With bidding for our upcoming January 2025 NYINC Showcase Auction of World Paper Money in full swing, we thought it was a good idea to ask around the office for the favorites of some of the members of the currency team are. As you can see, each of us are attracted to different notes in the sale, and for a wide variety of reasons. We really do mean it when we say that this sale has something for everyone!
Joe Pyle – Currency Auction Associate:
Lot 21313: VENEZUELA. Banco de Venezuela. 100 Bolivares, 8.7.1935. P-S313. PMG Very Fine 30.
I love the color and eye appeal of this note. Especially the vignette of gauchos seen on this design from the American Bank Note Company.
Aris Maragoudakis – Director of World Currency:
Lot 20068: BURUNDI. Banque du Royaume. 500 Francs, 15.5.1961. P-6. PCGS Currency Gem New 66 PPQ.
I love this note for many reasons, but none more than always finding the BURUNDI stamping to be such an absurdly large and obstructive overprint. This provisional series was one of the first issues I traded and collected in this business. The actual quality of this piece is exceptional compared to countless examples I have encountered.
Carla L. Chavez – Lead Currency Operations Coordinator:
Lot 21186: PORTUGAL Banco de Portugal. 50 Escudos, 13.1.1925. P-136. PMG Choice Very Fine 35.
I really like that this banknote represents Portugal’s art history. Luís de Camões, a Portuguese poet is on the front of the banknote. He was a renowned poet who is best known for his poem “Os Lusiadas,” which celebrates Portuguese navigators and the discovery of India. The Monastery of Marfa next to him shows the Portuguese Gothic architectural design.
Adem Karisik – Consignment Director Canada:
This is the first banknote ever issued anywhere in the world that featured the future Queen Elizabeth II, a very rare note in this exceptional condition. It also showcases the scarcer large seal variety, making it even more important.
Peter A. Treglia – Vice President & Managing Director of Currency:
My pick of the auction was chosen because it’s Italian! And it happens to be one of the finest for the type. Features the portrait of Alessandro Manzoni, who is among the most famous Italian novelists of all time.
Henrik Holt Christensen – Senior Consignment Director of Europe:
As I’m originally from Denmark I like this note, with the wonderful picture of our old King Christian IX, Danish King from 1863 to 1906 and great-great-grandfather of our current King Frederik X. The Danish monarchy is among the oldest in the world. The royal house can be confidently traced through history back to Viking King Gorm the Old, who died circa 958 AD. The Danish West Indies were three islands in the Caribbean that were sold to the United States in 1917 for $25 million.
Eric Niño – Currency Auction Associate:
Lot 21125: MONGOLIA. State Treasury. 1 Dollars, 1924. P-2r. Remainder. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63.
I like this note because of how unique it is. It’s vibrant with all the different colors, not to mention the swastika, right in the middle. It is usually seen as a negative symbol because of what is symbolized in the 1930s and 1940s but it was used long before then in Chinese, Indian, and African cultures for bringing well-being.
Michael Moczalla – US Currency Specialist:
The note above is one of my favorite notes in the auction. I was happy to be involved in securing some of the early Brazilian specimens offered. Working on these I became quite fond of the simplistic Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. designs featuring these pleasing female vignettes for the various series issued. This grouping is sure to command much bidder attention since most of them have only recently come on the market after being in tight hands for over 30 years.
Richard Ponterio – Executive Vice President:
An exciting note that is possibly a proof and a color trial in one, as other examples I have seen of this type (and there are few) are printed in blue. This is identical in design to those other examples, but it appears that some of the text is sketched in, making it even more fascinating.
Dennis Hengeveld – Director of Consignments & Senior Numismatist:
As I have a degree in history, I tend to be attracted to historically important notes more than those that are “just pretty.” While this 500 Rubles may not be much to look at, it is a very rare draft from a long-forgotten British Military Mission in Trans-Caspia, today the country of Turkmenistan. The description in the catalog dives into the background of this issue and is a fascinating read into the history of the region in late 1918.
