Tallahassee, Territory of Florida. Treasury Office. 1829 50 Cents.

Extremely Rare First Issue Florida Territorial Note Tallahassee, Territory of Florida. Treasury Office. 1829 50 Cents. PMG Choice Very Fine 35. No. 61. Issued less than a decade after the Territory of Florida was first organized in 1822. The "First Issue" of notes issued under the authority of Florida's Territorial government were little more than crude compositions printed on thin paper without a vignette or even a printer's imprint. Notes were first issued in 1829 and bore the penned signature of Davis Floyd who served as Treasurer of the Florida Territorial Council and bear dates that range from January to June 1829 per Benice in Florida Paper Money: An Illustrated History 1817 - 1834. This specimen bears a date of January 16, 1829 and presumably comes from an early delivery of these notes, but owing to the lack of historical records regarding serial numbers or even quantities issued, such a finding is impossible to ascertain. The piece plated in the Benice text bears the same date as this specimen, but whether that note comes from the same run of notes is likewise impossible to ascertain owing to the serial numbering practices that would be used for the "Second Issue" of notes that reset with each new batch. Even so this represents one of the rarest of all issues issued during Florida's Territorial period. We have only offered one other note from this issue going back to 2005 discounting this note's appearance in 2025. Pedigreed to the Harley L. Freeman Collection, that note was offered alongside this one as Lot 914 in the RARCOA sale and represents one of at least two $5s from this issue known to have survived. That piece managed to sell for $20,700 after bidding had ended and the auction also references this very specimen which is mentioned as being one of the finest survivors (if not the finest) representative of its denomination and reflects a distinction that remains true here in the present. Indeed, it takes little to reason that this is a major rarity for the collector who specializes in Florida Obsoletes and one not to be missed or overlooked as we last sold this same piece for a sum of $6,000 against an estimate that proved to be rather conservative in 2025. PMG comments "Previously Mounted." PMG comments "Previously Mounted." Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000. Provenance: Ex. Harvey L. Freeman Collection; Stacks Bowers Galleries Spring 2025 Showcase Auction, Lot 20171. Click here for certification details from PMG.

Estimate:£1,794.46

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