posted on April 24, 2003 09:11:23 AM
In going through some old family things, I came across an 1840 $3.00 Texas paper bill. It has 'Republic of Texas' No. 40, Austin and hand-dated April 17, 1840. Can anyone provide any information as to how to authenticate it and what it may be worth? Thanks!
posted on April 24, 2003 04:55:00 PM
A $3 bill is possible, especially for non-federal currency (I believe Texas was not yet part of the US in 1840). The first thing you should do (right now!) is put it in an archival quality holder and keep it away from kids, pets, peanut butter sandwiches, etc. Then do some research. There are lots of sources for identification, authentication, and grading of currency. Take a look at current eBay currency listings and you will see that many have such authentication and grading listed as part of the description. Do a Google search on "currency grading" or "Texas currency" or similar and I'm sure you will get many possible resources. And there are many, many books on old currency. I believe Krause has several in their "Standard Catalog" or "Standard Guide" series. It might take a little time to research it, but I'm sure it will be worth the effort. Good luck!
