The Ellicott Collection of Panamanian Paper Money, even though it contains only 23 lots, is described by Stack’s Bowers Galleries as the most extensive collection of Panamanian bank notes it has ever offered. The collection will be part of its Jan. 14 New York International Numismatic Convention auction.

The company says the collection was put together and tightly held for a very long time and that some pieces have not been available for decades.

Fourteen of the notes are from the short-lived and very rare 1-, 5-, 10-, and 20-balboas Arias Series from 1941. It includes a complete set of fully issues notes as well as several specimen notes.

All of  them were graded by Paper Money Guaranty The issued notes have grades ranging from Very Fine 25 for a 20-balboa note up to About Uncirculated 55. All except the 5-balboa note are expected to reach into the five figures.

The auction also offers two complete Arias specimen sets, one with blue and one with red overprints, along with two bonus 1-balboa test notes, one of which was chemically treated with banana oil.

The sale also offers a grouping of early Panama notes from both the Estado Soberano de Panama and the Banco de Panama that are important also to collectors of Colombia notes. Probably the most important of these, with an estimated selling price of $15,000 to $25,000, is a note issued when Panama was under the control of Colombia — an undated Banco de Panama 10-peso note from about 1869, graded PMG Choice Extremely Fine 45. This piece was printed by the American Bank Note Company.

The face has a globe flanked by a steamship and a locomotive. At the left is the bust of Antonio Planas who was the governor of the province of Panama in 1852 when it was under Colombian rule.

The back is printed in orange gold and features scrollwork, the name of the bank and denominational markings

Stack’s Bowers writes of the note: “An incredible opportunity for even the most advanced collectors to obtain one of the most sought after issues from the catalog of Colombia. This rare 10 Pesos featuring Antonio Planas at left is the second issued we have example in our lengthy auction history, and the finest example listed on PMG’s population report.”

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