Paper Money - Vol. XLVI, No. 4 - Whole No. 250 - July - August 2007

I he f •rdre of 'IretotO; 0 fr- °/42,-„- gtt r OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF PAPER MONEY COLLECTORS VOL. XLVI, No. 4, WHOLE No. 250 WWW.SPMC.ORG JULY/AUGUST 2007 '12:4":" A€WYW)irfikP7., v", A 3t, N sl:It•RENCY;5C.), **-> e'lc'eXogtitilt3430:10cc7;:=4-4.4i-PCicoiirevoteeettio*K4x71..14-' .)e"::: • ViO Hundred and Fifty DoLL...e R. S. N 9" S'i A.T.W. NORT CAF.OLINA. la IS Bill intities rhe j4earu to ret_eire It • &marred & Spanith milled Dollars, Qr the 3t• Value tilt.; (*Of )11 Gol4 or Silver, agreeable t4) an.0./Ifit of Afitilably Fitt rod at Ntwszit la the .2.t ,77 Day of Mny, I 7 Ft).)001K N.s." Pecuizza• . )p ; 7 ,t7 tot/ O. 7 J21 'Cia9Q-bViDiii.N,A2qtVi,eftttYfeP 4 . f' c eI . htt- reor."` -(12-jitt"!=!VC-400,r,4ack:,,,,4( $2 nCs°C)11 )00(XYL so/ 7_14.74: c I . •,k- rn 7 VA jar" s1 ' :1 C 'r of- ' 1 y a * ''' .--1 .; 41 • .• .#, ...... . c„.„, 44' 'NE -4!" •Ar,-; 41- r.:12; :;`;.{". s. te3.:9P4 .6zece4' ei; 4 7'1r°ri014,r DR . c'94 coekvt ;4;* • 11 GPf;yzi z9 81. ()I u,nut-e.t, rui zerd, ?o44° eo e- Wfc2te .9e- (76-OP-rviezn / y, 4 / ato afr-0ozeknalef: c/e4/,.-ocecria , and atea, e'>( eared, 5---;„rio re7-ecia,-4.-ca/ ol4ta. nwn of Lonisvilie, June, 1840. rAr Op 0 k 17-rfi "rr ),CO ,rX '41 - K275571 &WC 755717 UNITEDSTATESOIRAMERIKIV 13889315.; f5t et.l.A1Oef"WFN 1% 1.01.11( 01% ..ee• PREMIUM QUALITY BANKNOTES for IMMEDIATE SALE 44/414.&14..A. Smythe offers a large selection of choice banknotes for immediate sale. If you are looking for Federal Paper Money, World Bank Notes, Confederate Currency, or Colonial and Obsolete Bank Notes, please be sure to contact us. You'll be glad that you did. To View Our HUGE Inventory of Certified and Uncertified Small Size, Large Size, Nationals, Obsoletes, Fractional, and more, log on to: SMYTHEONLINE.COM For More Information, or Our Latest Buy Prices, please contact Scott Lindquist or Bruce Smart at: /114 assagsaliEllin 414h,0 '0 • .110114- 0111A41,7 _47 ttVg .00000051 tar,s1-t.:_l r SiATES4_ ',1121110114111.14TATES °FA-n=11CA 11IN ►MIR 1131110411JAMMISIDIENNILLA.11.141, 800-622-1880 1-11..to tnaLK10110;0:010K.010:0MOOK ACIOtOlEX10101001 tk.-..4 GEORGIA. 1776. No.244/ CERTIFICATE twi t'. the Boo, to ONE ePANISti MILLED DOLL AP or the Value thereof, according to Refohnion of* CONGRESe. ".e2:-; &re+ • ABIRIBIBIBIOPENBIROKIWIWORRIOISIRMAIDOK* , 1/41i Ste,e Goldsmith Scott Lindquist Bruce Smart SMYTH/ Er- ESTABLISHED 1880 Olt `...• • ',IN craitted by rib C.O. ay a NEW-VISEr, pa., inAeFolatccrah Y., rofOw ktipa bit M...11 Six Pounds. Stephen Goldsinith't least President R.M. Smythe & Co. 2 Rector Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10006-1844 FEL: 212-943-1880 TOLL FREE: 800-622-1880 FAX: 212-312-6370 EMAIL: info@stnytheonline.com WEBSITE: smytheonline.com We buy, sell, and auction the very best in Paper Money, Antique Stocks and Bonds, Autographs, Coins, and Anything Relating to Financial History TERMS AND CONDITIONS PAPER MONEY is published every other month begin- ning in January by the Society of Paper Money Collectors (SPMC). Second-class postage is paid at Dover, DE 19901. Postmaster send address changes to Secretary Robert Schreiner, P.O. Box 2331, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2331 Society of Paper Money Collectors, Inc., 2007. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, in whole or part, without written permission, is prohibited. Individual copies of this issue of PAPER MONEY are available from the Secretary for S6 postpaid. Send changes of address, inquiries concerning non-delivery, and requests for additional copies of this issue to the Secretary. 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SPMC assumes no financial responsibility for typo- graphical errors in ads, but agrees to reprint that por- tion of an ad in which a typographical error occurs upon prompt notification. Paper Money • July/August 2007 • Whole No. 250 241 Paper Money Official Bimonthly Publication of The Society of Paper Money Collectors, Inc. Vol. XLVI, No. 4 Whole No. 250 July/August 2007 ISSN 0031-1162 FRED L. REED III, Editor, P.O. Box 793941, Dallas, TX 75379 Visit the SPMC web site: www.spmc.org FEATURES Catch Me If You Can: Printers vs Counterfeiters . . . . 243 By Q. David Bowers Deaf Money: The 1861 North Carolina Note 257 By Priscilla Scott Rhoades First National Bank of/in Ontonagon, Michigan 265 By Lawrence Falater Dover Litho Printing Co. Celebrates 50th Anniversry 283 By Mike Frebert & Staff On This Date in Paper Money History 287, 289 By Fred Reed Some Interesting Essays of Palestine & the U.S 288 By David Booth Mrs. J.H. Moore, National Bank President 295 By Karl Sanford Kabelac Cash 'n' Carry 296 By John Gavel Second Identity for Darley Vignette 299 By Ron Horstman Census Count Is Good Information--CAGR IS Better . 312 By Dave Rickey SOCIETY NEWS Information & Officers SPMC St. Louis 2006 Board Meeting Minutes President's Column By Benny Bolin New Members SPMC Librarian's Notes By Jeff Brueggeman What's on Steve's Mind Today? By Steve Whitfield The Editor's Notebook 302, 242 280 297 303 304 318 318 •. • 1• 242 July/August • Whole No. 250 • Paper Money Society of Paper Money Collectors The Society of Paper Money Collectors (SPMC) was organized in 1961 and incorporated in 1964 as a non-profit organization under the laws of the District of Columbia. It is affili- ated with the American Numismatic Association. The annual SPMC meeting is held in June at the Memphis IPMS (International Paper Money Show). Up-to-date information about the SPMC and its activities can be found on its Internet web site www.spmc.org . MEMBERSHIP—REGULAR and LIFE. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and of good moral character. Members of the ANA or other recognized numismatic societies are eligible for membership; other applicants should be sponsored by an SPMC member or provide suitable references. MEMBERSHIP—JUNIOR. Applicants for Junior membership must be from 12 to 18 years of age and of good moral character. Their application must be signed by a parent or guardian. Junior membership numbers will be preced- ed by the letter "j," which will be removed upon notification to the Secretary that the member has reached 18 years of age. Junior members are not eligi- ble to hold office or vote. DUES—Annual dues are $30. Members in Canada and Mexico should add $5 to cover postage; members throughout the rest of the world add $10. Life membership — payable in installments within one year is $600, $700 for Canada and Mexico, and $800 elsewhere. The Society has dispensed with issuing annual membership cards, but paid up members may obtain one from the Secretary for an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope). Members who join the Society prior to October 1 receive the magazines already issued in the year in which they join as available. Members who join after October 1 will have their dues paid through December of the following year; they also receive, as a bonus, a copy of the magazine issued in November of the year in which they joined. Dues renewals appear in a fall issue of Paper Money. Checks should be sent to the Society Secretary. OF mit Ni()NEN. COLI.ECTORS INC. OFFICERS ELECTED OFFICERS: PRESIDENT Benny Bolin, 5510 Bolin Rd., Allen, TX 75002 VICE-PRESIDENT Mark Anderson, 115 Congress St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 SECRETARY Bob Schreiner. POB 2331, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 TREASURER Bob Moon, 104 Chipping Court, Greenwood, SC 29649 BOARD OF GOVERNORS: Mark Anderson, 115 Congress St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 Benny J. Bolin. 5510 Bolin Rd., Allen, TX 75002 Bob Cochran, P.O. Box 1085, Florissant, MO 63031 Wes Duran, P.O. Box 91, Twin Lakes, CO 81251-0091 Gene Hessler, P.O. Box 31144, Cincinnati, OH 45231 Robert J. Kravitz, P.O. Box 6099, Chesterfield, MO 63006 Tom Minerley, 25 Holland Ave #001. Albany, NY 12209-1735 Judith Murphy, P.O. Box 24056, Winston-Salem, NC 27114 Fred L. Reed Ill, P.O. Box 793941. Dallas, TX 75379-3941 Robert Schreiner, P.O. Box 2331, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Wendell A. Wolka, P.O. Box 1211. Greenwood. IN 46142 Jamie Yakes, P.O. Box 1203, Jackson, NJ 08527 APPOINTEES: PUBLISHER-EDITOR Fred L. Reed III, P.O. Box 793941, Dallas, TX 75379-3941 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Gene Hessler, P.O. Box 31144, Cincinnati. OH 45231 ADVERTISING MANAGER Wendell A. Wolka, P.O. Box 1211, Greenwood, IN 46142 LEGAL COUNSEL Robert J. Galiette, 3 Teal Ln., Essex, CT 06426 LIBRARIAN Jeff Brueggeman, 711 Signal Mountain Rd. # 197, Chattanooga. TN 37405 MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Frank Clark, P.O. Box 117060, Carrollton, TX 75011-7060 PAST PRESIDENT Ron Horstman, 5010 Timber Ln., Gerald, MO 63037 WISMER BOOK PROJECT COORDINATOR Bob Cochran, P.O. Box 1085, Florissant, MO 63031 REGIONAL MEETING COORDINATOR Judith Murphy, P.O. Box 24056, Winston-Salem, NC 27114 BUYING AND SELLING CSA and Obsolete Notes CSA Bonds, Stocks & Financial Items Auction Representation 60-Page Catalog for $5.00 Refundable with Order HUGH SHULL ANA-LM SPMC LM 6 SCNA P.O. Box 2522, Lexington, SC 29071 BRNA PCDA CHARTER MBR PH: (803) 996-3660 FAX: (803) 996-4885 FUN bati Paper Money • July/August 2007 • Whole No. 250 243 To Cow_ TEREEIT Is ,EATH Catch Me If You Can! Currency Printers vs. Counterfeiters From Canada Green to Cycloidal Configurations By Q. David Bowers © Cat Versus Mouse A little bit of background.... F- ROM TIME IMMEMORIAL, OR AT LEAST WITHIN THE REALM OF PAPER MONEYissuance in America, no sooner did a colony, bank, or other entity issue a piece of sound paper money thancounterfeiters set about making their own versions. In colonial times several issues were so heavily coun-terfeited that even genuine notes were viewed with suspicion almost everywhere, and the designs were soon replaced with other motifs. The often-repeated warning, "To counterfeit is death," appeared on many early notes. While quite a few unscrupulous individuals received this ultimate and irreversible penalty, and even more were punished by cropping of ears and branding, such threats did not seem to do much in deterring others. Continental Currency bills were so widely counterfeited that blue-tinted reference copies of genuine bills were made available so that a suspected note could be compared to an original. Nestled in New York City during the Revolution, indeed until Evacuation Day on November 25, 1783, the British were active counterfeiters of Continental paper while the war was in progress. The entire issue of May 20, 1777 "Yorktown" (York, Pennsylvania) notes was so extensively counterfeited that most genuine bills were called in and replaced with later imprints. Decades later during the Civil War, phony Confederate bills were a popular item for Northerners to buy, at least as evidenced by extensive advertisements, such as this of October 25, 1862: REBEL NOTES AND POSTAGE STAMPS. Thirty-five different Rebel Notes, Shinplasters and Postage Stamps sent, postpaid, on receipt of 50 cents. Trade supplied at 50 cents per 100, or $4 per 1,000. Address S.C. UPHAM, 403 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia 244 July/August • Whole No. 250 • Paper Money And this of December 12, 1862: Facsimile Treasury Notes, exactly like the genuine. $500.00 in Confederate Notes of all denominations, sent by mail, postage paid, on receipt of $5 by W.E. HILTON, No. I I Spruce Street, NY. The game goes on, and in September 2005 when I was an invited guest to testify before the congressional committee supervising the Treasury Department, questioners from the committee expressed great concern about the "super-notes," fake $100s of incredible quality, coming out of it was said, North Korea. A curious twist in logic is provided by criminals who did not sell counterfeit bills, but profited from the notion anyway. This is the "green goods game," so familiar to readers of 19th century Secret Service reports and newspa- per accounts. The usual method called for the criminal to frequent a bar or other such place, strike up conversa- tions, and show the "mark" several genuine federal bills, say of the $10 denomination. "These are counterfeits, but you would never know it! Here, take a couple as a gift and spend them. I'll be back tomorrow night and we can talk some more." Hesitantly, the mark spends one bill, then the other. No questions asked. Indeed, these counterfeits are great! No one can tell them from the genuine! The next night a deal is made: the mark is to bring, say, $500 in worn currency to the bar, and in exchange the sharper will deliver $5,000 worth of his freshly-printed counterfeit $10s. The transaction is made, and the mark is slipped a securely wrapped package of bills. The sharper then heads for the men's room, then out the door to the street, never to be seen again. The mark opens the package and finds it stuffed with cut strips of blank paper. What to do? He can't complain that he was cheated and didn't receive the phony bills he paid for. A Catalyst for Currency Design Changes Real counterfeits have been so dangerous over the years that they have continually influenced changes in cur- rency designs. Indeed, "security printing" is the general term for producing bank notes, checks, bonds, and other documents with security features to deter altering and counterfeiting. Traditionally, the view has been that the more ornate an engraved design is, the more difficult it is to counterfeit. On the other hand, the Bank of England in the 1820s and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the United States in the early 1890s held that large "open" spaces on bills were more of a deterrent than complex designs that filled the entire space on the front and back. Changing the designs of paper money has been a tactic used for hundreds of years, creating new appearances and motifs to force counterfeiters to create new products. The use of watermarked or tinted paper, colored fiber or silk threads, and other devices have been popular from time to time. Presently, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is combining hold-to-light features, microscopic printing, and other elements in its latest round against worldwide counterfeiters equipped with high-technology devices. Only the $1 and the occasionally made $2 bills have not been modified to date. Numismatically, the cat versus mouse, spy versus counterspy game of currency printer versus counterfeiter has furnished a panorama of collectible bills. New designs create new collectible types. Counterfeit detecting devices ranging from bank note reporters and counterfeit detectors to Fractional Currency Shields are highly desired today. Counterfeit bills themselves are widely collected and often have high values. James A. Haxby's four-volume study, Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes 1782 - 1866, published in 1988, lists and prices many dif- ferent kinds of false notes, including bills altered to represent a different bank or a higher denomination, counter- feits from false plates, and spurious notes, the last being fantasies of bills never issued, sometimes bearing the names of non-existent banks. While to a newcomer to numismatics the thought of avidly seeking and buying counterfeits may seem strange, it has many time-honored traditions. Some of the most valuable coins associated with the Vermont copper series 1785-1788 are contemporary counterfeits, not to overlook the rare 1786 Nova Constellatio copper (no originals of this date were ever made), and more than just a few copper issues of New York and Connecticut. The key to the value of counterfeit coins and paper money is the word contemporary. If such pieces were made contemporary to the original use of genuine pieces, they are collectible today. Modern copies, however, are worthless (but do provide lively fodder for stupid bargain seekers in many Internet offerings!). Anti-Counterfeiting Currency Innovations Books can and have been written on the innovations and procedures adopted by private and government cur- rency printers to deter counterfeiting. Indeed, in 1957 Kenneth Scott provided us with Countezfeiting in Colonial America, to add to his other books on phony bills of various colonies, not to forget Murray Teigh Bloom's widely distributed 1982 text, Money of Their Own, the True Stories of the World's Greatest Counterfeiters, a list to which other titles can be added. Paper Money • July/August 2007 • Whole No. 250 245 For colonial American issues, the use of secret marks, watermarked paper, frequent changes of design, mica flakes in paper, and other methods were used, culminating in having bills signed by hand by designated officials. For notes issued by various banks in the era from 1782 to 1866, many anti-counterfeiting techniques were devised. The most famous was Jacob Perkins' Patent Stereotype Steel Plate (PSST), which saw wide use beginning in the first decade of the 19th century. So convincing were Perkins' arguments that the state of Massachusetts in 1809 mandated its use on all currency issued by banks within its jurisdiction (which included the Maine district, which in 1820 became a separate state). For Perkins and his successors the PSST system was a boon, as bills for var- ious banks in different states could be printed from slug plates quickly put together in a frame, into which slugs imprinted MASSACHUSETTS, BOSTON, and LAFAYETTE BANK could be quickly inserted, after which other slugs could be put in for still another bank at a different place. Abel Brewster was one of several others who devised printing techniques to combat counterfeiting, claiming circa 1810 that Perkins pirated some of his ideas. In 1852, W.L. Ormsby, in his magnificent Bank Note Engraving book, espoused the "unit system." Logical in concept, this theory held that if a complex and ornate design were to be made unique for a given bank and denomination, such a note would be difficult to counterfeit, and notes intend- ed for one bank or denomination could not be altered to another. Although the unit system seemed reasonable enough, reality proved it to be unfeasible. There were not enough engravers in America to produce hundreds of different plates each year. The cost of custom plates would also be prohibitive, in contrast with the usual practice in the industry of creating standard designs and simply insert- ing the names of different banks and locations into the plates. As it seems to have turned out, Ormsby produced just one bill under the unit system for a customer! During the 1850s a scare arose when it was learned that bank notes, particularly those issued with just black printing, could be effectively counterfeited by photography. In New England the Association of Banks for the Suppression of Counterfeiting signed up dozens of banks and issued regular reports. False notes were printed on photographic paper, which was then artificially aged and made limp, to give it the appearance of an authentic bill that had been in commerce for a long time. Various defenses were mounted by bank note printing companies, the best known being the use of colored overprints, called "protectors" or "guards" today. Actually, most such protec- tors were printed first on a sheet of note paper, after which it was dried and regular designs applied. Commercial and scientific journals make note of progress, and new innovations were regularly announced in popular newspa- pers. It was said by some that the color red could not be photographed and on a false note would appear solid black. Thus, a red overprint furnished a safeguard. Perhaps most popular, however, was green, the "Patent Green Tint" or "Canada Green" devised by Dr. Sterry Hunt, a Canadian who registered it in 1857 under Canadian patent no. 715 and U.S. patent 17,688. Such action did not indicate that the Patent Office had approved of its claimed merits. However, it looked good in advertising and publicity. The license passed to Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, who promoted it heavily in mailings to banks. "PATENTED 30 JUNE 1857" was boldly printed on bills with this tint, said to have been made with the ink of sesqui-oxide of chromium, a name at once mystical and marvelous enough to have been used on a patent medicine. RWH&E was merged in 1858 into the American Bank Note Company (ABNCo), which kept up the beat for what was generally referred to in the trade as "Canada green." When Demand Notes were printed by the American Bank Note Company in 1861, they employed this tint, for which the government paid a surcharge of $5 per thou- sand impressions. Then in 1862 came the widely circulated Legal Tender Notes (United States Notes). The green reverses of the latter gave rise to the term "greenbacks" still in use today. Green has been called "the color of money," and its origin is as a defense against counterfeiting. The National Bank Note Company, formed in New York City in 1 859, quickly became an important player in the production of bills for state-chartered banks, but with volume that measured a distant second to ABNCo. Most of their product included the inscription, "Patented April 23, 1860." This so-called innovation was reviewed by competitor W.L. Ormsby, a curmudgeon whose sometimes telling comments were not appreciated by others in the trade. He found that the essence of National's claim was: 1st. The combination in repetition of the valuation or denomination, and the configuration. 2d. Combined use in repetition of the valuation or denomination with the title of the institution or corpora- tion, and the configuration of the geometric cycloidal waved-line or rosette. These "cycloidal configurations," as Ormsby called them, were nothing more than gobbledygook and non- sense he wrote. Still, many numismatists of today agree that National's notes are among the most colorful and attractive of the 1860s. The cycloidal configurations joined the Patent Green Tint as a feature of many federal notes in the same era. ''''...1 7fffrepiy.. It. : :,70C - . , \ 4fr l hr President Directors and Company of the r . 7., } . " * r - - - •I - 4:' ) 1 se to pa , ' p 0 0 ..r. , \ 0) bearer on demand •" 1 lirirla.'-:' '..., Y .„,, =r 5:,, oe-/--,167.-LCash ...,,,<- Prck ..,.. 246 July/August • Whole No. 250 • Paper Money A Gallery of Anti-Counterfeiting Styles Shown below are selected obsolete currency notes from the 1 9th century, together with selected federal issues, illustrating several different plans, ideas, and innovations devised to deter counterfeiting, alteration, and other abus- es of paper money. Perkins' Patent Stereotype Steel Plate Notes One of the earlier styles of Perkins notes, this a $2 for the Farmers Exchange Bank of Gloucester, Rhode Island. In this instance the bill was genuine, but the bank itself was a fraud! Jacob Perkins' Patent Stereotype Steel Plate (PSST), launched in the early 1800s, was the best known of the anti-counterfeiting systems. Explained in detail in the writer's Obsolete Currency Issued by United States Banks 1782- / 866 and other texts, the system had several features: The face printing plate was made up of components locked together in a frame, permitting border elements and other features to be changed, and to create notes with intricate lettering and decorations in a fraction of the time it would have taken to hand engrave a custom plate. Slugs with the name of the bank, town, and state could be inserted into openings, permitting suitable printing plates to be made quickly and inexpensively. Detail of the $2 Perkins note showing the Patent Stereotype Steel Plate imprint. Later and more intricate style of Perkins Patent Stereotype Steel Plate, this for a $1 note of the Bank of Winthrop in Maine. Inserted slugs reading MAINE, BANK OF WINTHROP, and WINTHROP identify the issuer and location. By using slug plates, Perkins made hundreds of different varieties for many banks, particularly in New England. Paper Money • July/August 2007 • Whole No. 250 r 7 1' ,4-7 ' t tillipViliql;Fittfe, 1.14,1 jklZt?iI : „4 r6 44,At /4,Sit. e e..7rar• r 4) 247 Detail of some of the intricate engraving on the Bank of Winthrop $1 note. Back of the Winthrop $1 note showing the Perkins Patent Check Plate. The idea was to take a suspected counterfeit and fold the note so that the edge of part of the segmented back design could be aligned with that on a note known to be genuine. A phony note would likely be off-register. As an extra printing step was involved, the Patent Check Plate back was usually employed only on higher denomination bills from $5 upward, and not consistently. The writer has found no contemporary accounts of the Check Plate being widely used by bankers, merchants, and others, but it was widely promoted by Perkins and his successor, the New England Bank Note Company. Close up of Patent Steel Stereotpe Check Plate back revealing the intricate checking features. ki ZD =Lk_ /z .V7 gioriti..44-044 ja-l? fi -A--.-Y1T,m7104-mst. NA277—M- • /4,77 THREE DOLLARS ;i Lty 248 July/August • Whole No. 250 • Paper Money Later style Patent Stereotype Steel Plate note incorporating vignette illustrations. The plate had inserted slugs for THE OXFORD BANK, FRYEBURG, and STATE OF MAINE. Although not much publicity was given to this shortcoming until the 1850s, Perkins plate notes were among the easiest to alter, a boon for fraudsters who bought up worthless Perkins notes from insolvent banks and bleached out the slug imprints, replacing them with imprints of solvent banks. In still other and rarer instances, phony slug plates were made with intricate details (often irregular in quality, if examined under magnification), and fake slugs were added—in effect giving counterfeiters the same speed and efficiency that the Perkins enterprise itself enjoyed! $3 note of the Duxbury (Massachusetts) Bank with a Perkins Patent Stereotype Steel Plate face combined with a Congreve Patent Check Plate back, the last either copying or licensed from an innovation of Sir William Congreve of England. The face is from a slug plate, with THE DUXBURY BANK, DUXBURY, and MASSACHUSETTS inserted. Back of the Duxbury $3 note. The Congreve Patent Check Plate was used by the New England Bank Note Company on selected issues of the 1830s, after which it seems to have been discontinued. 1'S%0 VI VPQ.1(k1,11A 1!, 1111'Pettl - . Cll. 4 ■• • :14 04 the. tAl CI: (11: N W (I12'H ti.; Et410 hrothige not, t or 1;01,11.pr P111;111 ;,4rt= felb3DIDDISAVXD : _Le U• :rt • 1,1 t are I D, ELARS //////7////tz, A.*.y 4-4 ,---.-- :.- /1, / ,„-- • / .4/?.,. , ... ( //..,/i. t'• //?.: • / , , :-..-,4,-,:-,Hx:::,::::,::::: 7 ! : : : ,.: : :.',,,,-: ,, :-,,,,,, ::-..-.,±,,,.+! ,!....1.-.........,..,,,,,,,,,..X- ..1 Paper Money • July/August 2007 • Whole No. 250 249 The Curious Starr Patent System A curious and are advertising note dated February 10, 1824, advertising E. & C. Starr's patent process. With multiple denominations, 1 to 50 dollars, it is imprinted for the Mechanics Bank in the City of New York. W.L. Ormsby called it a "typographical colored printing plan." Apparently, the idea was short-lived, as little is known of the process today. Notes by W.L. Ormsby Having the elements in a note's design equal in number to the denomination was an idea used by several engravers. This $3 1856 note by VV.L. Ormsby for the State Bank of LeCompton, Kansas shows three cherubs. Its back (below) has three lobes each with hundreds of tiny "3" numerals. It would have been virtually impossible to have altered this bill to a higher denomination. f 11, C :211.!..iti re• // 7L P*3 /I /I; ///7///t I . I • Direrion.,$.- (taut' tht ) /". ninitrie ./7 ,r-4-7,/:, entry for William Dewey Cooke downloaded 29 March 2005. 0.*_11.A-Nitoo, siwst 6820 k-4§ 4) 1,14..A21111wPigs7—P)Pgiali_i*Agt r; //Awl, nii .1 ///iii /XI agi r. Pt.t:&fifr-. tge4 4 .2(ACK.A171(Nr.. `tSB103494►— Paper Money • July/August 2007 • Whole No. 250 265 The First National Bank of/in Ontonagon, Michigan by Lawrence Falater T HE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN was organized on May 26, 1903, in a small upper peninsula vil- lage in a lumbering community on the shores of Lake Superior. The primary organizers of this bank, C. Meilleur and James Mercer, were previously partners in a private bank in the nearby village of Greenland, which had a total of 21 individuals investing a total of $10,000. The First National Bank was capitalized at $25,000, the minimum allowed for banks located in small towns. The bank issued the following National Bank Notes: Third Charter Red Seals 10 - 10 - 10 - 20 plate $63,150 serials 1 to 1263 Third Charter 1902 -1908 Date Backs 10 - 10 - 10 - 20 plate $83,000 serials 1 to 1660 Third Charter Plain Back Blue Seals serials 1661 to 4850 serials 1 to 576 serials 1 to 144 serials 1 to 57 serials 1 to 21 10 - 10 - 10 - 20 plate $159,500 Small Size, Series 1929 $10 Type 1 $34,560 $20 Type 1 $17,280 $10 Type 2 $570 $20 Type 2 $420 The first $20 banknote issued by the bank, a marvelous Red Seal, ex-Grinnell. (courtesy Dr. Wallace Lee) 266 July/August • Whole No. 250 • Paper Money The archives of the First National Bank of Ontonagon, Michigan. and its successor, The First National Bank in Ontonagon, offer insight into National Banking history in general. especially during the Great Depression, when few if any documents were preserved. Below: A letter from the Comptroller of the Currency dated Oct. 27, 1915, to officers and directors of all National Banks reminding them of the director's sworn duty to uphold various provisions of the National Bank Act. The letter includes the statement that laws regarding usury have often been grossly ignored by some banks. TREASURY DEPARTMENT COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY WASHINGTON OCTOBER 27, 1915. To all National Banks: SIRS: The attention of your officers and directors is called to the oath which was signed by each director upon his qualification, in. which he solemnly swore as follows: "-* * I will, so far as the duty devolves on me, diligently and honestly administer the affairs of said Association; that I will not knowingly violate, or willingly permit to be violated, any of the provisions of the Statutes of the United States under which this Association has been organized.. * " Your attention is called to Seat 5197 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, being part of the National Bank Act„ which provides that a National Bank— `'may take, receive, reserve, and charge on any loan or diScount made, or upon any note, bill of exchange, or other evidences of debt, interest at the rate allowed by the laws of the State, Territory, or DiStrict where the bank is located, and no more,. except that where by the laws of any State a different rate is limited for banks of issue organized under State laws, the rate so limited shall be allowed for associations organized or existing in any such State under this Title. When no rate is axed by - the laws of the State-, or Territory, or District, the bank may take, receive, reserve, or charp.:e a rate not exceeding - reven per centum r 'and such interest may be taken in advance, reckoning the days for which. the note, bill, or other evidence of debt has to run. * This office regrets to report that the sworn_ statements of condition of a great many national - banks show that section 5197:„ LT.. St R. S..„ against usury; has been grossly violated by these bank,. You :Irc respectfully advised and admonished that this provision of the National Bank Act should be faithfully observed by all national banks, their officers and directors, in accordance with the solemn oaths taken by the directors_ Youare requested to read this letter at the next meeting of your board of directors, and to have it inscribed upon the minutes, and to. send a copy of this letter to every member of your board who may not be present at such meeting;. with the request that he promptly acknowledge its receipt to you. Within- thirty days after your next hoard meetil Er and not later than December 20,. 1915„ you are requested to send to thti office letters from. members of your board who may not have been present at the net-mg at which CF-di; letter is read, acluaowledging the receipt by each absent director of a copy hereof, together with a certified extract from your minutes,. showing that this letter has been read to your board and giving the names of the directors present at the meeting at which it is read. Respectfully, Comptroller of the Currency. ---) 12. / ( ji (( -'< J 11//1 /ill; • J.,) ar,12EYBER 301 1922. itI4 ,-;,e . e rra 5. , .d.f)? .7-4<*i,lhi,if.wirile/1-•_ , - , ,, Artitu tlwrifintj __..1., N. ORM INDERI 41))/Ø,4,-/y4, ,./2411:;///r/le 'X fkki-e4wrn /4/ TM FIRST / NATIONAL BAN-7, OF ON TONACrOli ,,Heri , VI ILAGE ,1/ ONTONAGON , iliell(-.14/1/ , -e/1LiT 0970, 2 17 2.y,.(i/yaillien:(111/14(00?-441)(1 (///del",‘ ,44/49,.1.0/4‘40/11XW41/0e,'k 4 44%e/i;;,./14.(z)16-1),/),A.,/ei% ,.6r61/eiier,an),414111liedik# 'ill/(;)heie/171/1/.1..eAr/11;leiieizz.-.914;./i,-/h1, 7 /tale e/1 aeremlaweree4.7.1(/.4.e.2/;44/4 /Vie / iih; in f.; 1 ,4,) /..-- ;'4%,(,/... / 9 ., , fo.67/().),4efei,l/leefreivyY/eff ?)n tl'^tiutt11TU aro f firke:o ',hi 11 ///r / jeei, 4) TEIRT ( //1f SB.PriE1.19P.R , 1922. rr4 ., rr y Paper Money • July/August 2007 • Whole No. 250 267 The original document extending the charter of #6820 of the First National Bank of Ontonagon for a period of 99 years. It bears the signature of the Comptroller of the Currency, D.R. Crissinger as well as the Comptroller's bronze seal. Such documents are highly prized by National Bank Note col- lectors, although not nearly as desirable as an actual charter. Unfortunately, neither the original charter of 1903, charter #6820, nor the successor bank, charter #13929, appears to have survived. ililimit5t41161 UHPFH THE WIMP§ N . . P ,VTFR F.TeTFF 9F 89F!!!FA bikY74 4. e teiRST NiVEIONATA . (J,, 4094y ; /".■ r 4;(415awa.)GWavant.liiel.)hah, Ahanu !Nano.mati 1 / 1/,1' Tut I ptril 2011,1M14.1NAL Oamt ■NAC:UN, /We - „,/,e6;,; • ; 'iYOCC da/ • rirrtv'ti^f^ifi^ir'