Fr. 2404*. 1928 $50 Gold Certificate Star Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 EPQ.A relic of a time practically lost to living memory. Represented here is an instrument of commerce that would have scarcely circulated outside the walled confines of a bank or a large transaction that represented the monthly earnings of the average layman. This $50 Gold Certificate issued under the Series of 1928 is nonetheless something that seemingly never fulfilled its purpose as a monetary instrument having managed a fate unlike most of its counterparts that were culled by Executive Order 6102. Graded Choice Uncirculated 63 EPQ by PMG, this specimen is not simply an outlier in technical and aesthetic terms, but also one of the finest Replacements recorded among a surviving population that numbers approximately 47 pieces.
From those 47 pieces, this example is the undisputed finest among those enumerated in the PMG Population Report and something bound to see intense interest from bidders as examples at this grade level represent an extreme rarity when held against the intense demand that follows those exceptional few that are recognized as "Top Pop." Crisp margins and sharp corners beckon and serve to frame a familiar yet distinct composition that would be carried in-part into the 1990s by way of the $50 Federal Reserve Notes that would only be completely redesigned when the Series of 1996 was introduced. Looking inwards one may observe the portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant engraved by George F.C. Smillie which has remained a mainstay of the denomination since the first $50 Gold Certificates issued under the Series of 1913 entered circulation during the early months of the Wilson administration. Here Grants grizzled likeness is accomplished in exceptional detail unmarred by the ravages of circulation such as folds or even internal issues that are often encountered on pieces that spent time in circulation. Yet, the reasons behind the exceptional degree of eye appeal demonstrated by this specimen is not solely confined to the face design. Consider the back vignette which depicts a contemporary view of the District of Columbia and the United States Capitol Building from the perspective of the Library of Congress looking towards Foggy Bottom. This composition offers a like level of detail albeit accomplished in a gradient of subtle contrasting green hues that seemingly work in concert to enliven the scene depicted. Details as small as period automobiles and as distant as the Smithsonian Castle can be recognized against the urban landscape are all deftly amplified by the level of preservation reflected in the grade assigned by PMG.
For bidders this is not merely an opportunity in the academic sense where detail and eye appeal are the sole consideration, but alas an opportunity bound to remembered by collectors owing to the rarity a note of this caliber represents at this grade level. Such a calculation was clearly made by those who were in a position to bid on this note when it was last offered in September 2019. Then it realized an astonishing $90,000 once the dust had settled from the bidding process even with the knowledge that other specimens manage to come close to this one with regards to the grade assigned. Even so a simple truth remains and that this specimen stands alone as the finest in the PMG Population Report as one of the greatest small size rarities available to those few collectors who posses the means to pursue this veritable trophy with unrestrained dedication. PMG Pop 1/None Finer.From the Manhattan Beach Collection.
