$100 1966 Legal Tender First Issued

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Small Size Type Notes > Legal Tender

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Fr. 1550 $100 1966 #A00000001A
Grade: Very Ch. CU    

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From our John Whitney Walter sale in 2004 where the note was described as: 'The first pack, or brick, of 1966 Legal Tender notes were found by Phil Lampkin (as the story goes in Puerto Rico) and he contacted Amon Carter, Jr. who helped Lampkin and then acquired the pack. We know he kept the #1 and #5 notes for this collection. When the Carter estate was dispersed, John Rowe sold this note for an unheard-of price of $6,000 to a private collector, from whose estate he recently acquired it. What I have been trying to understand is why they were issued in the first place. It is John Rowe's belief that the law required a certain amount of Legal Tender notes to be in circulation and that issuing $100s was the easiest thing to do at the time, as the Federal Reserve note had replaced the $5 Legal Tender and the Government was not ready to end the Legal Tender series. This $100 Legal Tender remains one of the greatest prizes among small size collectors, and an opportunity to have the first note printed is one that only three individuals have had the privilege of owning in the last 38 years. This is your opportunity to own one of America's numismatic treasures.' It's been 14 years since this note last appeared and it remains at or near the top of all small size rarities.

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