LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 Jan. FUN Signature Currency Auction #456  / 

12363

Fr. 1232 5¢ Treasury Rectangle Second Issue PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1,150.00 USD Estimated At:1,600.00 - 2,400.00 USD
Fr. 1232 5¢ Treasury Rectangle Second Issue PCGS
<B>Fr. 1232 5¢ Treasury Rectangle Second Issue PCGS Extremely Fine 40.</B></I> Treasury Rectangles have been an important item in Fractional Currency collecting ever since they were first noticed by collectors, which was shortly after the end of the circulating period. There are two different accounts of the origin of these Treasury Rectangles. Milt Friedberg has located a document from the Third Session of the Fortieth Congress, where in testimony a Mr. William Coleman testified that he and a Mr. Drummer counted the blank banknote paper before it was printed, and stamped it with a little stamp consisting of a rectangle with "Treas Dpt.," inscribed on it. This rectangle was stamped on the corner of the sheet to indicate that it had been counted. A second version relies on the research of Martin Gengerke. That version is that Congress, having become concerned with counterfeiting, ordered the Treasury Department to print notes on distinctive paper. The Treasury Department circumvented Congress's orders by stamping each sheet "Treas Dpt.," thereby making the regular banknote paper distinctive, instead of having to go back to the drawing board and print Experimental notes on various forms of paper, a process which had already been done, and during which Treasury Department officials never found a satisfactory substitute for the regular banknote paper. Several different sizes and shapes of Treasury Department rectangles are known, and it's possible, perhaps even likely, that both of these accounts are correct. In either case, the rectangle was at the very edge of the sheet, and it was intended to be trimmed off, accounting for their extreme rarity.<BR><BR>The Five Cent denomination is the second scarcest on which to find these Treasury Department bronze rectangles. On this note it appears on the lower right corner of the back, and it is remarkably clear and complete. Only the top of the capital "T" in "Treas" and the very top of the "D" in "Dpt" are cut by the edge. <BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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