Banana banknote with error popular among bidders

A $20 bill has blown the minds of bidders. The Del Monte banana sticker, well-known among collectors, set a world record in January 2020 at $396,000. That is the highest price ever paid for a banknote with a misprint.

The Del Monte note went to a bidder on the live bidding platform of our parent organization, Heritage Auctions. The buyer took on a determined telephone bidder and two other live internet bidders, and ultimately won.

Student

It was the third time the note had been publicly auctioned since the note was discovered in 2004. An Ohio student discovered the Del Monte note after a cash withdrawal. Realizing that he had something special in his hands, he decided to sell it on eBay for $10,000. It became the most wanted error note ever.

The fact that this masterpiece is so popular among collectors has to do with the location of the banana sticker. There are several other American banknotes to which something has been added between the printing runs. For example, bank paper with a plaster, pieces of paper, adhesive tape and wood shavings. Whether the Del Monte sticker was put on it for a test or as a joke is unknown.