Rare $1,000 'Grand Watermelon' Bill Auctioned Off For $2.04 Million
BALTIMORE, Md. (WJZ) — A rare $1,000 bill named for the large green zeroes on its back sold for over $2 million in an auction Thursday night.
Stack's Bowers Galleries sold the "Grand Watermelon" note to an anonymous buyer during the third part of the Joel R. Anderson Collection sale at the 2018 Winter Whitman Expo in Baltimore.
It was the first ever paper bill to break the $1 million mark when it was last sold in 2005.
"The Grand Watermelon note is one of the rarest and most sought-after pieces of American paper currency," said Brian Kendrella, President of Stack's Bowers Galleries. "This is one of only three known to exist in private collections and the finest example of its kind."
The Grand Watermelon notes got their nickname due to to the large zeroes on the back that resemble the fruit. The front of the bill portrays Union Major General George Meade on the left.
Meade is best known for being the victorious commander who led Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg.
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