$10,000 1882 Gold Certificate Fragment

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Large Size Type Notes > Gold Certificates

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Fr. 1223f-I $10,000 1882 Fragment
Grade: PCGS VF Fine Apparent    

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Imagine my surprise at the recent Philadelphia show when I was called over to a table and asked, "Want to sell this?" and "Do you know what it's worth?" Well, I blurted out something stupid and then was politely corrected with the following story. I was told that an elderly man in his 90s had contacted this dealer about this fragment, claiming that when Franklin D. Roosevelt called in the Gold and Gold Certificates he obliged by redeeming this note at the proper place. After it was properly redeemed, this fragment was returned to him. Now there are a million questions that could be asked but I can't answer any of them. What I do know is that somehow this gentleman acquired this original 1882 $10,000 Gold Certificate after redemption as a souvenir and it remained in his possession until recently. Personally I have never seen a piece cancelled like this before. A story provided by Peter Huntoon lends understanding as to why this fragment exists in its current state. Two different agencies oversaw the redemption of unfit currency, one reporting to the Secretary of the Treasury and the other to the Treasurer. Most of the sorting was done by the Federal Reserve Banks when they were segregated by class and then placed in 100 note straps (doubt that was possible here). The next step was to cancel them by perforation. The strapped notes were then halved lengthwise. The lower halves are shipped to the Federal Reserve Issue and Redemption Division, Secretary of the Treasury. Upon arrival the bank is notified by telegraph and the tops are shipped to the to the National Redemption Division under the Treasurer. After everything checked out and was recorded the notes were destroyed by macerating machinery. All this was started after a simpler process of clipping all four corners proved flawed when notes showed up for redemption with clipped corners, so the process was changed. I have no way of knowing how this gentleman was able to keep his lower portion or whether it was done by the Secretary of the Treasury himself. We do know it's been cancelled, severed lengthwise and you can't use it. What if it was saved whole? PCGS notes: hold punch cancelled, portion of genuine note.

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