Reader's Showcase: A lesson in naming national banks

By Peter Huntoon

This attractive trio submitted by Bob Liddell offers a quick lesson in the naming of national banks.

“The First National Bank of Meadville" (top note) was chartered in 1863 and failed in 1880. Charter 4938 was granted in 1894, wherein the organizers adopted the title “The New First National Bank of Meadville” (center note) to distinguish their bank from the earlier.

In 1930, the then-current officers of the bank decided to drop “New” from their title. However, back in 1917, the Comptroller of the Currency’s office had promulgated a ruling against the reuse of defunct titles in the same town. Consequently, the bankers dropped both “The” and “New” in order to comply, yielding “First National Bank of Meadville” (bottom note).

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