Friedberg 355. 1890 $2 Treasury Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ. Just around 130 examples of this small red scalloped seal "Ornate Back" Series of 1890 $2 Treasury Note are known to exist. They are nearly three times as rare as the large brown spiked seal notes, comprising Fr.353 and Fr.354. The plate A example found here displays generous margins that frame a sharply detailed and boldly inked design. The portrait of General James McPherson is prominently portrayed at right. The overprint is vividly inked in bright red. The "Ornate Back" is sharply detailed in deep green inks. This is the only example of the catalog number that PMG has graded at this level with only three finer at the 66 EPQ level. This series of notes was designed in celebration of the strength of the Union, undoubtedly effective at a time when many Americans remembered their own experiences of the Civil War. Union Major General James Birdseye McPherson, killed in the July 1864 Battle of Atlanta, served as chief engineer under General U.S. Grant in 1862, and later served in the Vicksburg Campaign (1862-1863) and the Battle of Shiloh (1864), after which he was given command of the Army of the Tennessee.
