I love Obsolete bank notes. They harken to the pre-Civil War days, when municipalities, banks, and other commercial enterprises printed their own currency, many of which were exquisitely engraved.
Before the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was created in 1862, the U.S. Treasury only issued coins that had intrinsic value (copper, silver, and gold). The value of coins was never questioned, as their melt value was generally on par with the precious metals they contained. However, the highest value for an 1862 Treasury issued coin was $20—a lot of money for the average citizen 160+ years ago.
But for commercial and larger transactions of hundreds or thousands of dollars, banks needed something more convenient, as large quantities of gold coins were bulky and heavy. The solution was for banks to issue their own currency backed by the gold and silver in their vaults. A customer could arrive at the bank and demand precious metal in redemption. A great idea in principle, but in practice, it could be challenging.
The failure rate of banks was high due to rampant counterfeiting, overproduction of notes, and defaults on loans. If the issuing bank went broke—which often happened—then the currency had no value. The further you went from the issuing bank, the more suspect merchants and other banks would become.
At the dawn of the Civil War, things got worse…a lot worse. Nearly 70% of the banks went bankrupt, causing an existential crisis. So much so that in 1862, the U.S. Treasury started issuing its own currency backed by gold and silver. And what of those thousands of bank-issued notes? They became universally worthless. Obsolete notes (aka "Broken Bank Notes") quickly became valued only as collectibles.
What was once something of derision, Obsolete notes have become a very active hobby and are highly collectible. While we are used to the standard denominations ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100), many banks issued notes in unusual denominations. There were a lot of $3 bills issued (so we will skip them in this article), but notes in denominations of $4, $6, $7, $8, $9, $11, $12, etc. were also printed. Let’s take a look at some examples.
$4 Notes
(Left) Undated $4 note from The Connecticut Bank of Bridgeport. The note features allegorical vignettes of the Arts, Agriculture, and Commerce, as well as a steamboat, a sailing vessel, a woman weaving, and a child writing. (Right) $4 note from the Commercial Bank of Wilmington, North Carolina. It contains a lovely sea scene with two allegorical women.
(Left) September 13, 1855, $4 note from the Farmers Bank of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. At the lower left, two sailors and the allegorical image of Hope are in a rowboat as Lady Hope peers at the horizon through her telescope. (Right) October 14, 1842, $4 note from Lexington, Kentucky—State of Kentucky Internal Improvement @ 6% Interest. In the top center vignette, a stagecoach is being drawn by a team of four horses along the waterfront. At the center-left is an allegorical female figure with a shield. At the center right, one of two men in a rowboat raises his hat to greet a passing steamboat.
$6 Notes
(Left) $6 undated Corporation of Georgetown, Washington D.C., proof with a train scene. (Right) Undated Bank of Bennington, Vermont, proof with a beefy steer in the center flanked by a man shearing a sheep and Ben Franklin in the upper right corner.
(Left) Undated $6 merchant note from the Trade Palace of Xenia, Ohio; a strong lookalike of the $5 1861 U.S. Treasury issued Demand note (right).
$7 Notes
(Left) Undated proof from Farmers Bank of South Carolina. A bucolic farm scene is in the center; to the right is a seated Justice peering up at an eagle. (Right) Undated remainder note from the Merchants Bank of Lynchburg, Virginia. The note depicts the Roman goddess Moneta seated, and a portrait of a sailor is in the lower right.
(Left) $7 July 1, 1861, note from the Monticello Bank of Charlottesville, Virginia. Wild steeds frolic in the center vignette. (Right) Remainder note from the Corporation of Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The allegorical image of Minerva is on the bottom left; the U.S. Capitol is in the upper right.
$8 Notes
(Left) Undated $8 proof from the Farmers Bank of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. A young girl with her dog is in the lower left. The central vignette has a man in Native American dress and a sailor propping up a patriotic shield. In the bottom right is George Washington. (Right) Undated $8 remainder note from the Bank of Howardsville, Virginia. A Millard Fillmore portrait is flanked by cherubs, each with a cornucopia. At the lower right, a field hand carries a basket brimming with ears of corn.
Left) $8 note dated October 25, 1858, from the Bank of Cape Fear of Greensboro, North Carolina. At the top center is a long train heading west as black smoke billows from the locomotive. As it passes under a stone bridge, a horse and buggy cross over it, heading east. (Right) $8 note dated December 9, 1835, from the Bank of Washtenaw in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This note was payable in New York at the office of Green, Brown & Co. Three farming images grace the note.
Undated $9 remainder from the Farmers Bank of Richmond, Virginia. The allegorical image of America is in the lower right. Five assorted cherubs populate the note.
(Left) Undated $9 proof from the Bank of Wilmington, North Carolina. A young lass reposes on a bald eagle observing the waterfront scenery. A smoking spouting train engine is in the lower right. (Right) Undated $9 remainder note from the Merchants Bank of Cheraw, South Carolina. The allegorical image of Justice is in the center. A sailboat is on the left, and a train is on the right.
$11 Notes
(Left) Rare undated $11 proof from the Atlantic Bank of Brooklyn with a powerful image of Neptune, god of the sea, riding an equine-looking sea serpent. The bottom left has a semi-submerged mermaid. Many of the $11, $12, $13, and $14 notes were issued out of New York State. (Right) An exquisitely engraved $11 proof from the Commercial Bank of the City of New York. On the bottom left, a nude woman is stepping from the sea with serpents gazing at her, and in the upper right is a multi-masted sailboat in roiling water. Two eye-popping “XI”s in ornate cartouches sit beside the images.
(Left) Undated $11 proof from the Highland Bank of Newburgh, New York. A steamship is cruising on presumably the Hudson River. (Right) A beautifully engraved $11 proof from the Merchant Bank of New York. The god Mercury is sitting on a bale of cotton, holding a staff and cornucopia, flanked by details like a reposing lion and a scale.
$12 Notes
(Left) Undated $12 remainder note from The Phenix Bank of New York. Ornately engraved with an eagle in the central vignette. (Right) Undated $12 proof from the Commercial Bank of the City Bank of New York. Gorgeous note with the same vignettes as the $11 above.
$13 Notes
(Left) Undated $13 remainder note from the Bank of Monroe in Rochester, New York. A young boy and girl with their dog are resting on bales of hay. (Right) 1777 Georgia colonial note valued at $13 Spanish milled dollars. The Georgia seal is in the bottom right.
$14 Notes
(Left) Undated $14 proof from the Commercial Bank of the City of New York. A clipper ship is in the top center. A nude Venus is in the bottom right. (Right) Undated $14 proof from the Merchants Bank of New York. Both notes have similar vignettes, as in the examples above.
$15+ Notes
Left) Undated $15 proof from Wakefield, Rhode Island—Bank of South County. The center vignette depicts Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce, as well as side vignettes of Washington on horseback and a sailor with the stars and stripes next to a seated maiden. (Right) Undated $15 remainder from the Bank of Vicksburg, Mississippi. In the center are two allegorical females with an urn, flanked by classical cameo profiles in ovals. Two cherubs are floating over the 15.
(Left) A $25 undated remainder note from the Chemical Bank of New York. A young woman is in the center, and a man in Native American dress is pictured on the left. (Right) An undated $30 note from the Suffolk Bank of Boston. A winged angel is holding up a “30” scroll in the center.
(Left) A crudely designed $40 note from Wayne County, Pennsylvania, dated October 3, 1859. There are two train vignettes and an image of a seated Liberty. (Right) City of New Orleans, Municipality No. One Post remainder notes from 1837–1842. The $200 design features a vignette of the city's 1794 St. Louis Cathedral. The image of Hope is on the left; Lafayette is standing on the right.
(Left) An undated $250 remainder note from The Merchants Bank of New York. A masted ship in a turbulent sea is the central vignette. (Right) An undated $300 remainder note from the Chemical Bank of New York. The design features a vignette of two stonecutters at work and a young woman pouring liquid from one large pitcher to another. A small vignette of an early steam-powered sailing vessel appears at the bottom center. The New York seal is in the bottom left corner.
