BALTIMORE, MD.- Numismatic auction house Stack’s Bowers Galleries sold a very rare and valuable $1,000 bill for $2.04 million during Part III of the Joel R. Anderson Collection sale at the 2018 Winter Whitman Expo in Baltimore. Known as the “Grand Watermelon” Treasury Note, it was the first-ever paper bill to break the $1 million mark when it last sold in 2005.

Grand Watermelon notes gained their famous nickname due to the distinctive large green zeros on the back of the note which bear a striking resemblance to the juicy fruit. The face design portrays Union Major General George Meade at left. Meade is best known for being the victorious commander of Union forces at the Battle of Gettysburg. Near center is an ornate 1000 die counter with floral ornaments.

The Joel R. Anderson Collection is the most valuable collection of federally-issued United States paper money to ever cross the auction block and it is acknowledged by numismatic experts worldwide to be the best collection of its kind EVER put together. Collectors regard the extreme detail and intricacy of the engraving of these notes as fine art one would admire at the Smithsonian or Getty museums and, even compare them to the likes of Cezanne and Renoir masterpieces of the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the bills were obtained by Anderson at the finest numismatic auctions over the last 15 years as part of past iconic collections that were the best of their kind at the time.

The Joel R. Anderson collection is also being sold at a total of four planned Stack’s Bowers auctions throughout 2018 and early 2019. Tonight’s event is the third in the series and the collection has thus far garnered $26,184,240 in sales, including $8,619,240 tonight. Stack’s Bowers expects the total Anderson offerings to continue to break record prices for the entire collection and exceed $30 million in estimated sales for the full series of auctions.

Joel R. Anderson is the chairman and director of the Anderson Companies, a conglomerate of corporations that includes music distribution and publishing companies, and a well-known philanthropist. He has always been an avid numismatic collector and thoroughly enjoyed building collections in several different series of coins and paper money.

His family also shared in “the thrill of the hunt” over the decades while building these remarkable collections. It represents years of connoisseurship and patience by Mr. Anderson, who focused his energy on acquiring the finest and the rarest examples. Now that his mission to build the best collection of vintage U.S. paper money has been accomplished, he feels it’s time to allow the next generation of numismatic collectors to enjoy the rarities in his cabinet. He also wanted to be personally involved in the sale of his collection and share this aspect of the collection process with his family and will be attending the auctions with them.

Ironically, all of this comes at a time in the history of money when credit cards and alternative crypto-currencies are the rage. And it’s not just Americans who will bid millions for American money, but also a large following of international buyers who are some of the wealthiest collectors in the world.

“The Grand Watermelon note is one of the rarest and most sought-after pieces of American paper currency,” said Brian Kendrella, President, Stack’s Bowers Galleries. “This is one of only three known to exist in private collections and the finest example of its kind.”