South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. $50 1902 Date Back. Fr. 668. The Sioux Falls NB. Charter #2823. PCGS Banknote About Uncirculated 55.
Here is the first of a really special pair of South Dakota $50 blue seals that we are auctioning tonight. Any collector who has been in the hobby for even a limited amount of time can discuss at length how difficult it is to find a 1902 $50 blue seal with any type of grade or rarity. The vast majority are from common charters and/or in fine or lower condition. These were still circulating at a time when most of the general public would prefer coins over paper money. A fifty dollar banknote also represented a large sum of money that just wasn't practical for the average American to need on a day to day basis. So these were either a hot potato that got passed hand to hand very quickly, resulting in heavy circulation, or more often, avoided altogether. The Sioux Falls National Bank was chartered in 1882 and moved over to second charters late in 1902. They issued a moderate quantity of $5 brown backs, and a few $50 and $100 brown backs, but twenty years in, they must have been tired of signing notes. Because their third charter issues were limited to fifties and hundreds. The bank closed in 1924, but never issued a single plain back. That signals that before 1916 they decided to give up their circulation altogether. For whatever reason, clearly circulating currency was no longer of interest. That decision helped created some scarce issues. Today, thanks to this new discovery, there are just three high denom notes known on this charter. Your cataloger certainly wouldn't dismiss a note like this as just a pretty type example. Expect some competition from South Dakota collectors as well.
Estimate: $10000 - $15000