Fr. 378. 1891 $100 Treasury Note. PMG Fine 12.The "Open Back" $100 Treasury Notes of the Series of 1891 are nearly three times more rare than their predecessor "Watermelon" notes of 1890. Just 13 examples are recorded in the census for the type and five among those are kept in institutional collections, unavailable to collectors. The type has the portrait of Admiral David Farragut at right and a large 100 counter just to the left of center. A red scalloped Treasury Seal is to the right of center while red serial numbers are to the lower left and upper right.The "Open Back" design features 100 counters at bottom left and top right with Roman numeral Cs at top left and bottom right. ONE HUNDRED is in an ornamental design feature at center. The Treasury Department felt that the "open" design would be more carefully examined by bank tellers than would be the heavily ornamented backs of the Series of 1890 notes.This example was certainly a veteran in the channels of commerce. Despite the level of circulation all of the design elements remain clear and well detailed. PMG has added a "Restoration" comment on the back of the holder. The restoration is expertly accomplished and appears to be limited to the margins. With that said this is still just one of eight examples available to collectors.From the Karelian Collection.
