Fr. 1132-F (W-4258-F). 1918 $500 Federal Reserve Note. Atlanta. PCGS Choice About New 58.

Fr. 1132-F (W-4258-F). 1918 $500 Federal Reserve Note. Atlanta. PCGS Choice About New 58.，An example of one of the most famous and rare types in all of American currency collecting. Around 200 of these 1918 $500 Federal Reserve Notes are known today <em>from all districts combined</em>. Just nine examples are known on the Atlanta district, with the present example from a run of five consecutive high-grade pieces all recorded as Uncirculated in the census. The imposing face design is ornately detailed with bold 500 counters in each corner. The sharply detailed portrait of Chief Justice John Marshall at center is flanked by the engraved signatures of Treasury officials John Burke and Carter Glass. While the face design is rather open, except for the margins, the back design is fully involved with an incredibly detailed vignette identified below. With broad margins, clean paper and no visible signs of handling, it is easy to see how this note has at multiple times in the past been described as "Gem." Whatever has held the note back from a full Uncirculated grade is not apparent through the PCGS holder.<p><p><p><strong>$500 Federal Reserve Notes, Series of 1918, Blue Seal</strong><p>The face portrait of Marshall was engraved by Charles Schlecht after a portrait by Henry Inman. A Treasury Seal is to the left, with the bank number and letter at the center. To the right is a blue Treasury Seal with scalloped border. The face layout is generic, with a widely spaced (from the border) Federal Reserve Bank seal, and large district numbers and letters in each corner. The back shows <em>De Soto Discovering the Mississippi,</em> an engraving by Frederick Girsch. This is a trimmed and slightly altered version of the same engraving used for the back of the $10 National Bank Notes, Original Series and Series of 1875, now with no credit to the American Bank Note Company. It has been up to the numismatic community to figure a lot of these things out!<p>For the present note 30,400 were issued, from which fewer than a dozen can be traced.，From the Joel R. Anderson Collection of United States Paper Money, Part I. Earlier from Stacks March 1991 sale, lot 2118; Lyn Knights November 1993 sale, lot 954; Stanley Moryczs February 1994 Fixed Price List; Currency Auctions of Americas January 2000 sale, lot 2201; Jay Parrinos February 2002 Fixed Price List; Lyn Knights March 2007 sale, lot 385.，