Audubon Grouse Discovery on Third Bank

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Obsolete Notes & Miscellaneous Items > New York

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Brooklyn Long Island Bank $20 Proof
Grade: PCGS New 62    

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Haxby NY-325-Unlisted. Eric P. Newman has been adventuring in numismatic research for generations and his collecting achievements are legendary. An 1824 entry in Audubon s diary of correspondence with a Mr. Fairman was the clue to launch an investigation into the ultimate vignette riddle. Art historians and William Dillistin (surveying counterfeit detectors and bank note reporters) searched for this running grouse vignette use for years. It appears on Fairman, Draper, Underwood & Co. sample sheets and it was observed by Mr. Newman and matched to notes from two banks. The confirmed discovery of John James Audubon s running grouse engraved onto an American currency note elicited excitement in the art and paper money collecting fields. This is the first auction appearance of a note with the extremely elusive vignette since that confirmation and publication a few years ago in a 2010 paper presented at Princeton University. This bank s use of the running grouse vignette is published here for the first time as it was unobserved during the 1990 ABN auction and more recently when the Alan York estate was sold off. This beauty comes from the 1990 ABN Christie's Sale and is unique. There are no records of the bank printing or issuing $20 notes. The estimate may be conservative considering the artistic merits and history presented. The uniqueness of this $20 proof is icing on thickly layered cake.

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