Miami Valley Coin Club

Anyone Can Make A Mistake, However…

An 1847 $500 banknote was certified by PMG (Paper Money Guaranty) and auctioned by Heritage Auctions in January 2016. In the auction the note was described as newly discovered and the only example of this type of notes issued between 1812 and the 1860’s. When the hammer fell, the note sold for $199,750.

By studying newspapers starting in 1847, a researcher found articles warning the public about counterfeit $500 Treasury notes. After a lot more research, the note ended up being an example of one of these 1847 counterfeits.

Someone paid $199,750 for a certified piece of currency only to find out later that it was a fake. As our ability to look back and research more and more continues to improve, how many other “certified” coins and pieces of currency will surface as fakes? It’s a scary thought. How many times have we, as collectors purchasing an expensive item, been told that we should make sure that a third party has certified the item?