Matagorda, TX- Corporation of Matagorda $2 May 20, 1840 Medlar 3 PMG Very Good 10 Net.. ...

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Matagorda, TX- Corporation of Matagorda $2 May 20, 1840 Medlar 3 PMG Very Good 10 Net.
While Civil War era county issues are available from Matagorda, the same cannot be said for this Republic of Texas era municipal note. Matagorda is the third oldest town in Texas, having been established in 1827 when Stephen F. Austin received permission from the Mexican government to establish a town to protect incoming settlers. This note was issued in 1840 and is the only example of this design that we are aware of today in the collector community. A second example is locked away permanently in the Rowe-Barr Collection of Texas Currency at Southern Methodist University. This $2 note has interesting vignettes of a youth on horseback, a sailing ship, and a maiden standing in front of what appears to be a hybrid Texas flag - the Stars and Stripes with a single large star. By intent or coincidence, this was the design of the Texas naval flag (adopted 1836) as well. We suspect that a stock vignette with the Stars and Stripes was simply modified by the printer C.C. Wright, D. Felt & Co., of Stationers Hall, NY. PMG mentions that the note has a tape repair and pieces replaced. The most obvious of these impairments is a piece of the left vignette that has been replaced with a non-original piece and is backed with a strip from an 1862 Texas Treasury Warrant (Cr. 1 Medlar 100/Cr. 2 Medlar 101). Having made this disclosure, it really probably does not make much difference for a note of this rarity. Do you have one in better condition? Probably not, and that is the point. This note definitely will not come around very often, so knowledgeable collectors will undoubtedly seize the opportunity presented here.

View Certification Details from PMG