RICK: Hey, how's it going? Oh, pretty good. I have a couple of
interesting notes I think you may
be interested in. I have a $50 legal
tender note from 1880. And I have an 1890
legal tender Treasury note, which is also known
as ornate or a fancy back. RICK: OK, these are cool. And they're pretty damn rare. "This note is legal
tender at its face value in payment for all debts,
public and private." JEFF: I'm impressed that
you can even read that. RICK: I pay extra
money so you don't see the line on the bifocals. [laughter] JEFF: The notes I'm selling
are very high grade. They're very collectible. The cool thing is the notes
are really portable artwork. You can take them and
show them to other people. I'm looking for $35,000. The least I'm willing to
take for them is somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000. RICK: These things are great. These were precursors
to the Federal Reserve, more or less, to
our modern money. These were not
backed by anything. They just printed them. But what gave them value is is
you could pay taxes with them. And if you didn't pay taxes,
they take everything you have and throw you in jail. I hear that. RICK: So where
did you get these? JEFF: On the internet. I was intrigued by the
backs more than the fronts. RICK: It's a greenback. I just love everything about
these The original term greenback came from
legal tender notes, because they always printed
them with green backs. We used to make some
really, really pretty money. JEFF: We did, gorgeous. RICK: These bills
are incredible. These things rarely
come on the market. So I'd be shocked if one
of them came in my shop, much less two of them. They're just cool. How much were you looking
to get out of them? $35,000. OK. JEFF: $18,000 for the ornate
back, $17,000 for the $50 note. OK. Tell you the truth, I have no
idea if that's a great price or not. Let me call in someone
to look at them and we'll go from there.
- That's fair. RICK: OK, I'll be right back. OK. I really feel good about
an expert coming in, because I've been out of
the market for a while. And I think it
would really helped me make a more informed decision
as to selling the notes. Wow. RICK: This is why I call you in
when I have this weird stuff. PETER TREGLIA:
Great paper money. These are two very
fantastic items. I could tell right
off the bat, this is an 1890 $20 legal tender. This series is far
better and more valuable and rare than the 1891. The government felt that it was
easier to counterfeit a more ornate back, which is bizarre. So in 1891 it didn't
have the intricacies that this note clearly does. A $50-- surprisingly,
even though it is a higher denomination
note, it is actually more common than this note. Doesn't mean it's
worth less or more, it just means it's more common. The collector basis for both
notes are quite significant. Rick, what are your
questions you have with this? OK, it's the same I have
with all this old paper money. I need to know what grade it is
and, you know, what's it worth? OK, that's an
excellent question. I'm going to use my
light, because these look to be in fantastic
condition, actually. It does have a corner fold. I don't know if you
can quite see it. [interposing voices] OK, so you noticed that. But I'll put this in the
class of about uncirculated. So this $50 is quite nice, but
it does look like something fuzzy was up here,
some ink or a pencil. Someone definitely got a
little creative or tried to be. RICK: So what are they worth? OK, the $20
Treasury note, I would expect in auction to bring
between $12,000 and $16,000. And the 1880 $50
legal tender note, I would expect to bring
between $10,000 and $15,000 on a conservative basis. Somewhere between
22 to 30, basically? PETER TREGLIA:
That's about right. I think it sounds reasonable. PETER TREGLIA: I'm
glad to hear that. Well, thanks, man. Thanks, Rick. Good to see you. Some of the rarest
of rare notes, actually, is a 1890
$1,000 Treasury banknote, that have sold upwards
of nearly $3 and 1/2 million. If Rick can negotiate a
deal for both these notes, I think it's an excellent buy. RICK: What's your
best price on them? I'd like to get $30,000
for the two of them. I thinking more 17. They're absolutely beautiful. And when they're this nice, they
sell quick, I'll give you that. JEFF: I think you can
get the 30 for it. 25? I'll tell you
what, I'll pay you at the bottom end of
what Pete said, 22, I think I'll do all right. Fine, you got a deal. Sweet! Meet you right over there and
we'll do some paperwork, man. I'm taking the
$22,000, because at the end of the day, that's
a number that I can deal with. And I'm going to look
for another collection. So right now, it'll sit
pretty in the bank account until that time comes.
