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 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,015 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3641 Posts |
Refunding certificates were interest bearing notes issued only in a denomination of $10, and Friedberg #214 is the only collectible one of those (there is one other type with a very different back design, Fr#213, but there are only two examples of that one known). These certificates paid 4% annual interest with no ending time specified, but in 1907 Congress passed an act which fixed the value of the certificates at $21.30 and ended any further accrual of interest. After that point the vast majority of these certificates were redeemed. PMG has certified a total of only 88 refunding certificates. For a while I have been keeping my eye out for a refunding certificate graded VF-XF. So many of these that come up for sale in those grades seem to have been repaired or have issues such as splits, tears or pinholes. So, I was targeting one without any comments, and preferably with a PQ designation. One finally came along that checked all the boxes. You can see one prominent horizontal fold and three heavy vertical folds, and some minor handling marks, but I'm pleased with this pickup.   |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1464 Posts |
Thanks for history... I knew nothing about these. Very nice looking certificate and acquisition. Congrats!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
Dang Hokie! That is a nice rare note! Impressive!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
Interesting note. Thanks for sharing!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3468 Posts |
Beautiful note with a fun issue date.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1870 Posts |
very nice bill---congrats--where does it read "payable to the bearer''---thanks---Only a few 1879 Refunding Certificates were imprinted with the inscription Payable to Order. Only two are known to still exist. Most were inscribed Payable to Bearer and even these are rare—only a few dozen are in numismatic collections.
Edited by mikev50
02/16/2025 9:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3641 Posts |
Thanks, guys.
@mikev50, the obligation states "This certifies that the sum of Ten Dollars has been deposited with the Treasurer of the United States under Act of February 26th, 1879. Convertible with accrued interest at 4 per cent per annum into 4 per cent bonds of the United States issued under the Acts of July 14, 1870 and January 20, 1871 upon presentation at the office of the Treasurer of the U.S. in sums of $50 or multiples thereof." There is no "Pay to Bearer" statement. Bowers, in his "Encyclopedia of U.S. Paper Money", mentions that it was not likely these circulated as money.
I had read those comments on Wikipedia, but I'm not sure where they got that info. The first version of these had a similar obligation as shown above, but had the name of the purchaser written; "This certifies that Joe Blow has deposited with the Treasurer of the United States the sum of Ten Dollars under Act of Feb. 26, 1879. Convertible with accrued interest {the remainder of the obligation is the same}". The back of the first version of this certificate is very different, but the only mention of "bearer" is the beginning statement on the back: "For value received hereby assign to Bearer for conversion into a Four percent bond." followed by the signature of the purchaser and a short affidavit signed by the official who sold the certificate.
Member of SPMC, FCCB, ANA and ANS. My U.S. Classic Commemorative Complete Set: https://www.NGCcoin.com/registry/co...sets/278741/My U.S. Fractional Note Set: https://notes.www.collectors-societ...eSetID=34188Edited by hokiefan_82
02/16/2025 10:12 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1870 Posts |
what about "payable to order" thanks
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
Hokie,
I always thought these were more like savings bonds rather than actual currency. It's pretty cool to have one of these as $20 was a lot of money back then.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3641 Posts |
Quote:
what about "payable to order" thanks I don't see that on the first version. See my comment above; I edited my reply a bit. I'll see if I can add a high-def image of the first version of the certificate. Quote:
I always thought these were more like savings bonds rather than actual currency. That's right, they are more like savings bonds. Bowers refers to them as "baby bonds" in his reference. Of course, like any monetary instrument, I figure some must have changed hands over time. On the Stack's auction site, they have this to say about Refunding Certificates: "After Robert Friedberg's Paper Money of the United States was released in 1953, such notes, earlier strictly a niche specialty, became widely popular. Refunding Certificates, however, were viewed as bonds, not notes, by most collectors, and they did not become popular until a generation later. Today they are in great demand." Edited by hokiefan_82
02/16/2025 10:57 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3641 Posts |
@mikev50, here is an example of one of the two known Fr#213 that was sold at a 2018 Stack's sale (the note went for $780,000, by the way).   Member of SPMC, FCCB, ANA and ANS. My U.S. Classic Commemorative Complete Set: https://www.NGCcoin.com/registry/co...sets/278741/My U.S. Fractional Note Set: https://notes.www.collectors-societ...eSetID=34188Edited by hokiefan_82
02/17/2025 01:42 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3641 Posts |
Quote:
Beautiful note with a fun issue date. @nfine, even though I've looked at these for years, the "April Fools' Day" date still catches my attention...  |
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Moderator
United States
15396 Posts |
Outstanding acquisition hokie. I never knew these existed, and learned a lot by reading through this thread. Thanks for sharing. Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art |
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Moderator
United States
187862 Posts |
Very interesting! |
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Replies: 13 / Views: 1,015 |
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Posted 02/16/2025 7:09 pm
