The finest known Series 1890 $20 Treasury note broke the price record for the Friedberg 374 variety when it sold for $81,000 including the buyer’s fee at the Stack’s Bowers Galleries November 2021 Baltimore Auction.

Paper Money Guaranty assigned it a grade of Superb Gem Uncirculated 67. Of the 126 recorded in the Track and Price data base, only two others are graded as high as Gem Uncirculated 66. Stack’s Bowers Galleries sold one of those in March 2020 for $72,000. The other went for $54,000 in October 2018.

The Series 1890 Treasury notes are referred to as “Ornate Backs” because of the intricate, deep green lathe work that is the central element of their back designs. As beautiful as they may be, the design had the opposite of the intended effect, since they were thought to make counterfeiting easier rather than harder. They were quickly replaced by the Series 1891 “Open Back” design that was supposed to be a greater deterrent.

The facing bust of John Marshall, chief justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835, on the face makes the $20 Treasury Note distinct, as every other Treasury note type depicts either a Civil War era cabinet secretary (Edwin M. Stanton on the $1 note and William H. Seward on the $50 note) or a Union flag officer (Gens. McPherson, Thomas, Sheridan, Sherman, and Meade, and Adml. Farragut).

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