From the Grading Room

While the state of third-party grading and authentication within the US Currency market has become well-established and mature over the past several years with many of the ultra rare examples of particular varieties already accounted for and safely tucked away in private collections, the current landscape of the World Currency field is exciting for professionals and private collectors alike. Notes with no known counterparts – many of them newly discovered – in PMG’s World Population Report pass through the grading room practically on a daily basis.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

One such note that recently found its way to the grading team here at PMG was an attractive Netherlands Indies 1000 Gulden note issued by the Javasche Bank. Entering the Population Report as a singular example, this piece is particularly exceptional for its rarity as an issued and evenly circulated high-denomination note. Featuring Javanese dancers, this note is a member of an issue that strongly exemplifies the long-standing multicultural undertones of Javanese society with the inclusion of legal text in Dutch, Javanese, Chinese, and Arabic. The note’s large size, vivid color, and watermark of the goddess of Justice and Truth only add to this variety’s exotic aura and accentuate its value as a truly exceptional and rare banknote.

As Bruce Thornton (PMG Grading Finalizer) suggests, “Working at PMG has allowed me the privilege to enjoy innumerable currency rarities, and anytime I see a note that I have never encountered previously in my experience as a dealer or as a grader, it is a particularly special occasion.”

We look forward to seeing what other surprises will cross our desks and to sharing them in the next PMG eNewsletter.