Fr. 151. 1869 $50 Legal Tender Note. PCGS Banknote Choice Very Fine 35.Brilliant color and choice paper accentuate the look of this pleasing mid-grade 1869 $50 Legal Tender Note, part of the ever popular "Rainbow" series. Just around 70 examples are known of this one year, one catalog number design type. An allegorical female is seen at left holding an olive branch in her right hand and a small statue of Mercury in her right. The vignette is titled Return of Peace and was engraved by Charles Smith. A cornucopia is portrayed at the bottom center of the note flanked by the signatures of Treasury officials Allison and Spinner. At right is a portrait of statesman Henry Clay, engraved by Alfred Sealy. The back is ornately engraved, with anti-counterfeiting and Legal Tender clauses found at left and right respectively. A large 50 is at center while smaller ones inhabit the corners of the back design. Imprints of the American Bank Note Company are at top and bottom center. This type was heavily counterfeited, likely hastening the redemption of circulating genuine notes. Likewise, the face and back designs of this type were not used for any later series of notes, cementing its legacy as a one year only type.The bright paper is amply margined and free of any distracting characteristics. The red overprint inks remain vivid both in the large spiked Treasury Seal at center and the serial number panels to the lower left and upper right of center. Deep blue serial numbers contrast nicely against the red overprint on this colorful note. The engraved design elements are all sharply portrayed in dark inks. This is a wonderful mid-grade representation of this difficult to obtain type.From the Karelian Collection.
