Watch List notes:

Turkey, Central Bank, 50 kurus, 11-6-1930, series B5, serial 104416. SCWPM-133. In 1940, the Turkish government contracted Bradbury Wilkinson to print new 50 kurus with President Inonu's portrait. This shipment, along with new 100-lira notes printed by Thomas de la Rue, were then shipped to Turkey aboard the SS City of Roubaix. On April 6, 1941, the vessel was docked in the harbor of Piraeus, Greece, when German intelligence notified the Luftwaffe that a British ship, the SS Clan Fraser, was unloading weapons and explosives in the same harbor. German bombers were scrambled and commenced a bombing run on the target. The SS City of Roubaix had the misfortune of being docked alongside the SS Clan Fraser. Both vessels were bombed, caught fire, and sank. Shortly thereafter, the 50 kurus and 100 lira from the SS City of Roubaix began to float ashore, their shipping crates breached during the attack. Many notes were recovered by Greeks who then traveled to Turkey to spend them. As such, both denominations entered circulation unofficially, forcing the Turkish government to annul them and print a new version (SCWPM-134). UNC note with saltwater staining in margins. In fact, it still smells of the Mediterranean Sea!

Estimate: $70-100