Friedberg 1104. 1914 $100 Federal Reserve Note. Atlanta. PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ. Many of the high-grade examples of this ever-popular type note bear the imprint of the Atlanta Federal Reserve District, mostly from a large run of Uncirculated notes bearing the Burke-McAdoo signature combination. It would appear that a group of these sat undistributed in a bank’s vault for a long time, as more than half of the nearly 300 known are recorded as being About Uncirculated or better. PMG has certified only three examples of the catalog number finer than the presently offered note. The Pogue specimen is ideally framed by plentiful margins and has boldly embossed overprints and vividly printed engraved design elements. The type portrays a profile of founding father Benjamin Franklin facing to the right. A black Federal Reserve district seal is at left while a blue scalloped Treasury Seal is at right. The blue printed serial numbers are to the lower left and upper right of center. The back features an intricate design with five allegorical figures representing Labor, Plenty, America, Peace and Commerce.The 1914 Blue Seal notes were not issued as Federal Reserve Bank Notes, leaving the present Federal Reserve Notes as the only illustration of the designs. These are inexpensive in relation to their rarity, although high-grade notes can run into the thousands of dollars, as here. We estimate a print run of 408,000.
