Then and Now: 50 Years of Paper Money Excellence

A lot happened in the year 1973, and many will argue about what was the most important event. Perhaps it was the signs of peace in Vietnam, or Elvis Presley’s televised concert, which was the first worldwide telecast by an entertainer and had more views than the moon landings a few years prior. Perhaps it was the political scandals, or the first handheld cell phone call being made. The list could go on, but to us here the year is marked as momentous because it marks the first year of this very magazine, Bank Note Reporter.

The year 1973 saw the sale of millions of CC Morgan silver dollars throughout the year by the General Services Administration. It took a few tries, but eventually all the coins were sold. It is speculated that if the Treasury had melted the silver dollars, the population of all “CC” coins would have decreased by over 72 percent.

Coins may seemingly dominate the numismatic world, but paper money has been on the rise with more and more high-profiled notes capturing the attention of news outlets. In the last few years alone there have been many notes to dominate the headlines. The “Del Monte Note” that sold for almost $400,000 in 2021 is just one of the many recent notes to set a record. Or the 1869- and 1891- dated notes that had a totaled estimate of about $8 million at auction in 2019.

Bank notes continue to rise in popularity and Bank Note Reporter and its staff plan to be there every step of the way. Cheers to 50 years and looking ahead to many more!