The August 2012 Philadelphia ANA World's Fair of Money Auction

Auction # 140 | View Auction Schedule and Details

Pre-Bidding Ends: 8/8/2012 1:00:00 PM PST
Live Floor and Internet Bidding Begins: 8/8/2012 2:00:00 PM PST

Lot #7285. Colonial Notes. MA-245. Massachusetts State. October 18, 1776. $12 or 72 Shillings. PCGS About New 50.

Very Rare and Esteemed John Gill Back Large Note

Second Finest Known of the Issue

Description:

No.1878. Signed by Cheever and Ivers. John Gill large bill. Intricate tall columns on each side encircled by denomination on scroll. Top with ornate frieze with MASSACHUSETTS STATE curved above. Text and titles within, signature space at bottom. Pine tree at back center. Ornate borders on three sides with codfish at top center (motifs as used on the 1750 change bills). Bottom, imprint of John Gill in Gothic, date October, 1776 at bottom. Among the rarest and most esteemed of all Revolutionary War currency types. Only the greatest Colonial and Massachusetts collectors have owned the revered John Gill back large bills. Twelve denominations, from $1 to $12 (6 Shillings to 72 Shillings), were authorized. Over the two decades spent cataloguing Colonial American notes, we trace less than ten auction records of all denominations, often with long spans between offerings. Some of the denominations might not even exist today. This is the second finest known of the large bill type we have observed. A superb Boyd Collection pedigree note. The face is placed perfectly on the paper with full margins on all sides, just slightly tight at left. Signatures and serial with crystal clarity. The back is centered just left, leaving a wide edge at the right. The significance of the lumber and fishing industries to the Massachusetts colonists is evident in the wonderfully executed, precisely detailed pine tree and codfish motifs seen on this note. At bottom is Boyd’s penciled cost code ‘lryx’ which translates to a $75.00 purchase price—an astounding sum for a colonial American note during the time he bought such items from the Chapmans, Wayte Raymond and T. James Clarke. Boyd owned an astonishing five issued denominations of this type, a feat likely never to be duplicated. Bragging rights to this well pedigreed and desired Massachusetts issue is at hand for the most visionary and resolute high bidder.

From the Tremont Collection; Stack’s John J. Ford, Jr. Collection Part X Sale, May 26, 2005, Lot 4702; F.C.C. Boyd Estate.

Estimate:

$40,000 - $50,000