The ‘Del Monte Note’, a rare $ 20 banknote with a banana sticker on it, is currently on sale through Heritage Auctions, an auction house in Dallas. Currency collectors are paying close attention and breaking previous bidding records with their offers, according to Heritage Auctions.
“The note was viewed more than 4,300 times on our website,” Dustin Johnston told CNN. He is the Vice President and Managing Director of the Currency Division at Heritage Auctions.
The banknote, from the 1996 series, is unique because of the sticker found on it between the stages of the printing process, and part of the treasury seal and the serial number of the note were printed on it.
The current bid for the note is $ 57,500, at a total cost of $ 69,000 after a copper premium has been applied.
The auction will close on 22 January. On that day, the note will be presented, among other things, during a live event starting at 6pm Central Time and streamed on the Heritage Auctions website.
An unusual obstruction
This type of printing error on currency is called an obstruction.
“Most ‘obstructed error’ notes are the result of a loose piece of paper, adhesive tape, plaster or other disconnection that is attached to the currency supply during the printing process and falls later. Most notes of this class therefore show an empty area somewhere on the note, ”says Leonard Augsburger, project coordinator of the Newman Numismatic Portal at Washington University in St. Louis.
According to him, most banknotes will sell for between $ 100 and $ 1000.
“The Del Monte note is more spectacular,” Augsburger added.
According to Heritage Auctions, the note, which was printed at the Fort Worth Western Currency Facility, first appeared in 2003 when a university student in Ohio offered it for sale on eBay. He got it at an ATM.
“A lot of mistakes that come and go through the ATM are very difficult to notice,” Johnston told CNN.
‘It’s one of those incredible mistakes that is immediately apparent. It’s tangible, so if you pull [money] out and you just count it, you will probably only feel the increased height of the sticker. And then of course the color just jumps out at you, ‘Johnston added.
In 2003, the note sold for about $ 10,000 on eBay. It was sold again in 2006, at an auction by Heritage Auctions, and at that time it cost more than $ 25,000.
Johnston told CNN that the letter was so important that he personally flew for both auctions to pick it up and bring it back to the auction house.
A practical joke?
How the sticker came on the note is mysterious, but it is possible that the setup was intentional.
The printing of federal currency takes place in three phases: the first back, then the front, then a third phase when the serial number and the federal seal are added.
“By examining the sticker and the print, it is clear that the sticker was applied after the front was printed and before the serial number and seal were applied,” Augsburger said.
“The placement of the sticker is intriguing. If it is placed in most parts of the letter, it is not possible to prove that it was placed between the second and third phases. This indicates a deliberate placement,” he said. he added.
Johnston told CNN the sticker could have been affixed to the note for testing purposes.
“For the past 20 to 30 years, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has begun using optical recognition to review the notes as they come from the printing press. People have done this before,” Johnston explained.
“It’s quite possible that sometimes they would do such things on purpose, to test their procedures, and maybe it still came out.”
With the increasing use of digital tools to eliminate errors, retained obstructions on banknotes are rarely found. Johnston’s says it’s a one-in-a-million chance.
“This is perhaps one of the last large, preserved obstructions we will see,” he said.
Johnston also thinks it is possible that the sticker was placed as a joke on the note.
“For a sticker to make it on the printing floor and stick to something else, and clean it up so on the note … you should almost suspect that it was done on purpose, you know, a prank or practical joke, whatever it may be. ‘
The item attracted the attention of so many collectors and kept an eye on the current auction on the site. What makes it so special?
“We’re always attracted to things that go wrong. It’s one of those things that not only went wrong, it’s visually fantastic. And it’s fun on top of that,” Johnston said.