On August 23, The U.S. Marshals Service concluded an auction of 125 scarce $500 and $1000 bills once owned by Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese, Sr. The notes, all from the 1928 and 1934 series Federal Reserve Note issues, were graded by PCGS Currency, the leader in third-party currency authentication and grading.

Federal agents found the $500s and $1000s hidden in a wall in Calabrese’s Oak Brook, Illinois home. They were part of more than $700,000 in cash that the mobster had stashed away. The FBI investigation of the Calabrese family operation, dubbed “Operation Family Secrets,” was one of their most successful investigations of organized crime ever. The Chicago Outfit, as the organization was known, was brought down when Frank Calabrese, Sr.’s son, Frank Calabrese, Jr., and his brother, Nick Calabrese, agreed to testify against him. The FBI investigation led to indictments against 14 defendants connected to the Outfit, and tied the organization to at least 18 murders between 1970 and 1986.

“These notes are an historic offering both because of the link to organized crime, and because of the quantity of notes found together,” says Laura A. Kessler, Vice President of PCGS Currency. “$500s and $1000s are always popular with collectors, and undoubtedly this group will allow many collectors—and non-collectors—the opportunity to own both a nice example of a high denomination note, and an important piece of recent history.”

The notes were offered by the U.S. Marshals Service through the Texas-based online auctioneer Gaston & Sheehan, and were expected to net nearly $150,000.

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PCGS Currency may be contacted at (309) 222-8200 or by visiting their website www.PCGSCurrency.com.