Part one of this article, which can be read in the August 2025 issue of Bank Note Reporter, focuses on obsoletes. Part two explores examples of colonial, federally issued, and Confederate notes, as well as some additional obsolete currency featuring images of horses.
Before the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, horses played a vital role in everyday life. These animals plowed the fields, carried cargo, transported people from city to city, and were integral to the military. Surprisingly, horse-themed notes were not as common on federally issued currency and are mostly found on obsoletes.
The artistry of these images is superb. Not only are they expertly rendered, but the illustrations are often thought-provoking with deeper meaning. What is also striking are the multiple ways horses have been depicted.
Thanks to Heritage Auctions for the images contained in this article.
Colonial Currency
Georgia 1776 sterling denominations 2 shillings 6 pence note. This early American colonial currency note shows crude folk art of a horse.
South Carolina, April 10, 1778, 20 shillings note. A second colonial note with a crude horse picture.
Federally Issued Currency
$5 1896 educational silver certificate. This note is full of allegorical images. On the left, Jupiter, representing force, is grasping a lightning bolt that is led by three horses. The central illustration is a figurative image of Electricity presenting light to the world. Fame, with her trumpet, represents American progress; to the right, Peace is shown with a dove.
$10 1875 national bank note. On the back is an exquisite image of Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto, riding a regal white steed. This image was taken from a painting by W.H. Powell titled "Discovering the Mississippi." This scene is also featured on the back of a $500 1914 Federal Reserve note.
$2 1880 legal tender note. The central vignette shows the U.S. Capitol in a period street scene. In the foreground, there are several horses acting as various forms of transportation.
$10 1914 Federal Reserve note. The reverse of the note depicts American strength in agriculture and industry. To the left, a trio of farmers leads a team of four horses as they harvest the fields. To the right is a factory scene with billowing smokestacks.
50¢ 2nd issue experimental fractional. The busy dock scene found in all 2nd issue fractional denominations depicts a boat being unloaded with its cargo. Here is an experimental that has the same design and has a strong imprint but lacks the bronze oval (which is incorporated into the design) found on regular issues. At the bottom right is a pair of horse-drawn carts ready to transport their goods.
$10 September 2, 1861, Confederate note (T-23). The central vignette features a carriage, laden with cotton, pulled by two horses. The image of John Elliot Ward, the president of the Mechanics' Savings Bank of Savannah, Georgia, is located in the lower left.
$10 February 17, 1864, Confederate note (T-68). The central vignette shows soldiers carrying a cannon into battle. Confederate President Jefferson Davis is featured in the bottom right.
Obsolete Currency
$3 undated Bank from Potsdam, New York, frontier. Three builders are constructing a log cabin. A horse is nearby with a slain stag on its back as a black dog looks on. Two young girls play in the bottom right of the note's face.
At left is a $1 November 5, 1856, Drovers Bank of Leavenworth, Kansas, note. Portrayed is a tender scene with a horse and a filly looking over their frightened young colt. On the right is a $1 Bank of Nashville, Tennessee, August 1, 1853, proof. The central vignette depicts a Native American, spear in hand, standing beside his white horse. Mountains are in the distance as a train chugs by.
$5 July 1, 1857, note from the Exchange Bank from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Four wild horses and a colt are playfully romping in a field. A man mounted on his horse is looking on in the distance.
$1 June 25, 1855, note from the Central Bank of Nashville, Tennessee. The central vignette depicts four startled horses pulling a wagon. Six enslaved persons are unaffected as they load the cart. In the lower left, a team of horses pulls a covered wagon.
$20 undated certificate of deposit remainder from the Peoples National Bank of Helena, Montana. This is a rare note since the bank was chartered in 1873 and placed in receivership in 1878. It depicts a frantic scene with agitated horses being controlled by cowboys.
$20 October 1, 1861, Mechanics Bank of Augusta, Georgia, note. Two horses pull a sea goddess on her chariot out of the water as two silhouettes of Ben Franklin surround the vignette.
$10 undated proof from the Western Bank of (St. Joseph's) Missouri. This proof shows a richly executed western scene. Three horses are on the banks of a canal in front of a rowboat. Behind it is a powerful train billowing smoke as it makes its way westward. In the distance, a steam ship is heading east with its smokestacks spewing smoke.
$10 undated proof from the Western Bank of (St. Joseph's) Missouri. This proof shows a richly executed western scene. Three horses are on the banks of a canal in front of a rowboat. Behind it is a powerful train billowing smoke as it makes its way westward. In the distance, a steam ship is heading east with its smokestacks spewing smoke.
$5 undated remainder from the Stonington Bank, Connecticut. The left panel features a vignette of Neptune and his family riding a clamshell carriage being pulled by three half-horse, half-fish mythological creatures called hippocampi. The central vignette features an allegorical representation of Liberty.
$5 undated proof from the Producers Bank from Janesville, Wisconsin. The central vignette features wild horses running free. This is a rare note, selling for just under $10,000 in 2015.
$5,000 undated proof from the Philadelphia Bank. The central vignette depicts an ancient deity, possibly Apollo, surrounded by attendants and seated in a horse-drawn chariot among the clouds. Cherubs inhabit all four corners of the note with vignettes of an eagle and a steamboat.
Circa 1873–1874 $1 Utica, New York-W.H. Duval Tiffany commission scrip. W.H. Duval sold harnesses and tack for horses. This scrip note displays two scenes of horses pulling a cart, while the third shows two horses posing among flowers and birds.
Circa 1870s John A. Bostwick $2 Tiffany commission scrip from New Haven, Connecticut. Very similar to the Duval Commission scrip shown above. Two of the images are the same; the third image, on the far left, depicts a Native American in a full headdress carrying a spear. Bostwick was a dealer and manufacturer of numerous equine products, including saddles and harnesses, bridles, traveling bags, horse blankets, and brushes.
$1 November 2, 1857, remainder from the Western Exchange Fire & Marine Insurance Co. of Omaha City, Nebraska. A group of Native Americans, with spears and bows held aloft, are watching a train speed away. On the far right, a man is on his white horse. There is an underlying meaning here; perhaps the Native Americans are angry at the train encroaching on their land?
