Nine on a $9
Exceptional Odd Denomination Obsolete
Charlottesville, Virginia. Monticello Bank. 1861 $9. PMG Choice Fine 15. Serial Number 9.
No. 9. Plate A. Seldom encountered and excessively rare in capacity. What may seem odd to the numismatist of today or the layman of 1861, the $9 denomination had its fair share of utility at least in theory. Imagine you go to a general store in Charlottesville in the early 1860s and you have a $10 note issued by a random bank and seek to purchase an item for $1, a $9 note would allow the clerk to make change without having the need to make change with coins should they not have enough notes on hand to complete the transaction. Such a degree of utility has its obvious benefits in a time when specie and base metal coinage were a scarce sight in circulation. As a bonus, this note features the serial number 9 in what amounts to an amazing coincidence that no other surviving example could hope to match. To consider such a piece as merely rare, is nothing but a grievous understatement that cannot even come close to striking at how special such an item may be to the collector who specializes in numismatic oddities.
Estimate: $2000.00- $3000.00
Price realized | 4'000 USD |
Starting price | 1'200 USD |