Paper Money of the Week: Stacks Bowers and Ponterio sells $775,100 in World Paper Money at the Official World Currency Auction of the ANA’s World Fair of Money.

By Matt Quinn, Assistant Director of Currency

The 594 lot session held Tuesday morning featured worldwide banknote rarities with strong bidding activity throughout the sale. A significant trove of early high denomination Turkish notes took top honors with six pieces making up lots 10549-10553. The first offering was a PMG graded Very Fine 20 Net, AH1333 (1917) 1,000 Livres Ministry of Finance Pick 107 which brought an astonishing $52,875, a dollar amount incredibly rare in the realm of foreign currency. A second offering of this rarity was the next lot, although this example was in an impaired condition with large tape repairs. The rarity outmatched the problems, however and the lot sold for $17,625 in a PMG Very Good 10 Net grade. Four 500 Livre notes made up the final four lots of the trove with a Pick 107B AH1334 (1918) piece realizing $25,850 in a PMG Very Good 10 Net state. Another example of the same catalog number in Good grade fetched an impressive $10,281.50. A pair of Pick 114 500 Livres then sold, with lot 10553 bringing $25,850 and lot 10554 realizing $15,275. Other areas of strength included a vast assortment of French Colonial issues, with several specimens and issued notes bringing over the published estimates. Significant selections of Imperial Russian and Jordanian currency also enjoyed strong bidding.