Chief "Ta-to-ka-in-yan-ka"

Born in 1821 (what is now) Grand Forks, SD, known to white men as Chief Running Antelope, certainly contributed extensively to bridging white men and Native Americans together.

In 1868 the Chief penned his signature on a Treaty. An interesting signature at that….
Preserved on a series of pictographs of running antelopes. He received a medal featuring President Andrew Johnson and four years later was invited to Washington to meet the president.

It was at this very visit that he sat for famed photographer "Alexander Gardner" who took photos, both a full face and a profile shot. This is indeed the very full-face shot that was used for the $5 1899 Silver Certificate.

In this photograph he was ONLY wearing three feathers in his hair, fur braid wraps, and dentalium earrings, and holding a wing fan and a piece pipe.

Very interesting, look at the note and you'll see he's wearing a medal, the very medal (featuring President Johnson) that he received for signing the 1868 Treaty!

While the portrait is labeled Onepapa, it is incorrect, his tribe was ONCPAPA pronounced Hunkpapa. Many collectors perpetuate this error and ask us all the time, which is correct.

Chief died in 1896 and never saw the printed notes since the engraving was not completed until Jan. 7, 1900. Production of the notes ran from 1900 to 1926.

Without debate, this one of (if not the) most popular designed notes of American paper money and is found in most collections (definitely in all serious collections). The Friedberg range on this notes goes from 271 to 281. Prices on this type have soared dramatically in recent years and I suspect that will not change with a plethora of new collectors and investors entering daily.