Michael Lehr Antiques
Live Auction

Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025

Sat, Sep 6, 2025 01:00PM EDT
  2025-09-06 13:00:00 2025-09-06 13:00:00 America/New_York Michael Lehr Michael Lehr : Fall Photographic History Auction, 2025 https://auction.michaellehrantiques.com/auctions/michael-lehr-antiques/fall-photographic-history-auction-2025-20189
We are pleased to announce our next auction, featuring approximately 200 individual lots drawn from a diverse and compelling range of 19th- and early 20th-century photography. This sale focuses on vernacular images, photographs created not as formal studio portraits or elite commissions, but as direct, unscripted records of lived experience. These are objects made by and for everyday people, preserving moments of intimacy, labor, travel, performance, identity, and loss.
Michael Lehr Antiques info@michaellehrantiques.com
Lot 343

Lot of Four Carte de Visite Photographs Depicting U.S. Currency

Estimate: $200 - $300
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$200 $20
$320 $30
$380 $20
$420 $30
$480 $20
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$3,200 $300
$3,800 $200
$4,200 $300
$4,800 $200
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$32,000 $3,000
$38,000 $2,000
$42,000 $3,000
$48,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
$200,000 $20,000
$320,000 $30,000
$380,000 $20,000
$420,000 $30,000
$480,000 $20,000
$500,000 $50,000
Group of four mid-19th-century carte de visite photographs featuring detailed photographic reproductions of historic United States currency designs. Each CDV presents a different denomination in exceptional clarity, providing a rare glimpse into the ornate and symbolic artistry found on federal notes of the Civil War era.

Included in the group are photographic renderings of the $2, $5, $20, and $500 notes. The $2 note displays a portrait of Alexander Hamilton surrounded by elaborate engraved flourishes. The $5 note features Alexander Hamilton once more, accompanied by a neoclassical depiction of Liberty. The $20 note is boldly engraved with allegorical female figures representing Liberty and Commerce. The $500 note stands out for its grand scale and includes a fine portrait of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury under Jefferson and Madison.

CDVs of currency were sometimes produced as novelties or educational tools during the Civil War period and are rarely encountered in matched sets across multiple denominations. An engaging artifact for collectors of early photographic ephemera, financial history, or American symbolic design.

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