20083: Serial Number 1 Jacksonville, IL - $1-$1-$1-$2 O

Serial Number 1 Jacksonville, IL - $1-$1-$1-$2 Original Fr. 380/Fr. 387 Uncut Sheet The First National Bank Ch. # 511 PMG About Uncirculated 55. Tonight, we are pleased to offer one of the greatest National Bank Note rarities to appear in one of our auctions in quite a few years. This is the only all-Serial Number 1 First Charter uncut sheet known to exist, in either public or private hands. According to the National Currency Foundation census, a total of 20 uncut sheets are reported for the entire First Charter Period, both Original Series and Series of 1875. However, of those twenty, this Jacksonville, IL sheet is the only one bearing serial number 1. Notwithstanding the serial number 1 status, First Charter sheets of any number are a rare breed with, as stated, just 20 known to exist, as compared to 90 Second Charter sheets and 677 Third Charter sheets in the census. This sheet was a highlight of the famed Albert A. Grinnell collection, and was the first uncut National Bank Note sheet to be offered in Barney Bluestone's sale of the Grinnell collection as Lot 1445 on June 16, 1945. Back then, Mr. Bluestone stated that it was "the only number 1 sheet known to exist," a statement that is still true 75 years later. Since that time, the sheet passed into the hands of well-known dealer, Paul Kagin, and then to our consignor. This exciting piece is now once again available for a new generation of collectors. The sheet itself is bright and fresh with excellent color and bold pen signatures. There is a light fold between each of the notes and a few pinholes are noted by PMG, but those minor flaws are hardly worth mentioning. Estimating the value of a unique piece such as this, destined to be a centerpiece of any collection it enters, is rather difficult. First, there have been few, if any offerings, of even non-serial number 1 First Charter uncut sheets in recent years. Second, a perusal of auction records does reveal that individual examples of serial number 1 Original Series $1s in the better grades sell in excess of $10,000, and number 1 Deuces fetch well over $25,000. However, to quantify the added premium for having four of those number 1 notes in an uncut sheet is sheer guesswork. Therefore, we will be conservative and let the bidders decide tonight. From the Monarch Collection HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved