Here is the ultimate " 2 bits" note which sold for $4.9k in the January 2008 Stack's auction:
Quote:
E. S. Worthin, "On Demand Pay James Coleman", Cynthiana, Kentucky. Twenty-Five Cents in Notes of the Bank of Kentucky. October 5, 1820. Choice Very Fine.
Fully issued note. Small format scrip note. 138mm by 45mm. Top center, crude block vignette of quarter cut Eight Reales coin centered between two "25" counters. Bolded initials "E" and "W" at the top. End panels with dots between ornate scroll. Engraved date and signature space at lower right. Haxby-Not listed. Hughes-Unlisted. Hatie-Not listed. High Rarity 7 (1 to 3 known). An extremely important type and one of the greatest rarities in this collection. We have seen less than six "cut bit" style notes, all on Kentucky, in 20 plus years. The survival rate of such emergency scrip was pure happenstance. This miracle of survival was an very important purchase for the Schingoethes in 1998 at the Hatie Sale. It brought $1,150, far and away the highest price achieved for a single note in the collection. The paper quality and brightness are strong. There is some ink corrosion at the left from a back signature. Overall, a tremendous example for such a great rarity. There was no note on this issuer in the Glenn Martin Collection either (based on the Hughes listings) sold by Lyn Knight. This is one of the ultimate "Two Bits" notes in any collection and has followed an illustrious pedigree chain for several decades.
Ex Schingoethe Part 1 (R. M. Smythe & Co., October 22-23, 2004, lot 1705); Herb and Martha Schingoethe Collection; 1998 CPMX Auction #174 (R.M. Smythe & Co., February 20, 1998, part of lot 1335); George Hatie Collection.