Fr. 587. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 1902 $5 Red Seal. The Mellon National Bank of Pittsburgh. Charter

Fr. 587. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 1902 $5 Red Seal. The Mellon National Bank of Pittsburgh. Charter #6301. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ.，This is a very attractive Gem example of this popular type note with nice color and Exceptional Paper Quality as noted by PMG. The red overprints and blue serial numbers are gently embossed into the paper. It is nicely centered with good margins on both sides and has clear autographed bankers signatures in dark brown ink.<p><p>Bank President Andrew W. Mellon, whose well-known name is on the title of this bank, signed this note in his own hand. Mellon is best known as the United States secretary of the Treasury under presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, but he was accomplished in other areas as well. He signed this note before his appointment as Treasury secretary in 1921, but he was already very successful as a banker and industrialist. He was one of the wealthiest men in America, with an estimated net worth in excess of $300 million prior to the Great Depression. He was also a major art collector and generous philanthropist. His art collection, valued at $40 million in 1937, was given as the basis for the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and an extra $10 million was given for construction of the west wing of the museum on the National Mall.<p><p>The Mellon National Bank was chartered in 1902 and the first issue of notes consisted of the Red Seals. This note, with its low double-digit bank serial, was likely signed on the day the first shipment of notes was received from the Treasury Department. Beyond consideration of this notes high grade among those of this title, it stands as one of the finest 1902 $5 Red Seals. Even when including all three Friedberg numbers, there have been only three notes graded finer by PMG, each by a single grade point. <p>，From the A.J. Vanderbilt Collection. Earlier from The Magnolia Collection, Heritage, September 2013, lot 16993.，