As we continue to work on assembling and cataloging the January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction I came across a note that even though it may not be in the best of condition, it represents a highly important opportunity for collectors of Central America, Nicaragua and commemorative bank notes. Cataloged as Pick-23, it is graded Very Good 8 Details by PCGS Banknote, with a comment for splits. It is a commemorative 5 Pesos dated 12 October 1894 (the date of the authorization of 500,000 Pesos worth of Treasury Notes) issued to commemorate the 402nd anniversary of the “discovery” of America by Christopher Columbus. In this blog post you can read more about this rare and enigmatic issue, the notes of which are among the great rarities in world paper money.
As a 402th anniversary is not commonly celebrated, it is difficult not to wonder why this series of notes was put into circulation in the first place (denominations ranging from 20 Centavos to 10 Pesos are believed to have been issued, although the existence of the 10 Pesos has not been confirmed by your author). Because so little is known we can only speculate. Most likely the note was an afterthought to the 400th anniversary, and with Nicaragua in political turmoil at the time, the notes were only issued a few years later. Unlike other commemoratives, which are issued for several years following the event they commemorate, it was decided to just call it the 402nd anniversary. Further details are unclear, but the notes were designed and engraved locally; it is possible that no engraver could be found who could produce notes of sufficient quality until 1894.
We must pause here and ask a question that some may wonder when reading this blog: were these notes the first commemorative bank notes issued? The answer is “it depends.” They are the first commemorative notes issued on behalf of a government and are the earliest commemorative notes listed in the first volume of the Pick catalog. However, the first true commemorative bank notes were issued in Scotland all the way back in the 1820s by the Leith Banking Company, which issued three notes to commemorate the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822.
So what do we know about this issue? We know that the 1 Peso is the only denomination that is encountered with some regularity, although it would be a stretch to call it anything but very scarce. Of all the other denominations we believe that fewer than five notes of each exist, and offerings of any denomination outside of the 1 Peso occur at the frequency of “once-in-a-lifetime.” The most recent offering of any of the other denominations was a 20 Centavos offered by WBNA (acquired by SBG earlier this year) in August of 2022, which brought $12,650. Prior to that, the last public offering of that denomination was back in 1981 in the NASCA sale of the Stockholm Collection, which also offered a 50 Centavos and 1 Peso. The Amon Carter Collection, sold in December 1997, also offered a 50 Centavos and 1 Peso in a single lot.
An extensive search through auction records of the past half century by your author has not revealed any previous offerings of a 5 Peso at public auction in the United States (if you are aware of one, please let me know). The note is not unique, but we doubt that more than two or three are known. This is the only piece graded by PCGS, and none are present in the PMG population report. The piece that will be offered at the 2025 NYINC auction may be low grade, but it is in better condition than the only other piece we have been able to find an image of, that pictured in the Pick catalog, which appears to be torn in half.
We are still accepting consignments for the January 2025 NYINC auction, but the deadline is rapidly approaching. To consign your items alongside this rarity, please contact Dennis Hengeveld at [email protected].
