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Fr. 376 $50 1891 Treasury Note PMG Very Fine 25.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Paper Money - United States Start Price:15,000.00 USD Estimated At:60,000.00 - 90,000.00 USD
Fr. 376 $50 1891 Treasury Note PMG Very Fine 25.
<B>Fr. 376 $50 1891 Treasury Note PMG Very Fine 25.</B></I> As soon as the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which called for the issuance of Treasury Notes, was passed on July 14, 1890, the Treasurer, James N. Huston, organized the effort to design and issue them. Designs for the typical denominations $1 to $1000 were prepared; by November 29, the proposed $50 design was completed. Like the famous Watermelon $100 and $1000, the back design featured generously proportioned letters in the word FIFTY, intricately engraved, and in the rich green color synonymous with the nickname, "Greenback." The rich and colorful designs were intended for all the denominations of 1890 Treasury Notes, but before any $50's were printed, the 1891 Series, with its new back designs, had already been introduced: to aid in counterfeit detection, the new designs featured an open back - two large areas of open design in which the colored fibers in the paper could be easily seen. In 1891, the $50 Treasury Note went into production, and 80,000 notes were printed in total. Ultimately only 23,500 of the notes were issued, and they likely were used primarily for large-dollar bank-to-bank transactions involving the purchase of silver. Friedberg indicates that Treasury Records show only 25 notes still outstanding, supporting the theory that they were mostly used in bank-to-bank transactions and subsequently redeemed. Today, the census records 22 examples and with only three unreported examples still outstanding, the Fifty Dollar Seward's status as a classic numismatic rarity is forever protected. Of the current recorded examples, six pieces are permanently impounded in institutional collections limiting the number of collectible examples to only 16. The numismatic community has been lucky to see four examples appear at auction in the last year and a half...but auction appearances are often years apart. The curren