Stack's Bowers Galleries acquires Manifest Auctions

By Arthur L. Friedberg

Published: Feb 12, 2016, 5 AM

Stack’s Bowers Galleries purchased the assets of Manifest Auctions of Greenville, S.C., a firm's whose recent auction offerings including a previously unknown $10 national bank note from the First National Bank of Colorado Springs (Colorado).

Image courtesy of Manifest Auctions.

The select and relatively small roster of United States paper money auctioneers was reduced by one with the announcement Feb. 2 that Stack’s Bowers Galleries purchased the assets of Manifest Auctions of Greenville, S.C.

Manning Garrett, founder and president of Manifest, will join Stacks’ Bowers. Garrett said that Manifest’s consignors will benefit from the larger collector base now available to them and from better public exposure, such as at the thrice yearly Whitman Baltimore Expo.

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Brian Kendrella, president of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, said: “Under the leadership of Manning Garrett, Manifest Auctions has grown into one of the pre-eminent auction houses of rare paper money. The opportunity to acquire Manifest and bring Manning Garrett to the Stack’s Bowers Galleries team aligns with our expansion plans, not only by increasing our offerings of rare notes for auction, but by adding one of the leading paper money authorities and numismatic entrepreneurs to our roster of unparalleled experts.”

“The acquisition of Manifest Auctions by Stack’s Bowers Galleries is a natural fit,” Garrett said. “Long term, I am excited to join the impressive Stack’s Bowers team and help to build upon their legendary numismatic auction history.”

All of the current numismatic and currency consignments to Manifest’s Winter Auction, which was originally scheduled for the end of February, will be offered in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries March Baltimore auction, held March 30 to April 1, 2016.

The firm says that the highlights include five lots of large-size national bank notes with either serial number 1 or 2.

The number 2 notes are a Red Seal $10 note from the Piedmont First National Bank (Alabama) and a Series 1882 Brown Back $5 note from the First National Bank of Marshall (Missouri).

The number 1 lots include two Series 1882 Brown Back $5 notes — one from the First National Bank of Fernandina (Florida) and the other from the Farmers National Bank of Lebanon (Kentucky). The third is a Series 1902 Plain Back $10-$10-$10-$20 sheet of four notes issued by the Security National Bank of West Minneapolis (Minnesota).

Probably the highest yielding of the Manifest lots will be a Friedberg 2231-B Series 1934 $10,000 Federal Reserve note graded PCGS Currency Choice New 64 Apparent from the Las Vegas Binion Hoard.