Fr. 316. 1886 $20 Silver Certificate. PMG Choice Very Fine 35. This rare $20 Silver Certificate represents the last variety for the highly elusive "Diamond Back" design. These notes display the Rosecrans-Nebeker signature combination and a small red scalloped Treasury Seal at right. Just 29 examples of this type are recorded in the Track & Price census.<p><p>The Series of 1886 Silver Certificates, which were first printed in calendar year 1887, have at the center a portrait the late Daniel Manning, who served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1885 to 1887 and died in office the latter year. Similar to the depiction of the recently deceased Thomas A. Hendricks on the related $10 Silver Certificate, the $20 honored a man whose memory was still fresh when the notes were first issued. The portrait was engraved by Lorenzo Hatch. To the left a seated woman holds a cherry tree (?) branch, with a cornucopia overflowing with agricultural products at her feet, a vignette named Science by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. To the right a seated mechanic holds a sledgehammer.<p>The back is filled with rich green engraving with drop-out white letters and a bow-tie design near the center, the last emblem suggesting the sobriquet "Diamond Back Note" to some. D.M. Cooper and George U. Rose were the engravers.<p>Leading third-party grading service PMG has assigned a grade of Choice Very Fine 35 to this note while adding the comment "Restoration" on the back of the holder. This note comes just moderately circulated with boldly printed design elements.
