DALLAS, TX.- The Honorable William H. Kelly Collection of Confederate Notes and Southern Obsoletes is already creating buzz with collectors in advance of Heritage Auctions 6,700+ lot 2012 Orlando, FL FUN Signature® Currency Auction, Jan. 5-10. Among the offerings are a large number of Confederate notes issued in Montgomery, AL, when it was the first capital city of Confederacy. The capital was moved to Richmond, VA in late May 1861, after Virginia seceded from the Union.

The rare T1 thru T4 notes are the centerpieces of the collection, known as the “Montgomeries” and eight examples of each number are being offered: T1 $1000 1861 PCGS Choice About New 58, T2 $500 1861 PCGS Extremely Fine 45PPQ, T3 $100 1861 PCGS Apparent Extremely Fine 40, and T4 $50 1861 PCGS Apparent About New 50.

“The Act of March 9, 1861 authorized $1,000,000 worth of notes comprised of four denominations – $1000, $500, $100, and $50,” said Allen Mincho, Director of Currency Auctions. “The notes were not intended for circulation, but rather just to bear interest. Their beauty and scarcity combined have led them to be quite desirable with collectors. The notes were engraved and printed by the National Bank Note Company in New York. Most of the skilled engraving companies were located in the North, so Southern sympathizers living in the North facilitated the order.”

The Honorable William H. Kelly Collection also contains a number of pieces of rare encased postage. Among them are an HB-99 EP-109 Reed-DO10 10¢ Dougan Choice Extremely Fine and HB-202 EP-54 Reed-PE03 3¢ Pearce Tolle & Holton Extremely Fine.

Heritage will also be presenting the landmark Roger H. Durand Santa Claus Notes Collection during the second session of the auction, a monumental grouping, from an impeccable collector, of some of the most popular notes in the hobby.

“Given the fact that most of the notes with Santa Claus vignettes are scarce to extremely rare, this is indeed a fabulous and noteworthy collection,” said Len Glazer, Director of Currency Auctions at Heritage. “The initial purchase that began this collection took place in 1960 at a cost of $17 – several multiples of what most Obsoletes cost at that time. There were far fewer notes than there was demand for and the notes are generally prized and closely held, so building a collection was quite the challenge. Roger did just that, building a renowned collection that brought him, and the notes, considerable notoriety.”

Highlights of the collection include just one of three known New York, NY- Knickerbocker Bank of the City of New York $2 G4a Proof notes, a New York, NY – Saint Nicholas Bank $5 Feb. 24, 1864 G8c, a unique Santa Claus note of great appeal and one of three known Type IV Santa Claus notes reported to date in the form a Milwaukee, WI – Bank of Milwaukee $5 Jan. 2, 1855 G6d Proof Krause G6d.

“The interest in the Durand collection has been immense so far,” said Mincho, “and we expect that interest to increase as the first of the year, and the auction, get closer.”

The list of rare Southern States Currency notes is extensive as well and includes a number of unlisted varieties. Highlights include: Montgomery, AL- State of Alabama $50 Remainder Cr. 20 PCGS About New 50, Tallahassee, FL- State of Florida $500 Jan. 1, 1865 PCGS Choice New 63, and Richmond, VA- Commonwealth of Virginia £20, 16s, 8d June 30, 1879 Cr. 1879A PCGS Choice About New 58.

A number of exceptional Obsolete Proofs, many rarely seen, will also be included in FUN. Among them are an Westfield, MA- Westfield Bank $20 G14 Proof PMG Choice Uncirculated 64, Dunkirk, NY- Dunkirk Bank $1; $1; $2: $5 July 5, 1851 G2a; G2a; G4a; G6a Proof Sheet PMG Choice About Unc 58, and a Philadelphia, PA- City Bank $1000 UNL Proof PMG Choice Uncirculated 63.

The Honorable William H. Kelly Collection of Confederate Notes and Southern Obsoletes will be auctioned within these sections.

A quick perusal of the Nationals on offer reveals a Reno, NV - $20 1902 Red Seal Fr. 641 The Nixon NB, an Omaha, NE- $50 1902 Red Seal Fr. 665 The Omaha NB Ch. #(W)1633 PCGS Very Fine 25, and a Wilson, NC- $10 1882 Date Back Fr. 542 The First NB Ch. #(S)2321 PMG Very Fine 25 among the many.

Exceptional World and Canadian notes are also a hallmark of the auction in Orlando. Among those being offered are a China Ming Dynasty 1 Kuan ND (1368-1399) Pick AA10, Smith & Matravers T36-20 graded PCGS Apparent Very Fine 25, Bahamas Government of Bahamas $100 1965 Pick 25a with 2 Digit Serial Number graded PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ, Belgian Congo Banque du Congo Belge 10,000 Francs (Circa 1942) Pick 20pm Printer's Model graded PMG About Uncirculated 50 Net.

A scarce example of a France Military World War I Army Treasury 2 Frances (1917) Pick M3r Without Serial Number & Series Letter graded PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ is expected to perform quite well, while a Netherlands Indies De Javasche Bank 20 Gulden 6.1.1921 Pick 66s1 Dated Specimen graded PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 is a definite highlight for collectors of early 20th Century European currency.

Collectors of Latin currency will want to take a close look at the Portugal Banco de Portugal 1000 Escudos 2.4.1965 Pick 171 graded PMG Choice Extremely Fine 45 and the Puerto Rico El Banco Espanol de Puerto Rico 5 Pesos ND Pick 14 graded PCGS Very Fine 20, while Russian aficionados will take particular note of a Russia Government Credit Notes 100 Rubles 1918 Pick 40fp Face Proof graded PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ, one of a number of lovely Russian Proofs included in the auction.

There are numerous Canadian highlights as well, including a BC-28 $1000 1937 graded PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ, a BC-9b $20 1935 graded PMG Uncirculated 62, a Montreal, PQ- The Bank of British North America $5 May 1, 1884 Ch. # 55-20-02 graded PCGS Very Fine 20 and a Sherbrooke, PQ- Eastern Townships Bank $5 Jan. 2, 1906 Ch. # 230-16-02 graded PMG Very Fine 25, estimated at $8,000 to $12,000.