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Due to an act of Congress in 1879 the Refunding Certificate was issued.
The goal was to make government securities accessible to the public.
The denomination was smallish at $10.00, putting the certificate within reach of most anyone.
Refunding Certificates were to accrue interest at 4% per year indefinitely.
In 1907 Congress passed a bill halting the interest on the refunding certificate.
This 1907 act rendered them redeemable for $21.30, the amount of accrued interest + Principal from 1879 to 1907.
Refunding certificates paid simple interest so present value would have been $63.20 without the 1907 Act.
Refunding certificates are not really collected as a set because there are only two types and one is very rare.
The earlier design had a simple back with a form for the conversion of the note in to a bond.
This version of the note is extremely rare. If you own one, contact me for values.
The second version of the certificate had a more ornate back and is the one commonly collected today.
There are only two known examples of the first type, one is locked away in a Federal collection.
The other Refunding certificate is ensconced in the Bass estate waiting to be freed.
There are slightly over 150 examples of the second type and it's not a hard note to buy.
A mid grade example can cost from $1500 to $2000. A range of values would be from $600 to $14,000 for a Gem.
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