100 dollars watermelon note for auction in Long Beach by Heritage Auction. The February Long Beach Heritage Signature Auction will include a special fifty lot Signature Currency Auction. One of the banknote being offered in the auction is the $100 Watermelon Note. The name "Watermelon note" came from the number 100 on the back of the $100 1890 Treasury notes and the number 1000 on the back of the $1000 (World most expensive banknote) were designed resembles the outside rind of a watermelon. This rare and wonderful Watermelon note will cross the auction block on 3 February 2012 and carries an estimate of $150,000 and up.
The portrait on the face of the $100 is that of Andrew Farragut (1801-70), who famously was reported to have stated "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" during the Civil War when the Union ships under his command sealed off Mobile Bay and thus cut off the Confederate blockade running that was taking place. Prior to that, he led the forces that captured New Orleans. He was only nine years old when he entered the navy and served in the War of 1812. Farragut was the first person to hold the rank of admiral in the United States Navy.
A mere 120,000 of the $100 1890 Treasury Notes were printed. With only about three dozen surviving examples of this denomination, and a quarter of that number held in institutional collections, very few are available to meet collector demand, as evidenced by the fact that this is the only example that has been offered at auction since 2008. The note retains original surfaces, and the few pinholes that are observed have not been restored, a refreshing departure for these types of notes that have often been invasively rebuilt over the years.
Source: Heritage Auction (currency.ha.com)
