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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe highest result in the September 2026 published ranking of major U.S. banknote auction sales is $3.29 million for an 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note known as the Grand Watermelon. The list below ranks reported individual public auction results, not current appraisals or ten different designs: it includes repeat sales of the same note and variety. It is a secondary compilation, not an official record registry, and buyer’s-premium treatment is not stated for most entries.
The 10 highest reported U.S. banknote auction results
Planet Banknote’s September 2026 compilation ranks these individual public auction results in U.S. dollars. The amounts are reported sale prices except where the source specifically identifies a hammer price; for most rows, it does not state whether buyer’s premium is included. The compilation’s ordering and figures have not been independently verified against the original auction records for every entry.
| Rank | Note | Reported result | Auction and sale date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note, “Grand Watermelon,” Friedberg 379b | $3,290,000 | Heritage Auctions, January 2014 |
| 2 | 1891 $1,000 Treasury Note | $2,585,000 | Heritage Auctions, April 2013 |
| 3 | 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note, “Grand Watermelon,” Friedberg 379a | $2,040,000 | Stack’s Bowers, October 2018 |
| 4 | 1891 $1,000 Silver Certificate, “Marcy Note” | $1,920,000 | Stack’s Bowers, February 2019 |
| 5 | 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note, “Grand Watermelon,” Friedberg 379a | $1,525,500 | Heritage Auctions, April 2013 |
| 6 | 1869 $500 Legal Tender Note, “Rainbow” | $1,440,000 | Stack’s Bowers, February 2019 |
| 7 | 1869 $1,000 Legal Tender Note, “Rainbow” | $1,440,000 | Stack’s Bowers, February 2019 |
| 8 | 1882 $500 Gold Certificate, large red seal | $1,410,000 | Heritage Auctions, January 2014 |
| 9 | 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note, Friedberg 379a | $1,092,500 | Lyn Knight Auctions, October 2005 |
| 10 | 1861 $50 Interest Bearing Note, Friedberg 202a | $1,020,000 hammer price | Stack’s Bowers, August 2018 |
The list counts sales, not unique surviving notes or designs. Its entries 3, 5 and 9 are Friedberg 379a Grand Watermelon results; entries 3 and 9 refer to the same note sold thirteen years apart. The table excludes private treaty transactions and lots containing multiple notes. See the Planet Banknote ranking for the compilation.
Why the Grand Watermelon leads the list
The Grand Watermelon is an 1890-series Treasury Note. Its nickname comes from the large green zeros on the reverse. The Fr. 379b note in the top-ranked sale is described by Heritage as unique in collectors’ hands and one of three known. Heritage’s brochure also identifies it as a plate note in 100 Greatest American Currency Notes and corroborates its $3.29 million January 2014 auction result.
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That record is a result for one exceptionally rare note in one auction, not a reliable estimate of what another note of the same type would bring. Condition, rarity, the particular variety and sale circumstances all matter.
More recent high-value sales show how much individual notes differ
Later auction results illustrate that exceptional prices are not limited to nineteenth-century notes. These are sale-specific reports, not a comparable ranking of all banknotes. PMG reported the following Heritage Auctions results:
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| Note and reported grade | Result | Sale | Reported context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1863 $20 Gold Certificate, PMG 25 Very Fine | $480,000 | January 2024 FUN auction | Heritage reported that PMG said five 1863 Gold Certificates were accessible to collectors at the time. |
| 1934 Dallas $10,000 Federal Reserve Note, PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated | $453,600 | January 2024 FUN auction | Sale-specific result. |
| 1934 Boston $10,000 Federal Reserve Note, PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ | $432,000 | May 2024 CSNS sale | A Boston PMG 64 example in the same sale brought $336,000. |
| 1934 Kansas City $5,000 Federal Reserve Note, PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ | $384,000 | May 2024 sale | PMG described it as tied for finest-graded among 126 $5,000 small-size Federal Reserve Notes in its population report at the time. |
| 1934 Boston $10,000 Federal Reserve Note, PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ | $372,000 | May 2025 CSNS sale | PMG’s population report listed 19 Boston examples, with one graded higher at the time. |
| 1928 Kansas City $10,000 Federal Reserve Note, PMG 30 Very Fine | $456,000 | April 2021 sale | PMG said ten 1928-series notes were known to have survived, including two in museums. |
Other reported Heritage results include $312,000 for a 1934 Dallas $5,000 Federal Reserve Note graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ, $300,000 for a 1934 Boston $10,000 Federal Reserve Note graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated, and $288,000 for an 1863 $50 Legal Tender Note graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ. All three sold in Heritage’s January 2022 FUN auction. PMG reported eight known examples of the 1863 $50 Legal Tender catalog number according to Heritage.
Grades and population counts in these reports describe particular certified notes and records at the time of the sale; they are not direct measures of every surviving example. For example, a grading service’s population report, a count of known survivors and a count of notes accessible to collectors describe different things. The figures and sale details above are reported by PMG on the January 2024 FUN results, PMG on the May 2024 CSNS results, PMG on the May 2025 CSNS results, PMG on Heritage’s April 2021 sale, and PMG on the January 2022 FUN sale.
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What to compare when judging a banknote’s value
A record price is useful context, but it cannot price a note you have not had examined. When comparing auctioned notes, keep the details of each individual lot together:
- Note type and issue: Treasury Notes, Legal Tender Notes, Gold Certificates, Silver Certificates and Federal Reserve Notes are different categories. Bank-issued notes are another category and should not be treated as interchangeable with U.S. federal currency.
- Rarity evidence: A known-survivor count, a grading service’s population report and a count of examples available to collectors are not equivalent measures.
- Condition and certification: Use the grading service and grade reported for the specific sale. A difference in grade can accompany a substantial difference in result, even within the same denomination and district.
- Specific features and provenance: District, variety, serial features and a named collection or pedigree can help identify what made an auction lot distinctive. The cited results do not establish a universal premium for any one feature.
- Sale terms: Note the auction house, date and whether the quoted figure is a hammer price or includes buyer’s premium. Planet Banknote’s compilation does not state premium treatment for most top-ten entries; it explicitly labels the 1861 $50 note’s $1.02 million figure as hammer price.
Heritage Auctions Vice President of Currency Auctions Dustin Johnston said, in a statement reproduced by PMG in April 2021: “Industry-leading grading gives bidders added confidence. The assurances that PMG certification provides are integral to the value of iconic numismatic rarities.” This is an auction-industry participant’s view of certification, not a guarantee of a note’s value.
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Is this the most expensive banknote in the world?
No such broad conclusion follows from this U.S.-focused ranking. The cited September 2026 snapshot is overwhelmingly about U.S. currency. A claim about the most expensive banknote worldwide requires a separate comparison across world currencies and auction records; the figures here do not establish that record.
What a record sale can—and cannot—tell you
A public auction result records what a particular note sold for under particular conditions on a particular date. It can show that collectors have paid extraordinary sums for historically important, scarce notes, but it does not guarantee a similar result for another example. Auction outcomes depend on the note’s identity, condition, population, provenance, buyer demand and sale terms. If you own a potentially rare bill, a record list is not an appraisal; seek an evaluation based on the actual note and its documentation.
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