The Grand Watermelon: America's Most Valuable Banknote
One ornate $1,000 bill from 1890 carries a fruit-stand nickname and a museum-piece price tag, and it still holds the world auction record for paper money.
Last updated: July 2026
The Grand Watermelon is the 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note of the United States, nicknamed for the huge striped zeros on its back and famous as the most expensive banknote ever sold at auction, realizing $3,290,000 at Heritage Auctions in January 2014. Only seven examples are known to survive, and just three sit in private hands.
Why is it called the Grand Watermelon?
Flip the note over and the nickname explains itself. The back spells out the denomination with three enormous zeros filled with curved green engraving and dark shading lines that look like the rind of a watermelon. Guinness World Records credits the name to "the three prominent zeros on the reverse that resemble the fruit." "Grand" is simply slang for $1,000.
The face is serious business by comparison: General George Gordon Meade, the Union commander at Gettysburg, engraved by Charles Burt. The $100 note of the same series, showing Admiral David Farragut, earned the matching nickname of Watermelon or Baby Watermelon note.
What were Treasury Notes of 1890?
Treasury Notes, also called Coin Notes, were a short-lived class of United States currency issued from 1890 to 1893 under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 to pay for the silver bullion the Treasury was required to buy. They were redeemable "in coin" without naming the metal, so the government could pay out gold or silver as markets shifted.
The Series of 1890 ran from $1 to $1,000. Its lavish backs were meant to frustrate counterfeiters, but critics argued the crowded engraving actually made fakes harder to spot, so the Series of 1891 switched to simplified, open designs. The watermelon zeros lasted a single series, and that short window is part of the legend.
Why do so few Grand Watermelon notes survive?
A $1,000 note in 1890 was an enormous sum, used for settlements between banks and the Treasury rather than everyday commerce. Notes that large eventually came home to the Treasury and were redeemed and destroyed, exactly as high-denomination paper was supposed to be.
The result, per the census cited by PCGS and Stack's Bowers, is that only seven Grand Watermelon notes are believed to exist. Four are locked in government collections. The three in private hands split by variety: two Friedberg 379a notes with the large brown Treasury seal, and a single Friedberg 379b with the small red seal.
What records has the Grand Watermelon set at auction?
On January 10, 2014, Heritage Auctions sold the sole privately held Fr. 379b at its Florida United Numismatists convention auction in Orlando for $3,290,000, far past its $2 million estimate. Guinness World Records still lists that result as the most expensive banknote ever sold at auction, a record standing as of 2026.
The finest known Fr. 379a, graded PCGS Currency About New 50 and traced through the F.C.C. Boyd, Amon Carter Jr., and Joel R. Anderson collections, has set documented records of its own, per CoinWeek.
| Date | Variety | Sale | Price realized |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Fr. 379b, small red seal | Public auction, cited by Heritage Auctions | $11,000 |
| October 2005 | Fr. 379a, large brown seal | Lyn Knight Auctions, David Rickey Collection | $1,092,500 |
| January 10, 2014 | Fr. 379b, small red seal | Heritage Auctions, FUN convention sale, Orlando | $3,290,000 |
| October 2018 | Fr. 379a, large brown seal | Stack's Bowers Galleries, Joel R. Anderson Collection | $2,040,000 |
What can collectors learn from the Grand Watermelon?
The Grand Watermelon is the cleanest case study in what drives banknote value: a tiny surviving population, a story anyone can retell in one sentence, and certification that lets a seven-figure buyer bid with confidence. The same forces, scaled down, price notes at every level. Our banknote grading guide explains the grades that anchor those prices, and our most valuable world banknotes ranking shows where the Grand Watermelon sits among global record holders.
No collector starting today should plan on owning one. But the era that produced it left a deep bench of historic, attainable American designs. Browse our United States banknotes category to see that tradition today.
Frequently asked questions
How many Grand Watermelon notes exist?
Seven examples are believed to survive, per the census cited by PCGS and Stack's Bowers. Four are in government collections and three are private: two Fr. 379a notes and one Fr. 379b.
Why did the Grand Watermelon sell for $3.29 million?
The note Heritage Auctions sold on January 10, 2014 is the only Fr. 379b small red seal example in private hands, so bidders were competing for a note that might not appear again for decades. It realized $3,290,000, well past its $2 million estimate.
Is the Grand Watermelon still the most expensive banknote ever sold?
Yes. Guinness World Records lists the $3.29 million Heritage Auctions sale from January 2014 as the most expensive banknote sold at auction, and no reported sale had surpassed it as of 2026.
What is the difference between Fr. 379a and Fr. 379b?
Both share the watermelon back. Fr. 379a carries a large brown Treasury seal with Rosecrans and Huston signatures, while Fr. 379b carries a small red seal. The finest known Fr. 379a brought $2,040,000 at Stack's Bowers in October 2018.
Can I buy a Grand Watermelon note?
Practically speaking, no. Only three are privately owned, and they trade rarely, at seven figures, through major auction houses. Most collectors instead pursue historic American and world notes that are certified, documented, and attainable.
Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.