"Secret Marks" Partial Back Proofs Numbered 3-11 Fr. 42 $2 1869 Legal Tender Not Graded.. ...

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"Secret Marks" Partial Back Proofs

"Secret Marks" Partial Back Proofs Numbered 3-11 Fr. 42 $2 1869 Legal Tender Not Graded.
The backs of the Fr. 42 $2 Legal Tender Notes were printed by the American Bank Note Company, while the faces were printed by the National Bank Note Company. This lot contains a kraft paper page measuring approximately 9.5 by 12.5 inches from an ABNCo ledger addressing various positions for the possible placement of "secret marks" within the back design. Nine green or black ink sections of the back displaying either the "2" counter at center or the "II" counter at far left and measuring up to approximately 2.75 inches in width are mounted to the page. Penned in red ink above each Proof section is a plate number from 3 to 11 and below are dates in February and March (18)70. Next, are penned red lines that emanate from a tiny dot (the proposed "secret mark") and terminate at its appointed location. This lot and the following two lots have been in the possession of our consignor for decades and offer a glimpse of how the ABNCo was going to stay ahead of counterfeiters. This single page mounted item is not graded and a left edge piece of the kraft paper is missing from the act of removal from a ledger, but none of the mounted Proof sections were harmed. Also, three edge tears have been sealed with archival tape on the back. The back of the kraft paper has "ghost" reversed images of nine other examples of Proof Fr. 42 sections with "secret marks." For further reading on "secret marks" see the article, "Secret Marks on 4th Issue Fractional Notes" in Paper Money, Society of Paper Money Collectors, September/October 2015, Vol. LIV, No. 5, Whole No. 299, pages 357-61. More "secret marks" ledger sheets in this auction can be found in our Fractional Currency section.