Friedberg Unlisted (W-Unlisted). 1862 $5 Legal Tender Note. PCGS Currency Extremely Fine 40. Essay Face Proof.Hessler-USE6. The Hessler Plate Note. Uniface printing in black ink on India paper. Several allegorical themes are seen with France Offering the Louisiana Purchase to America at left, Loyalty, Liberty, Mercury, Peace, Agriculture and Justice at center. Bust of Washington with eagle in foreground and sails of a ship fading away being replaced by steam. Spewing smoke symbolizing the Industrial Revolution. Some trivial ink smudges result from the plate not being thoroughly cleaned of ink before this impression was prepared. The note is of the Act of July 11, 1862 and also dated August 1, 1862, the same date specified on the lower denominations of the 1862 notes on the second obligation. Cut cancelled vertically at the center and repaired with adhesive strips. PCGS Currency mentions "Severed, Splits Tears, and Repairs," in the comments section of the holder. To our knowledge only three of these impressions are known and the other two are both mounted on card.<p>What a marvelous proof this is - created when the Legal Tender Notes were first conceived and issued. Wonder if this note was ever in the book-lined study of Alexandre Vattemare in Paris?From the Harry E. Jones Collection, via private purchase; Christies sale of the Hon. J.W. Middendorf II Collection, March 22, 1994, lot 131; Bowers and Merenas sale of the Ezra Cole Collection, January 23-25, 1986, lot 4008; Donlon Sale, November 26, 1975.
