Fr. 377 $100 1890 Treasury Note PCGS Banknote About Unc 50 Details.. ...

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Beautiful 1890 $100 Watermelon

Fr. 377 $100 1890 Treasury Note PCGS Banknote About Unc 50 Details.
Watermelon $100's have always held a special allure for currency collectors. Only 35 examples of the type are known. If one removes the government held pieces (eight), and the examples that have not been seen on the market in years (several more), that does not leave a whole lot of notes to go around for this one-number type. Tonight's offering is one of the finer known survivors and traces its provenance back to the holdings of William Philpott and Bob Medlar, who offered the note in a 1972 advertisement. Shortly thereafter, it was acquired by well-known New York collector Frank Levitan, and then it was later offered in the sale of Frank's Large Size Type collection in 1998. The back, from which the nickname of this note is derived, is beautifully clean, and the 'Watermelon' effect of the large zeros remains pronounced, as the print quality is razor sharp. PCGS has noted some minor repairs, which after close examination, are nothing more than a few closed pinholes near the center of the note. Aside from a PMG Choice 63 EPQ piece which sold at auction for $372,000 three years ago, no finer example of this rare and popular type note has been offered at public auction since our sale of the Tom Flynn collection in 2008 when we sold a PMG 53 Net example for $195,500. The note is beautiful and bright with excellent color and only minor handling at the right. The centering is closer at the bottom than the top, but it is completely clear of the design everywhere. A wonderful example of this popular type note that will be a centerpiece of the next collection it enters.