Fr. 187j. 1880 $1000 Legal Tender Note. PMG Very Fine 30 Net. Restoration. High denomination large size notes always attract significant attention and rightfully so. The denomination represented such a significant amount of money in the 19th Century and early 20th Century it is remarkable that any survive for collectors. Just 14 examples are known of this Lyons-Treat signed 1880 $1000 Legal Tender variety. Fortunately, all but one of these notes are privately held and available to the collecting public. A single example resides in the collection of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. <p>The face design continues that used in the Series of 1869 and 1878, but with some changes. The main motifs are the same. Depicted on the face are two seemingly unrelated vignettes, not particularly unusual in a layout for this period. To the left is Columbus in His Study, with a globe on the floor nearby, a reminder of his contributions to the spread of Western ideologies and societies around the world. At the center is DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828), with the fingers of his right hand touching the side of his head. Perhaps both men were deemed prominent in water, thus relating the vignettes, Columbus for sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to "discover" America, and Clinton as the driving force behind the Erie Canal, started in 1817 and completed in 1825, which linked the Great Lakes with the Atlantic. This is a stretch, but who knows?<p>A cherry red scalloped Treasury Seal is seen near the bottom right on the face of the note. Bold blue printed serial numbers are found in panels to the lower left and upper right of the portrait. Clean paper and plentiful margins are observed on this evenly circulated example. All of the engraved design elements are presented sharply including the vignettes on the face and the intricate green printed back. The grading service cites "Restoration" on the back of the holder as the reasoning for the net grade. Any such work is expertly accomplished and the note remains wonderfully appealing for a mid-grade note. This is certainly a note that would stand out in many advance collections. <p><p><p> From the Tarzan Collection.
