Lot 3198
1899, $5 Silver Certificate. PCGS Gem New 66PPQ. . Fr-272. . KL-242. This is a resplendent Gem "Onepapa" five, an Indian chief note with distinction. It is reported the the grand old chieftain refused to wear the war bonnet provided by the Smithsonian Institution when he sat for his portrait. It wasn't of his tribe and would have been an insult to wear it. So the clever craftsmen at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing posed one of their employees wearing it, and from the composite of the Indian's portrait and the worn headress by this unnamed individual, the complete Indian chief was rendered. (No word has come down to historians as to how the proud chief felt when he saw what the Bureau had done.).
Estimated Value $4,500 - 5,000.
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| Realized $5,750 |
