Series 1902 Red Seal National Currency Bank Notes

In 1902 a new series of National currency was introduced whose primary characteristic was a bright red seal.
These Series 1902 Red Seals are vibrant notes are eagerly collected today due to their short run until 1907.
$50 and $100 denominated red seals are hotly collected and are always in short supply.
Red seals are always welcome... if you have a red seal note and want to know more about it please let me know.

Series 1902 $5.00 National Currency Red seal.

The $5.00 national currency red seal is a favorite of many collectors. The fact that it's a red seal rather than a blue seal is a big plus for value. Red seals were only released for a limited time before blue seals took over so red seals bring a nice premium. A $5.00 red seal can range from $200 for a common bank in lower grade and can max at over $100000 for the right banks. I can think of two banks right off hand where a red seal would command a six figure price tag.

Series 1902 $10.00 National Currency Red seal.

Red Seal nationals are fan favorites in the hobby. They were the first issued notes of 1902 and as a result there are many known examples of Serial number one notes. The bankers would sign the first sheet and save a note as a souvenir. These serial number one red seal nationals are hotly collected and are always exciting when they come up. A $10.00 red seals range of values would be something like $400 for a tired note on a common bank. Throw in a rare bank and note with nice grade and this number can easily jump into the five figures.

Series 1902 $20.00 Red Seal National Currency.

Series 1902 $20.00 red seals are much less common than the $5.00 and the $10.00. The reason is that they came in sheets configured like 10 x 10 x 10 x 20. So you would have three $10.00 notes and one $20.00 note. This isn't a hard and fast rule but mostly true. Because of this, $20.00 notes are about 3 times less common than $10.00 notes. There doesn't seem to be a huge premium for the denomination however because the real value in a national note is the bank the note was issued on. What is it worth? A $20.00 red seal might bring as little as $400 from a common bank but like the other denominations in the series if you have a bank that is scarce and highly desirable... the notes can make it easily into the five figures.

Series 1902 $50.00 National Currency Red seal.

1902 $50.00 red seals are a rare type and command a premium as a high denomination note in addition to the bank value. With less than 100 known across all banks these notes are valuable as a type note. A $50 red seal on a common bank in low grade can be had for $3500 to $5000. A nice note on common bank might run $6000 to $10000 All bets are off when you have a rare bank and a rare type like the $50 red seal.

Series 1902 $100.00 National Currency Red seal.

The $100 red seal is slightly more common than the $50 in the series. As the king of the denominations for the type it's value is higher than the $50 regardless the rarity however. There are less than 120 of these notes known to mankind which sounds like a lot. But when you have national collectors, type note collectors and high denomination collectors vying for the notes, it's just not enough. A range of values for this note would be between $4000 and $15000. More if the bank has any value to it.