$1000 National Bank Note

planonit

My understanding is that according to records over 2 dozen are technically not redeemed which means they COULD still be out there.

If 2 dozen of these notes are still at large.....why have none turned up? I mean obviously not easy answer but I am just curious because in the "coin world" if there was a record of let us say 2 dozen 1964-D Peace Dollars not accounted for at the Mint you would be damn sure it would be believe there are some in private hands.

I just find it hard to believe that 2 dozen of these big dollar notes (which even before they became collectible $1000 was a ton of money back then) would ALL be lost over time.


Thoughts?

gsalex

First -- where did this "two dozen" figure originate? Was it a reliable source or something heard second hand?

Next -- there are all manner of ways currency can be destroyed, lost track of, and never seen again. 20 or so pieces, regardless of denomination, is an insignificant percentage in the big picture. I don't see a major conspiracy here. One could still surface, but the odds are heavily against it.

planonit

Originally posted by: gsalex
First -- where did this "two dozen" figure originate? Was it a reliable source or something heard second hand?

Next -- there are all manner of ways currency can be destroyed, lost track of, and never seen again. 20 or so pieces, regardless of denomination, is an insignificant percentage in the big picture. I don't see a major conspiracy here. One could still surface, but the odds are heavily against it.

I did some research to find a valid source and this site says 21 notes are outstanding:
Link

Timbuk3

Interesting, I'd like to know !!! ??

logger7

A lot of old collectibles could theoretically be out there but what are the chances really? Items would have to be kept in a reasonable place. Someone would have to do a diligent search and recognize something like this as valuable, and then know how to look for an expert to validate it. Good luck with all those things falling in place.

2ndCharter

A total of 7,379 $1000 Nationals, from all banks combined, were actually issued and, according to the Comptroller of the Currency ledgers, 21 of that number are still listed as outstanding. That total has not changed in close to a century.

So, where are they? My hunch (and that's all it is) is that some of those missing notes were probably mis-reported when they came in for redemption and placed under another category - Treasury Notes, Silver Certificates, etc. Perhaps some others were lost in major disasters - the Chicago Fire of 1871, for example.

For decades, I have heard the rumor that one of the Federal Reserve Bank offices is sitting on one but nobody at that Fed office will confirm or deny the rumor.

So, I guess it's hurry up and wait....

TennisCoach

Originally posted by: 2ndCharter

A total of 7,379 $1000 Nationals, from all banks combined, were actually issued and, according to the Comptroller of the Currency ledgers, 21 of that number are still listed as outstanding. That total has not changed in close to a century.



So, where are they? My hunch (and that's all it is) is that some of those missing notes were probably mis-reported when they came in for redemption and placed under another category - Treasury Notes, Silver Certificates, etc. Perhaps some others were lost in major disasters - the Chicago Fire of 1871, for example.



For decades, I have heard the rumor that one of the Federal Reserve Bank offices is sitting on one but nobody at that Fed office will confirm or deny the rumor.



So, I guess it's hurry up and wait...

Since only 21 notes are listed as outstanding (considering that number is accurate)~ that many could easily have been lost to fire, flooding, been buried, or by any similar means. There has been no credible reported sighting in the last 50 years which leads some experts to believe the actual number of surviving notes is somewhere between 0-5.