With help from authors Q. David Bowers and David M. Sundman, we get the chance to learn more about the notes gracing Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest American Currency Notes list. Our next currency note focus will have you scratching your head for a multitude of reasons. From restricted use, the denomination, and a fire that made them public, let us take a closer look at this rarity note.
#69 – Series of 1900, Canceled Issue $10,000 Gold Certificate
When Series of 1900 $10,000 Gold Certificates were issued, they were only printed for the intention of using them for “interdepartmental transactions within the government,” according to authors Bowers and Sundman. They were not released into circulation, but their production was relatively high with 393,000 printed. When the mid 1930s came around, most of the notes had been punch cancelled.
However, in December 1935 a fire that raged in the building they were being stored in would bring them extensive attention. To save them, boxes featuring the cancelled notes in addition to paper files and documents were tossed out the window. Onlookers watched on, both astonished and excited that $10,000 notes were flying around the streets. Most of them were recovered, but not all of them.
Since that day, they have been highly collectible, but author Robert Friedberg (Paper Money of the United States) reminds us that it is illegal to possess the note. Authors Bowers and Sundman also note that the Treasury Department has benevolent take on this, referring to the 100 Uncirculated $10,000 Gold Certificates that ended up in the market in 1995 with no reaction from the Treasury.
In 1960, the historic market value of the note in Choice Crisp Uncirculated condition is unknown, but by 2000, it was estimated at $1,700. By the time of this publication (2005), it rose to $5,400.
