| Description |
La Banque (Royale) September 2, 1720 50 Livres SCWPM# A23. PCGS Extremely Fine 45 Apparent. This is a scarcer type of "John Law" note. The La Louisiane notes, collected in the American series for generations, are historic artifacts reflecting the intersection of 18th century European "Bubble" financing schemes and the North American continent. The territory of La Louisiane was expansive and surrounded the Mississippi River as it flowed south from present-day Wisconsin and drained into the Gulf through New Orleans. Importantly, the land surrounding St. Louis, the eventual Missouri Territory and later State of Missouri, were included. Therefore, these are integral to collections of Missouri paper currency. These technically French notes (and listed in the Standard Catalogue of World Paper Money) were Royal issues created by Scottish-born John Law in order to stimulate investments in the New World territories. The earliest Banque Generale notes (1716-1718), signed by Law himself, are virtually unobtainable. They were replaced by the rarely seen 1719 Banque Royale notes. The Boyd-Raymond holdings contained no 1719-dated notes, only examples with the date of 1720. This third series July 1, 1720, note is printed on white indented paper and has an embossed seal at bottom center. Since the dispersal of the Boyd-Raymond-Ford notes in 2005, these are difficult to obtain, especially in such choice condition. There were only two examples of this type in that group compared with over 10 January 1, 1720, notes. There are "Pinholes" noted by grading, but the indent at the left is perfectly straight, and the note is broadly margined for the type. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
From Newman X (Heritage Auctions, November 2018), lot 20026, realized $1140. |
