$50 1937 Osborne Choice Uncirculated

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Furthermore, would we have even known about the other three notes had they been properly graded?  I doubt it.  I think they were dragged out into the open just to make the point given above.  OK, I get it, US standards are not the same as Canadian standards.  Time to stop beating the dead horse.

On the contrary, this information was brought forward as a public service to other collectors who may have interest in purchasing these same notes in the future, should they appear in a public sale. Should one of these $50 notes appear in an upcoming eBay live auction, I will feel better knowing that our forum members can identify these notes by their unique serial number, and may think twice about accepting the stated grade.  In the same way that you have pointed out in another topic that previously sold C&P auction material is appearing in their upcoming auction.  

As a member of the law enforcement community I see fraud, and what borders on fraud, on a daily basis.  The majority of these occurences are the result of the ignorance or naïveté of the victim, and could be avoided.  It is for this reason that I regularly educate seniors and other members of the community of phishing, pharming and other faudulent electronic activity they may be exposed to.

Too many collectors have stories about their initial indoctrination into this hobby and purchases they regret making.  Unfortunately the accepted dogma for this hobby is quickly becoming Caveat Emptor (Latin for “Buyer Beware”).  

It is good to know that you have been educated to the fact the US grading standards and are not the same as Canadian standards, but there are new members joining daily who are not privy to this information.  This forum would be best served as a venue to educate new members, and inform existing ones, as opposed to a platform for some members to hone their debating skills or create controversy.

Hi Arthur,

Thanks for the info regarding these notes.Having the serial #'s does indeed do us a great service,the update is much appreciated.

I'm the type of collector that buys a lot of notes sight unseen,as time prohibits me from attending a lot of shows that are out of my home province.That 1937 $50 was particularly tempting,as was the 1935 $50,which I had bid a princely sum to aquire.Makes me kinda glad I lost,but concerned for the buyer.
Does he/she know how to grade properly,can they tell pressed or processed from original?

The individual that brought my interest to new levels in this hobby stated "Rob,when you sell a note,you can ask any price you like.But never over-grade a note intentionally,that is the kiss of death to your name".I belived it then,and believe it now. Have I overgraded a note?Some would say yes,intentionally,never!

Because this is not my livelihood,I sell notes when they have out lived their appeal to me,then I aquire new ones that interest me once again.Repeat cycle,lol.

My wife just bought another set of 1935 $2's from this seller at a price that by any standards would be considered generous.She has not paid for them to date,now I'm kinda concerned.

Which begs the question,would this have been the case(processed graded as Unc,Choice Unc,Gem) had these notes been graded by either an American service or a Canadian one?
Whatever the case,thanks for keeping us informed!

Regards,Robert

Arthur,

I think its great that you are letting the forum know about the true condition of the notes posted. By the scans one would never suspect tampering.  I guess this just proves how essential it is to visually inspect and smell the notes in person.  You must have seen a lack of embossing , and other factors to reveal its true state.  I would suspect that they could still command a pretty good price in the condition that they are albeit somewhat processed - worth perhaps a discount?    I think it must be very difficult to find genuine (unpressed) notes for 35 and 37 though I've seen a few.

Let's face it, "pressed" invariably means "WASHED & pressed" but we rarely see the dreaded "W" word in print. The word "pressed" is bad enough but "washed and pressed" is the kiss of death and I won't even touch "chemical smell".

I've attached a scan of two exceptional $5 1935 bills, both of which are basically Choice Unc with just the faintest whisper of teller handling at the right. The note at the top is 100% original with its wonderful original sheen, heavily embossed seal, signatures and serial numbers, and a wonderful microscopically "dimpled" three-dimensional surface that's hard to describe in words but easy to recognize in the flesh.

The note at the bottom has been washed and pressed and is literally as flat as a piece of glass with no three-dimensional "character" whatsoever, no embossing of the seal, signatures or serial numbers, and the seal, signatures and serial numbers have that dead giveaway shiny look when held up obliquely to the light. By itself, many people (even including myself) would have great trouble telling whether this note is pressed or not but when you compare the two notes side by side it's as clear as night and day. However, more to the point, they both look essentially perfect in a two-dimensional scan and that's the great danger when buying sight-unseen on eBay or, in fact, from any auction catalogue.

I hope the day will come when all eBay sellers and auctioneers will use the words "WASHED AND PRESSED" or "NEVER WASHED OR PRESSED" to describe their notes so that there is no doubt whatsoever. It's asking a lot though as "Washed & Pressed" means realizing a lot less money for your notes. Unfortunately, many entirely ethical sellers just don't have the knowledge and experience to recognize a washed and pressed note and that is a major problem, as revealed by the recent 1937 $50 Choice Unc Osborne "fiasco" on eBay.

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There are indeed a number of lessons to be learned from this "Case of the Osborne $50".

One is that a scan is just a scan and not in any way proof of grade. People selling notes offer by scan and buyers often request a scan. Close to a waste of time as this case shows. I use the analogy of buying a used car by photo or description only - a ROUGH idea at best and absolutely, certainly, assuredly, definitely ( etc...) NO SUBSTITUTE for seeing the item or note.

Whether TPG, US grading or Canadian grading, Lesson One applies. You gotta SEE it. There is no substitute.

US grading is typically more liberal but us Canucks cannot climb on an pedestal, believe me. There are some US dealers that are conservative, ecxcellent graders who specifically mention whether an injventory item is original or not.

Why is everyone so sure this is "US grading" ? Just because it was offered from a US address ? BIG assumption.

OleDon

Whether TPG, US grading or Canadian grading, Lesson One applies. You gotta SEE it. There is no substitute.
OleDon

MOST importantly I believe, is knowing the sellers return policy. IMO.

Whether TPG, US grading or Canadian grading, Lesson One applies. You gotta SEE it. There is no substitute. OleDon

MOST importantly I believe, is knowing the sellers return policy. IMO.

Yep, there's really no substitute for actually inspecting the item in the flesh. However, the Internet has spoiled us in a way. In the "old" days, not so long ago in fact, we would often buy rare notes from dealers' lists or from auction catalogues based on a short 5-10 word description and without any pictures whatsoever, and I guess we still do at times.
 
Without a doubt, you've either gotta SEE IT or KNOW THE SELLER'S GRADING STANDARDS AND RETURN POLICIES. Buying "blind" from unknown or relatively unknown sources on the Internet is certainly fraught with problems ..... especially at the $20,000 level