The 2020 note!
January 22 is the perfect opportunity to talk about the smallest banknote in the Saar banknote series. The 1 Mark Type 1947 was designed by artist Pierre Munier (1889-1962) and engraved by Émile Deloche for the front and by Paul Bornet for the back. Its dimensions are 82 x 52 mm. Emission figures are unknown but we believe that the note has been issued at least 10.5 million copies. Today's note has the number “A.00002020”! We can say that it is the banknote number of the year ... and the smallest number known for the Type!
A discreet note?
This bill is not uncommon, but it seems that it is not so often offered for sale. For example, we have no ads available at Numizon right now! After a quick search, only one sale on ebay France of a note in VF grade numbered "A.06937184". This one, overdue on ebay since February 2018 ... is offered in XF grade at € 80! Only two sales found on ebay Germany. On MA Shops, two banknotes from cgb.fr numbered "A.07059509" and "A.07059510" and graded ICG 63 Uncirculated. The quote in UNC grade for the Type is € 300 but oddly, the two notes are on sale for € 450 at cgb.fr (lot # b94_6284) and (lot # b94_2350). These come from the discovery of 11 Saarland series from June 2015 (ie the copies "A.07059449" and "A.07059507" to "A.07059516" for the 1 Mark).
Numizon inventory
The inventory has 458 copies listed as of today (see table below).
| The five smallest known numbers | Grade |
|---|---|
| A.00002020 | F/VF |
| A.00019418 | - |
| A.00027999 | XF/AU |
| A.00035798 | XF/AU+ |
| A.00070259 | - |
| The five biggest known numbers | Grade |
|---|---|
| A.10272377 | AU |
| A.10364569 | VG |
| A.10384745 | VG |
| A.10395407 | VG |
| A.10441070 | UNC |
| The inventory of notes classified by grade | Copies |
|---|---|
| UNC | 24 |
| aUNC | 24 |
| AU+ | 8 |
| AU | 20 |
| XF/AU+ | 7 |
| XF/AU | 19 |
| XF | 31 |
| VF/XF+ | 10 |
| VF/XF | 19 |
| VF | 49 |
| F/VF+ | 31 |
| F/VF | 23 |
| F | 111 |
| VG | 49 |
| G+ | 5 |
| G | 20 |
| Poor | 1 |
| NK (Not Known) | 7 |
The hidden Sphinxes!
Finally, if you look at the front with a little more attention, you may discover the two small winged sphinxes hidden in the graphic patterns surrounding the portrait of Zeus!
The banknote references:
- Fayette-Dessal: # VF.44,
- Pick: # 3,
- Schwan-Boling: # 1901,
- Rosenberg-Grabowski: # 867 or # SAR-8.
