Saint Louis - Missouri - CH 170 - FR 664 - PMG 45

High grade 1902 Red Seals are tough. One can spend years trying to complete a high-grade type set.  Usually, as the denomination increased, so did the rarity.  Typically, when national banks requested $50 bills from the Treasury Department, they were printed in subject sheets of two ($50-$100).   So right off the bat, large size $50 national bank notes were several times rarer than their $5 and $10 denominated counterparts.  Also, not every bank ordered $50-$100 sheets of currency.   These high denominated bank notes were generally order by the country’s largest national banks. Combine all these factors and one can logically deduce that $50 1902 Red Seals are some of the RAREST large size national banknotes extant.  Research will reveal that there are only 97 examples available to own (105 known, 8 permanently impounded in museums) which make the $50 1902 Red Seal rarer than the $100 (133 known, 9 impounded).  With such few examples available to own and this note being condition census (6^th finest known according to PMG), securing this note will likely prove to be a decision well made.