2017-12-21 Thu

At the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Convention, a set of German New Guinea Australian Occupation notes may exceed $200,000.

More than 1,600 lots of world paper money from around the globe are expected to be among the most coveted lots presented by Heritage Auctions at the FUN World Currency Auction January 4-8 in Tampa, Florida.

Dustin Johnston, director of Heritage Auctions Currency Consignment said: “the event has been successful in the past and we are expecting a similar result”. He also added, “we have compiled an extensive collection of currency from around the world, enough to appeal to collectors of many different kinds of currency”.

A rare set of four German New Guinea Australian Occupation WWI notes (est. $200,000-240,000) very well could end up claiming top-lot honors at the event. The set includes four of the five known denominations issued, all in good condition compared to other known survivors. German New Guinea notes issued under Australian occupation in World War I are so scarce that it has been more than a decade since two of these denominations have been offered at auction.

A South Vietnam National Bank of Viet Nam 1000-Dong ND (1955-56) Pick 4As Specimen (est. $40,000-50,000) is easily one of South Vietnam’s most coveted designs. The French polychrome inks remain bright in this design, depicting Vietnamese scenes; the "Old Man and Temple" design is one of the most popular engravings on all of world paper money. All features are enhanced by the stainless French banknote paper.

A Spain Banco de Espana 500-Pesetas 1.10.1886 Pick 37 (est. $20,000-30,000) is very difficult to find in any grade range, much less an example at Extremely Fine 40 Net. This early Spanish piece is one of the rarest pieces of paper money in all Spanish numismatics and has been repaired, but that is overshadowed by the sheer rarity of the note. This 500-pesetas is the only example graded by PMG.