismatic context. Today this note is one of five Original Series $20s known for the Colorado Territory according to the National Bank Note Census and the sole survivor of a $10-$10-$20-$50 format sheet that was cut apart close to 160 years ago. Such a status nonetheless belies this note as a great rarity from the Centennial State and one destined to become an exceptional entry among an already distinguished collection. Fairly recently, the <em>Ex: Amon Carter</em> example graded PMG 40 brought $77,000 at auction with BP. We feel this gorgeous PCGS Currency EF45 could very well exceed that realization.Provenance: Bowers & Merena sale of May 1999, lot 205; Lyn Knight sale of June 2000, lot 601; Lyn Knight sale of August 2003, lot 5225; Heritage Auctions sale of January 2010, lot 14381; Heritage Auctions sale of April 2013, lot 15616.
*拍品信息由各家拍卖公司提供，首席数据中心刊载出于传递更多信息之目的，并不意味着赞同其观点或证实其描述。
