Series of 1890 and 1891 Treasury Notes were a short lived type that stated that the bearer be paid in "Coin," without specifying gold or silver. The notes largely supplanted Silver Certificates during their circulation period, as those who redeemed them would almost certainly prefer gold to silver. Due to the uncertainty of having to hold coins of both metals in reserve for redemption of these "Coin Notes," the Treasury Department retired them rather quickly. The present $20 1891 series offering displays a face design that is nearly identical to the prior 1890 series but with a completely reworked back. The back design featured more open areas to provide higher contrast to the printed details, which was thought to make identifying counterfeits easier. The Gem grade assigned by PMG is quite appropriate here as the paper is fully original and the impressions on both sides are sharp. This note is from a small trove of Uncirculated material uncovered for this catalog number, a find that has resulted in the estimate being roughly a tenth of what was realized for a Gem 1890 Series Treasury Note we sold in our Official Auction of the August 2014 ANA World’s Fair of Money. Further commenting on the paying in coin, at the time there was a rush on gold coins held by the Treasury Department. The reason was that Silverites or backers of silver coins were very prominent in American politics. There object was to make silver the most important coinage metal and to relegate gold to a lesser position. At the same time, gold coins were worth full intrinsic value if melted down, whereas the silver in a silver dollar was worth considerably less than face. European banks, manufacturers and others, who did business with America were fearful that invoices would be paid in debased Morgan silver dollars and thus demanded only gold. The Treasury reserves soon fell to a very low point, at which the supply was nearly exhausted. In early 1895 J.P. Morgan and other financiers stepped in to loan gold to the government and rescue the situation. As it turned out the Series of 1890 and 1891 Treasury or Coin Notes, redeemable at the government s option in either silver or gold, continued to be redeemed in gold. The precaution proved to be unnecessary. ， Est. $12,500-$17,500
