Paper Money - Vol. XXV, No. 3 - Whole No. 123 - May - June 1986

1918 $1 FEDERAL BOSTON F-708 (LOW #A161A) + NEW YORK #D401A) + RICHMOND F-721 (LOW #E70A) F-734 + KANSAS CITY F-738 + DALLAS new notes is from the famous JAMES M. 1918 $2 FEDERAL BOSTON F-747 (LOW #A1500A) + NEW CLEVELAND F-757 (LOW #D189A) + RICHMOND + ST. LOUIS F-771 + MINNEAPOLIS F-772 F-778. Also, from the JAMES M. WADE COLLECTION, for the LOW SERIAL NUMBERS (which 1. FRIEDBERG'S 10th Edition "Paper 2. HESSLER'S 4th Ed. "Comprehensive BEBEE'S is proud to offer this truly great WANTED RESERVE BANK NOTES F-711 (LOW #B900A) + PHILADELPHIA F-717 + CLEVELAND + ATLANTA F-726 + CHICAGO F-729 + ST. LOUIS F-742 + SAN FRANCISCO F-743 ... This marvelous collection WADE COLLECTION and is priced SPECIAL @ $2,750.00. RESERVE BANK NOTES YORK F-750 (LOW #B125A) + PHILADELPHIA F-760 (LOW #E44A) + ATLANTA F-762 (LOW #F13A) + KANSAS CITY F-774 + DALLAS F-776 (LOW #K40A) these RARE GEM CRISP NEW NOTES, without command much higher prices), in the two leading paper Money of the United States" $14,000.00 Catalog of U.S. Paper Money" $11,200.00 MUSEUM COLLECTION, specially priced $9,750.00. BUYING WANTED F-718 (LOW F-733 + MINNEAPOLIS of superb crisp F-753 (LOW #C66A) + + CHICAGO F-765 + SAN FRANCISCO making allowance money catalogue lists Please forward notes indicating prices desired or, for our TOP offer. Your notes will, of course, be accurately graded. (IF your notes are in slightly lower grade than the grades we desire, please write us before shipping). A QUICK, PLEASANT DEAL is always assured you at BEBEE's. DEMAND NOTE TERRITORIAL NATIONAL BANK NOTES 1861 $20 NEW YORK. FR .-11 VF to Unc. The Following BROWN BACKS wanted. 1882 $5 ARIZONA AU to Unc. 1882 $5 HAWAII AU to Unc. SILVER CERTIFICATES 1882 $5 OKLAHOMA AU to Unc. 1880 $1,000 Fr.-346B/D AU to Unc. #1882 $5 IDAHO AU to Unc.#1882 $5 WYOMING AU to Unc. # Second Choices: Other DENOM. & GRADES GOLD CERTIFICATES NATIONAL BANK NOTES 1882 $50 Lg. Red Seal. Fr.-1191 AU to Unc. The following BROWN BACKS wanted. 1882 $100 Brown Seal. FR.-1203 AU to Unc. 1882 $5 ALABAMA AU to Unc. 1882 $100 Lg. Red Seal. Fr.-1204 AU to Unc. 1882 $5 ARKANSAS AU to Unc. 1882 $100 Lg. Brown Seal. Fr.-1205 AU to Unc. 1882 $5 COLORADO AU to Unc. 1882 $5 FLORIDA AU to Unc. 1928 $500 Fr.-12404 Unc. only 1882 $5 IDAHO State AU to Unc. 1928 $1000 Fr.-240 Unc. only 1882 $5 MARYLAND Unc. only 1882 $5 MISSISSIPPI AU to Unc. 1882 $5 NEW HAMPSHIRE AU to Unc.NATIONAL GOLD BANK NOTES 1882 $5 NO DAKOTA AU to Unc. 1870/75 $10 Fr.-1143/1151 VF to Unc. 1882 $5 RHODE ISLAND AU to Unc. 1882 $5 SO. DAKOTA AU to Unc. 1882 $5 WYOMING AU to Unc. COMPOUND INTEREST NOTES 1882 $5 NEVADA AU to Unc. 1864 $100 Fr.-193 EF to Unc. Except MD. will consider EF-AU Notes. AVAILABLE NOW: U.S. SALES LISTS = (A) Large Size Notes; (B) Large Size Nationals; (C) Colonial & Continental Currency; (D) Fractional Currency; (E) Confederate Currency. Please specify your collecting interest when request- ing any of these FREE lists. WHY NOT GIVE US A TRY—WE WOULD BUSINESS WITH BEBEE'S. SINCE 1941, WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR YOU! ANA AUBREY GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR ORDERS—AND YOU'RE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF "BEBEE BOOSTERS" HAVE. & ADELINE BEBEE Life #110, ANS, IAPN, PNG, SPMC, Others Q.1 , s 4 "Pronto Service" Omaha, SURE TO LIKE DOING Y'ALL HURRY NOW — cdaii .'"°,4 sot I SSiOliktv0 NuMISMATirs.. .,,,,,,•„, P.O. Box 4290 Nebraska 68104 so(' I Er Y Oh PAPER MONEY C'01,111("FORS IN('. Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 93 PAPER MONEY is published every other month beginning in January by The Society of Paper Money Collectors, 1211 N. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE. Second class postage paid at Dover, DE 19901. Postmaster; send address changes to: Paper Money, 1211 N. DuPont Hwy. Dover, DE 19901. © Society of Paper Money Collectors, Inc., 1984. All rights reserved. Re- production of any article, in whole or in part, without express written permission, is prohibited. Annual Membership dues in SPMC are $15. Individual copies of current issues, $2.00. ADVERTISING RATES SPACE Outside 1 TIME 3TIMES 6 TIMES Back Cover $72.00 $195.00 $367.50 Inside Front & Back Cover $67.50 $181.50 $345.00 Full Page $59.00 $158.00 $299.00 Half-page $36.00 $ 98.00 $185.00 Quarter-page $15.00 $ 40.00 $ 77.00 Eighth-page $10.00 $ 26.00 $ 49.00 To keep administrative costs at a minimum and advertising rates low, advertising orders must be prepaid in advance according to the above schedule. In the exceptional cases where special artwork or extra typing are re- quired, the advertiser will be notified and billed extra for them accordingly. Rates are not commissionable. Proofs are not supplied. 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Official Bimonthly Publication of The Society of Paper Money Collectors, Inc. Vol. XXV No. 3 Whole No. 123 MAY/JUNE 1986 ISSN 0031-1162 GENE HESSLER, Editor Mercantile Money Museum Box 524, St. Louis, MO 63166 Manuscripts and publications for review should be addressed to the Editor. Opinions expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of SPMC or its staff. PAPER MONEY re- serves the right to edit or reject any copy. Deadline for editorial and advertising copy is the 10th of the month preceding the month of publication (e.g., Feb. 10 for March/April issue, etc.) Camera ready ads will be accepted up to two weeks beyond this date. IN THIS ISSUE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NATIONAL BANKS AND CORPORATE EXTENSIONS AND REORGANIZATIONS OF NATIONAL BANKS Peter Huntoon 97 MONEY TALES submitted by Forrest Daniel 119 HOW DIXIE GOT ITS NAME Brent H. Hughes 120 HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY Edward Schuman 121 MORE ABOUT MILITARY FINANCE CENTER NOTES Arlie Slabaugh 122 SAINT LOUIS CURRENCY CONVENTION PLANS 123 CURRENCY CHANGES ANNOUNCED 123 THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, A CHINESE BANK NOTE AND RELATED PIECES Gene Hessler 124 SOCIETY FEATURES INTEREST BEARING NOTES 126 RECRUITMENT REPORT 126 SPMC ANNUAL AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT 127 CANDIDATES FOR SPMC BOARD 128 COMING EVENTS 130 EDITOR'S CORNER 131 NEW MEMBERS 131 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 132 NEW LITERATURE 132 MONEY MART 133 Society of Paper Money Collectors OFFICERS PRESIDENT Larry Adams. P.O. Box 1, Boone, Iowa 50036 VICE-PRESIDENT Roger H. Durand, P.O. Box 186, Rehoboth, MA 02769 SECRETARY Gary Lewis, P.O. Box 4751, N. Ft. Myers, FL 33903 TREASURER James F. Stone, P.O. Box 89, Milford, N.H. 03055 APPOINTEES EDITOR Gene Hessler, Mercantile Money Museum, Box 524, St. Louis, MO 63166 NEW MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Ron Horstman. P.O. Box 6011, St. Louis, MO 63139 BOOK SALES COORDINATOR Richard Balbaton, 116 Fisher Street, North Attleboro, MA 02760. WISMER BOOK PROJECT Richard T. Hcober, P.O. Box 196, Newfoundland, PA 18445 LEGAL COUNSEL Robert G. Galiette, 10 Wilcox Lane, Avon, CT 06001 PAST PRESIDENT AND LIBRARIAN Wendell Wolka, P.O. Box 366, Hinsdale, IL 60521 BOARD OF GOVERNORS Charles Colver, Michael Crabb, C. John Ferreri, William Horton, Jr.. Peter Huntoon, Charles V. Kemp, Jr., Roman L. Latimer, Donald Mark, Douglas Murray, Dean Oakes, Bernard Schaaf, MD, Stephen Taylor, Steven Whitfield, John Wilson. The Society of Paper Money Collectors was organ- ized in 1961 and incorporated in 1964 as a non- profit organization under the laws of the District of Columbia. It is affiliated with the American Numis- matic Association and holds its annual meeting at the ANA Convention in August of each year. MEMBERSHIP - REGULAR. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and of good moral character. JUNIOR. Applicants must be from 12 to 18 years of age and of good moral character. Their application must be signed by a parent or a guardian. They will be preceded by the letter "j". This letter will be removed upon notification to the secretary that the member has reached 18 years of age. Junior mem- bers are not eligible to hold office or to vote. Members of the A.N.A. or other recognized numismatic organizations are eligible for member- ship. Other applicants should be sponsored by an S.P.M.C. member, or the secretary will sponsor per- sons if they provide suitable references such as well known numismatic firms with whom they have done business, or bank references, etc. DUES - The Society dues are on a calendar year basis. Annual dues are $15. Members who join the Society prior to October 1st receive the magazines already issued in the year in which they join. Mem- bers who join after October 1st will have their dues paid through December of the following year. They will also receive, as a bonus, a copy of the magazine issued in November of the year in which they joined. PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE TO MEMBERS BOOKS FOR SALE: All cloth bound books are 8 1/2 x 11" INDIANA OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP $12.00 Non-Member $15.00 MINNESOTA OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP. Rockholt $12.00 Non-Member $15.00 MAINE OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP. Wait $12.00 Non-Member $15.00 OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP OF RHODE ISLAND AND THE PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS, Durand $20.00 Non-Member $25.00 NEW JERSEY'S MONEY, Wait $12.00 Non-Member $25.00 TERRITORIALS-A GUIDE TO U.S TERRITORIALS BANK NOTES, Huntoon $12.00 Non-Member $15.00 INDIAN TERRITORY / OKLAHOMA / KANSAS OBSO- LETE NOTES & SCRIP, Burgett & Whitfield $12.00 Non-Member $15.00 IOWA OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP, Oakes $12.00 Non-Member $15.00 ALABAMA OBSOLETE NOTES AND SCRIP Rosene $12.00 Non-Member $15.00 PENNSYLVANIA OBSOLETE NOTES AND SCRIP (396 pages), Hoober $28.00 Non-member $35.00 ARKANSAS OBSOLETE NOTES AND SCRIP, Rothert $17.00 Non-member $22.00 VERMONT OBSOLETE NOTES & SCRIP Coulter $12.00 Non-member $15.00 Write for Quantity Prices on the above books. ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS 1. Give complete description for all items ordered. 2. Total the cost of all publications ordered. 3. ALL publications are postpaid except orders for less than 5 copies of Paper Money. 4. Enclose payment (U.S. funds only) with all orders. Make your check or money order payable to: Society of Paper Money Collectors. 5. Remember to include your ZIP CODE. 6. Allow up to six weeks for delivery. We have no control of your package after we place it in the mails. Order from: R.J. Balbaton, SPMC Book Sales Dept. 116 Fisher St., North Attleboro, MA 02760. Library Services The Society maintains a lending library for the use of Librarian - Wendell Wolka, P.O. Box 366, Hinsdale, Ill. the members only. For further information, write the 60521. Page 94 Paper Money Whole No. 123 First mill onaire farmer behind Missouri banks 41: Michigan bank couldn't fool the examiners BEP details currency changes Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 95 Paper Money Collectors — Here's Your One-Stop Information Source You know how frustrating it can be to skim coin-related newspapers and magazines looking for that elusive paper money article. Yes, it's disappointing. But, it doesn't have to be that way. If your main interest is in paper money, then a subscription to BANK NOTE REPORTER can provide the information you need. Solid facts and updates concerning all types of paper money, both U.S. and foreign. In BANK NOTE REPORTER, you'll find coverage of U.S. Paper Money, world bank notes, fractional currency, stocks, bonds, obsolete bank notes, military currency and more. You'll find plenty of photos illustrating the factual articles and historical perspectives. And you'll be kept abreast of upcoming shows, new publications, new organizations, and get a monthly update that features the latest-information available on paper money worldwide, coverage of new issues, unpublished types, dates of issues and varieties for owners of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Volumes I and II. A U.S. value guide keeps the latest prices at your fingertips. Plus, trustworthy advertisers, screened by a strict BANK NOTE REPORTER acceptance policy, present thousands of buy/sell opportunities in each issue. It's all yours every month in a concise, informative package — in BANK NOTE REPORTER, the complete news and marketplace for paper money collectors. Guarantee If, for any reason you decide to cancel your subscription, simply drop us a note before you receive your second issue and we'll refund your entire payment. After the second issue, we'll refund on all undelivered issues. Send your subscription request, along with $17.50 for one year (12 issues) to BANK NOTE REPORTER, Krause Publications, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. Make checks payable to Krause Publications. Payable in U.S. funds. ANIR 4OTTE jEPORTER 700 E. STATE ST., IOLA, WI 54990 Page 96 Paper Money Whole No. 123 Memphis Coin Club's 10th INTERNATIONAL PAPER MONEY SHOW JUNE 20, 21, 22, 1986 Cook Convention Center 255 N. Main Street Memphis, TN 38103 35% Discount on DELTA AIRLINES Dial 1-800-241-6108 or in Georgia 1-800-282-8744 and use file #J0108 to make flight reservations. Convention Hotel: HOLIDAY INN—CROWNE PLAZA 250 N. Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103. Auction by NASCA, 24 Broadway, New York, NY 10004. Contact Stephen Goldsmith. 212-908-4006. Bureau of Engraving and Printing's "Billion Dollar Exhibit" American Bank Note Company Exhibit U.S.P.S. Temporary Postal Station Commemorative Souvenir Cards For bourse information and room reservation cards write: Mike Crabb, Box 17871, Memphis, TN 38187-0871. EXHIBIT CHAIRMAN: Martin Delger 323 Dawnlee Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49002. ABSTRACT E collectors have associated our national bank notes (and banks) with various acts as follows : Ori- ginal Series and Series of 1875 — Acts of February 24, 1863 and June 3, 1864; Series of 1882 — Act of July 12, 1882: Series of 1902— Act of April 12, 1902. This gives rise to what we call First, Second, and Third charter notes or banks. From a very technical perspective our framework has no basis in law. All banks organized between June 3, 1864, and July 1, 1922, owed their first 20 years of corporate life solely to authority vested in the Act of June 3, 1864. Their next 20 years was granted by an extension specifically allowed for only through the Act of July 12, 1882. Their second 20-year extension was granted only by the Act of April 12, 1902. For example, a bank chartered in 1890 that we call a Second Charter bank and which we say issued Sec- ond Charter notes during its first 20 years was in fact operating between 1890 and 1910 under the Act of June 3, 1864. When extended in 1910, it began operating under the Act of July 12, 1882, not the Act of April 12, 1902. Notice, therefore, that the notes it issued had no relationship to the laws under which it was authorized to do business. Instead, the notes it received were dictated by policy promulgated by the Comp- troller of the Currency. Banks were not rechartered to yield Second and Third charters. Rather their First and only charter was periodically extended. PURPOSE T HIS article will examine the impacts on national bank note issuances arising from the organization, ex-tension and reorganization of banks in the years 1882, 1902 and 1922. It will be necessary to firstexamine the laws governing corporate succession of national banks. Out of this discussion you will understand the overwhelming importance of the date of organization as compared to the charter date. As we treat the transition into individual new series of notes, the policies that dictated which banks received which series will be examined in detail. This issue is complex because policies changed each time the Comptroller was faced with introducing a new series. One surprising fact that will emerge from this study is that the useful terms Second, Third, and almost Fourth charter periods, used by collectors to classify both banks and notes, have no basis in law or policy. What you will discover is that new series owe their origin to the legislated requirement for design changes once banks had undergone the process of extending their corporate lives. The determination of which banks got which series was a policy question unrelated to the law under which the bank was operating. In fact, Series of 1882, Series of 1902, and a group of 1921-1922 dated Series of 1902 notes each represent a dis- tinct class of notes that began to be assigned to certain banks before passage of national bank legislation in those series years. In a dramatic case, Series of 1902 red seals were actually being issued to banks before passage of the Act of April 12, 1902. Consequently you can observe that the issuance of Series of 1902 red seals by a bank commonly had nothing whatever to do with the Act of April 12, 1902. It is not the purpose of this article to recommend that we abandon the use of terms such as Second, Third and Fourth charters even though their use can be questioned on technical grounds. These terms serve a useful purpose in our field. Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 97 The Relationship Between National Banks and Corporate Extensions and Reorganizations of NATIONAL BANKS by PETER W. HUNTOON Series of 1882 note for the First National Bank of Woodstock, Illinois (2675) approved for use on August 10, 1882. (Smithsonian photo.)ciC k1aInIII , ijoitkit o ViVe ?A TEN It( 01i Mulatto. •••••^•■•.,,, Page 98 SOURCES OF INFORMATION The primary source of data for this study was an examination of many hundreds of certified proofs of national bank notes held by the Smithsonian Institution. Another important source included the texts and tables in the Annual Reports of the Comptroller of the Currency. The currency and bond ledgers for individual banks, prepared by the Comptroller of the Cur- rency and now held by the National Archives, were heavily con- sulted. Reference works that proved invaluable include Van Belkum (1968 and undated), Kelly (1982) and Hickman and Oakes (1983). ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work would not have been possible were it not for the helpful and enthusiastic cooperation of Lynn Vosloh of the Divi- sion of Numismatics, Smithsonian Institution. John Hickman and Gerome Walton generously supplied data from their re- search and records. John Hickman, Gerome Walton, Max Stucky and William Raymond critically reviewed the manuscript and made numerous suggestions for improvement. EMERGENCE OF THE EXPIRATION PROBLEM T HE year 1882 ushered in a major headache for both theComptroller of the Currency and many national bankschartered under the original National Bank Act of Feb- ruary 25, 1863. The charters for the earliest national banks were about to expire. Despite pleas from the Comptroller, legislation was not moving to allow for the extension of charters. The Comptroller had to obey the law—banks faced with lapsing charters simply had to liquidate. This problem emerged in 1882 as a result of a quirk in the Act of February 25, 1863, commonly overlooked by national bank note collectors. The act specifically allowed for the banks to organize for a period of 20 years or less from the date of the act. This provision was soon changed to 20 years from the date of organization by the Act of June 3, 1864. However, 98 of the 1863 banks chose an initial corporate life of 19 years from their dates of organization. Notice that when such a 19-year formula was used, it preserved the intent of the act that the corporate ex- istence of the bank be less than 20 years from February 25, 1863. Another tactic was to choose a specific expiration date before February 25, 1883, a method used by the First National Bank of Pontiac, MI (434) which selected January 1, 1882 on which to terminate. In fact, the Pontiac bank was the first of the Act of Paper Money Whole No. 123 1863 banks to expire by limitation, and the bank went into voluntary liquidation at the close of business on December 31, 1881. A number of issues presented themselves in 1882. (1) What defined the corporate life of a national bank? (2) Could a bank liquidate and be replaced by a reorganized successor? (3) Could the reorganized successor use the identical title as the bank it replaced? IMPORTANCE OF THE DATE OF ORGANIZATION In 1881 the Comptroller of the Currency devoted substantial attention to what constituted the corporate life of a bank. Until the question of expiring charters loomed, the key date as- sociated with a bank was the date that it was chartered. Before a bank could open, the National Bank Act required that the bank receive from the Comptroller a certificate authorizing it to com- mence the business of banking. This license or franchise is known as the bank's charter, and at the time it was issued the bank was assigned a charter number. Because the act of charter- ing was the formal step allowing a bank to conduct business, the U.S. Government attached great significance to the charter date. The charter date suddenly sank to lesser importance in 1882. Section 8 of the Act of June 3, 1864 clearly specified when the corporate life of a national bank began : Shall have power to adopt a corporate seal, and shall have succes- sion by the name designated in its organization certificate, for the period of twenty years from its organization, unless sooner dissolved according to the provisions of its articles of association, or by the act of its shareholders owning two-thirds of its stock, or unless the fran- chise shall be forfeited by a violation of this act. The Comptroller (1881, p. vii) concluded : the period of existence of an association, as a body corporate, com- mences from the date of its organization certificate, and not from that of the certificate of the Comptroller, authorizing the association to commence business. Clearly the date of organization was the paramount date asso- ciated with a bank. However, defining that date from the organi- zation certificate was commonly difficult because various dates were affixed to the document, including different dates for the signatures of the organizers. Clarification of this issue was pro- vided by the Comptroller (1901, p. xxiv) : szuvue-244- *maw Cr fir/ .4w ) Til h eri■40 ./1;;;/ 77/(y/i )2;7/7 "he 67/1.t2— ,v,„„„fx (47-yz_ez._ - a ustimulut whereof Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 99 ifp/4/4 (*(17/:),/ eyvir>,e(t , 4 lilt>//111Ca/ Mild*(),1 (/// 111(e,(1;. /.' atif‘lit; /( k ' ri ,/////// //f*,' IN/ YI)//i14-1,91 ;/ ,... i/ (-)/7/7 ?,/,,e2/4?- te..4.24,74.... i 1 -i,' / .) eearmite.th --- eo/ l- i- vixm..-iite /, , ' /41.),:yei.) ;o./.74 ) /if ,/ yaw/4/471aN (-1.," . :2,/, /)/// , ./1., ,,vee,lz , 2 y7 /omr hfrilehriit (11/1/ riiWy /kr; ie i"trile 7,/v '&0'1/- , A,/ ,a,w/ The first and only charter for the Arizona National Bank of Tucson, Territory of Arizona, issued October 10, 1890, under the authority of the Act of June 3, 1864. The bank was extended September 26, 1910, and issued a certificate of extension under the authority of the Act of July 12. 1882. NTilitti0-14 - ,,.% way2, 1 , 04_ tt . ._._....„d 2/ / C ' 9 &If a ...1Alfe,e/14,(W/Y (.7 ,/ i / f / ) /11 /h . _ .e-Btri . , ../i/x/ v-vx..a..... ,,-/ ,-/.. /4/1e,e, 71/7 (/-7 < faitded ge _41/47/ ../4/4:): Page 100 Paper Money Whole No. 123 A national bank . . . becomes a body corporate from the date of the execution of its organization certificate, the date of the last acknowl- edgement (where there is more than one) being construed as the date of the execution of the certificate. No time limit is associated with a bank charter. For banks chartered between June 3, 1864 and February 24, 1927, the charter simply expired when the corporate life of the bank ex- pired as timed from its date of organization. Once legislation passed allowing for extensions of corporate life, certificates of extension were issued to the banks which nor from assuming the name of the old corporation, with the ap- proval of the Comptroller of the Currency, and, in the absence of any prohibition to that effect, no legal obstacle to the formation of a new association by such stockholders, and the adoption of the name of the old association, would, in my opinion, exist. Although the reorganization of the expiring banks as entirely new banks with new charter numbers was cumbersome, it was the only legal option available before corrective legislation was passed on July 12, 1882. In effect, the reorganized banks were treated as new banks and chartered under the existing provi- sions of the Act of June 3, 1864. Here is how the Comptroller (1881, p. xi) saw it : Brown back dated October 10, 1890, the date of charter. See the charter that is shown with this article. Beginning with charter 5111 in 1898, the first plates made for a bank carried the date of organization. (Smith- sonian photo.) specified when the life of the bank would expire. For example, an extension certificate granted under the Act of July 12, 1882 would bear an expiration date equal to the date of organization plus 40 years. See the suite of charters and extension certificates for the First National Bank of Lincoln, Nebraska, pictured in Walton (1978, p. 598-601). As you read those documents, be aware that the bank was organized on February 18, 1871, and chartered on February 24, 1871. Once you get past the original charter, the February 24th date never reappears. The importance of the date of organization was ultimately rec- ognized on national bank notes. Beginning with charter 5111 early in 1898, plates made for new banks usually were engraved with the date of organization rather than the charter date as was the previous practice. EXPIRED BANKS The Act of July 12, 1882 was not passed in time to save many 19-year banks organized under the Act of February 25, 1863. The corporate existences of 21 of them simply expired and they had to liquidate. Of these, 17 were reorganized under new charters. Another 60 banks voluntarily liquidated before their original charters actually expired and were succeeded by new banks (Comptroller of the Currency, 1901, p. xxiv). There were questions as to whether the reorganized successor banks could use the same titles as the banks they replaced. The Comptroller (1882, p. x) requested an opinion from the Attor- ney General on the issue and his reply, dated February 23, 1882, legitimized the reuse of the old titles : The present national banking laws do not forbid the stockholders of an expiring corporation from organizing a new banking association, The banks can still, under the present laws, renew their existence if they so desire ; and in the absence of prohibitory legislation many of them undoubtedly will, on the expiration of their present charters, organize new associations, with nearly the same stockholders as be- fore, and will then apply for and obtain from the Comptroller certifi- cates authorizing them to continue business for twenty years from the respective dates of their new organization certificates. Such a course of procedure will be perfectly legal, and, indeed, under the existing laws, the Comptroller has no discretionary power in the matter, but must necessarily sanction the organization, or reorgani- zation, of such associations as shall have conformed in all respects to the legal requirements. Legislation that allowed for 20-year extensions was finally signed into law on July 12, 1882. The shareholders of banks whose corporate lives were about to expire had only to (1) amend their articles of association to allow for an additional 20 years of succession, (2) pass a special examination of the banks, and (3) file some forms provided by the Comptroller (Comp- troller of the Currency, 1882, p. xi). The extended banks were, of course, unchanged corporate entities which retained their ori- ginal charter numbers. LAWS ALLOWING CORPORATE LIFE Table 1 summarizes all of the acts of Congress that dealt with the corporate life of a national bank. If you carefully study this table, you will discover that each act following the Act of June 3, 1864 was a virtual down-to-the-wire, stopgap solution to the problem of corporate extensions. The Act of July 12, 1882 ar- rived too late to provide equal relief to all of the impacted banks—some lost their lives. Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 101 Table 1. Summary of legislation dealing with corporate lives of National Banks. Law Provision Impact Act of February 25, 1863, Section 11 Act of June 3, 1864, Section 8 Act of July 12, 1882, Section 1 Act of April 12, 1902 Act of July 1, 1922, Sections 1 and 2 Act of February 25, 1927, Section 2 Corporate life limited to a period of 20 years or less from the date of the act. Corporate life of 20 years begins at date of organization for banks organized after June 3, 1864. Extended corporate life for 20 years from the expiration of the period named in the original articles of association. Extended corporate life for a second period of 20 years for banks whose lives were previously extended under the Act of July 12, 1882. Allowed all banks organized to have automatic 99-year extensions of corporate life from July 1, 1922, or if organized after July 1, 1922, to have a 99-year corporate life from the date of organization. Allowed for perpetual lives for all existing and future banks. Banks organized under this act had an initial life of 20 years or less from February 25, 1863. Ninety-eight banks specified lives of 19 years from their dates of organization, which would force them to close in 1882. Provided for the first 20 years of life for banks organized after June 3. 1864. Provided for the first 20-year extension of life. NOTICE: Many 19-year banks organized under the Act of Feb. 25, 1863, were forced to liquidate before they could be saved by this act. Provided for the second 20-year extension of life. Added 99 years to lives of all existing banks and gave 99-year lives to new banks from their dates of organization. This act repealed all previous legislation dealing with successions and extensions. Repealed all constraints on succession. It is important to describe how these pieces of legislation inter- relate. No matter when a bank was organized after 1864, its charter was awarded under the authority vested in the Act of June 3, 1864. When the bank came up for its first 20-year ex- tension, the extension was granted under the authority of the Act of July 12, 1882. Similarly, the second 20-year extension was accomplished solely under the Act of April 12, 1902. For example, notice that a bank organized in 1903 did not get its charter via the Act of April 12, 1902. Rather, its first 20 years was provided for by the Act of June 3, 1864. The Acts of July 1, 1922 and February 25, 1927 specifically amended the Act of June 3, 1864, and replaced the 1864 pro- cedures respectively with 99 year successions, and ultimately with perpetual successions. In so doing, these later acts usurped the Acts of July 12, 1882 and April 12, 1902, and all provisions dealing with succession in the Act of June 3, 1864. The chain of authority vested in these acts is very straight forward. Important is the fact that we collectors have invented an incorrect concept of charter periods to classify banks or the types of notes that the banks issued. The distinctions in nomen- clature are worth developing. From the perspective of the law, what we call "charter periods" has no meaning. Until the Act of July 1, 1922 was passed, every bank had a "first charter" and this was followed in turn by a "first extension" and a "second extension." Notice that there is really no such thing as a "Second Charter" or a "Third Charter" under the law! The notes issued by a bank bore a rela- tionship to two influences: (1) the stage in its corporate life, and (2) the designs and policies in use at the time it passed from one stage to the next. These facts run counter to the entire thrust of the meanings attached to the "charter periods" that we collec- tors use in our literature. Collectors call the National Bank of Arizona at Phoenix (charter 3728) a Second Charter bank because when it was chartered in 1887, it first issued what we call Second Charter Series of 1882 brown backs. However, in 1887 the bank was operating under its first and only charter granted by the Comp- troller under the Act of June 3, 1864. Its charter was extended in 1907 under the Act of July 12, 1882, and the bank then is- sued what we call Third Charter notes. The Third Charter notes were being issued by the bank during its second 20 years of cor- porate life, which is the same as its first 20 year extension! It is worth stopping here and sorting this out! CORPORATE EXTENSIONS The Act of July 12, 1882 allowed for the first 20-year exten- sions to the corporate lives of national banks. Those banks whose corporate lives expired before this date simply ceased to exist in the eyes of the law and were forced to liquidate. If stockholders wished to stay in business, they had to reorganize the expiring bank under a new charter and formally liquidate the expiring entity. Notice from Table 1 that the Act of July 12, 1882 allowed for only one 20-year extension. The problem of extensions would raise its ugly head again in twenty years. In 1902, the question of extensions for the oldest banks-those now 39 years old - Page 102 Paper Money Whole No. 123 once again went down to the wire. Congress in haste passed the paste-up Act of April 12, 1902, which provided for a second 20 year extension. Notice in both 1882 and 1902 that the problem of extensions was only temporarily addressed. In neither the acts of 1882 or 1902 did the Comptroller receive authority to develop a pro- cedure for granting repeated extensions. Naturally this legislative process was growing tedious and the Comptroller—and the banks— desired a permanent cure. Various Comptrollers requested legislation that provided for either (1) a system to allow for repeated extensions, or better yet (2) perpetual successions. The issue had become critical again in 1922 before a tentative step was taken in the right direction. A number of banks dating from 1863 were coming up for their third extensions, and there was nothing on the books to allow for such extensions. In addi- tion, large numbers of 20-and 40-year old banks were also apply- ing for extensions respectively under the acts of 1882 and 1902. In the latter cases, the extensions could be handled normally ; the only problem was to provide the banks with distinctive new currency upon extension. The fact is that a large number of extensions were processed in 1921 and 1922 for the 20-and 40-year old banks using existing legislative authority. It was the 1863 banks that were in jeopardy. They soon would be forced to liquidate and reorganize in a manner parallel to the course taken by many banks in 1882 if they wanted to stay in business. With but a few days to spare, the Act of July 1, 1922 conferred on all existing banks an automatic 99 year extension. At least now the problem of extensions was deferred for almost a century! Things became rational in 1927 with the passage of the Act of February 25th. Congress finally authorized perpetual succession for national banks and the whole issue of extensions was circum- vented. In reality, passage of this act was the first time that Con- gress formally certified that it trusted the National Banking system of the United States. THE TRANSITION TO THE SERIES OF 1882 Of the three transition periods to new series, none was as complex as the one that marked the beginning of the Series of 1882. One provision relating to national bank notes in the Act of July 12, 1882 specified that notes issued after a bank was ex- tended had to be readily distinguishable from those issued prior to the extension. This requirement had been anticipated by the Comptroller, so the Series of 1882 designs were completed and plate production awaited passage of the act. The primary purpose for the new designs was to replace the existing circulations for the extended banks. However, two other situations also had to be addressed. First, would the Series of 1875 designs continue to be issued indefinitely to new banks as they were chartered? Second, what series should be issued to the reorganized successor banks replacing 1863 banks forced into liquidation prior to the passage of the Act of July 12, 1882? A policy developed to eventually phase out Series of 1875 notes by the end of 1902. The Act of July 12, 1882 required all extended banks to issue the new series. However, all new banks chartered after August 17, 1882 also received the new Series of 1882 notes regardless of the fact that they were organized under the authority of the Act of June 3, 1864. Notice that a radical step was taken at this point in time. The series of notes that a given bank received became divorced from the act under which the bank was operating. In other words, new banks would no longer get Series of 1875 notes. This policy set a precedent that was repeated in 1902 and 1922. All of the extended banks did receive Series of 1882 notes. The first extended banks were those organized under the Act of February 25, 1863, with 1882 expiration dates after July 12. Series of 1882 notes from these banks are distinguished by hav- ing low charter numbers and 1882 plate dates. Upon extension. Series of 1875 notes immediately ceased to be issued to the banks in accordance with the law and unissued Series of 1875 notes on hand were cancelled and destroyed. Table 2 shows that the first six banks that began the process of reorganizing under new charters received Series of 1875 notes. In these six cases, the Comptroller treated the reorganized banks identically as if they were new banks. Notice from Table 2 that the first to begin the process did so in 1880, long before the Series of 1882 designs were completed. Next came a strange group consisting of two reorganized banks, the National Bank of Commerce of Cleveland, Ohio (ori- ginal charter 13 —reorganized charter 2662), and the Third Na- tional Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio (20-2730). These hold the un- precedented distinction of first having been issued Series of 1875 notes, then being switched within a few months to Series of 1882 notes! See Table 3. The full details concerning these remarkable cases will follow in a later section. The rest of the reorganized banks issued Series of 1882 notes. The decision to provide new series notes to the reorganized banks came early. Examination of the charter dates for the 29 reorganized banks in Table 3, beginning with charter 2656 (April 11) and continuing through charter 2751 (July 11), reveals that they received Series of 1882 notes dated before passage of the Act of July 12. 1882. However, none of the Table 2. List of the first banks to begin the process of reorganization under new charters. These reorganized banks share the distinction of having been issued Series of 1875 instead of Series of 1882 notes. Charter of Reorganized Bank Charter of Original Bank Title City State Date of Liquidation of Original Bank Law Under Which Original Bank Liquidated 2493 34 First NB Roundout NY Oct 30, 1880 Section 42 of the Act of June 3, 1864 2508 145 First NB Huntington IN Jan 31, 1881 Section 42 of the Act of June 3, 1864 2556 55 First NB Indianapolis IN Jul 5, 1881 Section 42 of the Act of June 3, 1864 2607 434 First NB Pontiac MI Dec 31, 1881 Section 7 of the Act of July 12, 1882# 2654 69 First NB* Kittanning PA Jul 2, 1882 Section 7 of the Act of July 12. 1882# 2704 105 First NB Valparaiso IN Apr 24, 1882 Section 42 of the Act of June 3, 1864 * Title for successor was the National Bank of Kittanning, PA. # Section 7 automatically extended the life of expired banks for the sole purpose of providing them with time to liquidate their affairs. Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 103 approval date found on an 1882 proof in the Smithsonian hold- ings is July 14, 1882 for the reorganized First National Bank of Washington, Iowa (2656). This bank holds the distinction of having issued 10-10-10-20 brown back sheet serial "A 1 - 1-A, B,C,A" where Al is the Treasury serial, 1 is the bank serial. and "A,B,C,A" are the respective plate position letters for the 10 - 10- 10-20 subjects. The notation 10-10-10-20 means a sheet of four notes consisting of three $10s and one $20. Each sheet Table 3. Listing showing intermixed issuances of Series of 1875 and 1882 notes for banks chartered between April 11 and August 17, 1882. Charter Number Succeeded Charter' City State Date of Organizationb Date of Charter, placement reveals the series issued to the bank in 1882 SERIES OF 1875 Year is 1882' SERIES OF 1882 Year is 1882d 2656 398 Washington IA Apr 11 2657 Watertown NY Mar 29 Apr 12 2658 Knoxville TN Mar 30 Apr 12 2659 Bangor PA Mar 14 Apr 12 2660 Lebanon IN Apr 6 Apr 12 2661 Millerton NY Feb 18 Apr 12 '2662 13 Cleveland OH Apr 17 Apr 17 2663 Maysville KY Mar 27 Apr 19 2664 32 Cincinnati OH Apr 17 Apr 25 2665 Omaha NE Apr 11 Apr 25 2666 Larned KS Apr 27 2667 Sellersville PA Feb 23 Apr 28 2668 62 New York NY Apr 13 Apr 29 2669 West Grove PA Mar 25 Apr 29 2670 8 Chicago IL Apr 25 Apr 25 2671 Conshohocken PA Apr 14 May 1 2672 19 Portsmouth NH Mar 2 May 1 2673 135 Brownsville PA Apr 11 May 1 2674 1514 Stillwater MN Mar 28 May 1 2675 372 Woodstock IL e May 1 2676 Bloomington IL Apr 6 May 1 2677 Bismark ND May 3 2678 10 Dayton OH Apr 27 May 4 2679 Shenandoah IA Mar 3 May 4 2680 17 Richmond IN Apr 15 May 5 2681 Streator IL Feb 22 May 5 2682 2 New Haven CT Apr 10 May 6 2683 York NE Apr 22 May 6 2684 Walnut IL May 8 2685 96 Barre MA Apr 25 May 10 2686 Gunnison CO May 2 May 11 2687 41 Kendallville IN May 12 2688 Springfield IL May 2 May 12 2689 Fort Worth TX Apr 17 May 12 2690 7 Cleveland OH Apr 12 May 13 2691 43 Salem OH Apr 10 May 15 2692 28 Evansville IN May 15 2693 3 Youngstown OH Apr 4 May 16 2694 Denver CO May 16 2695 15 Davenport IA May 1 May 17 2696 37 Centerville IN May 18 2697 77 Scranton PA May 5 May 19 2698 27 Akron OH May 11 May 20 2699 79 Worcester MA Apr 24 May 20 2700 42 Strasburg PA May 8 May 22 2701 11 Fort Wayne IN May 6 May 22 2702 De Kalb IL May 13 May 23 2703 5 Fremont OH May 13 May 23 2704 105 Valparaiso IN May 231 2705 Georgetown OH Mar 24 May 23 2706 Crete NE May 12 May 24 2707 97 Detroit MI Feb 1 Jul 1 2708 Flushing MI May 26 2709 Sterling IL Apr 20 May 27 Page 104 Charter Number Succeeded Charter° City State Date of Organizations' Paper Money Whole No. 123 Date of Charter, placement reveals the series issued to the bank in 1882 SERIES OF 1875 Year is 1882c SERIES OF 1882 Year is 1882d 2710 25 Marietta PA May 24 May 27 2711 Pittsburgh PA May 8 May 29 2712 46 McConnelsville OH Apr 12 May 31 2713 Kirksville MO Jun 1 2714 22 Ann Arbor MI May 6 Jun 1 2715 64 Milwaukee WI Apr 24 Jun 1 2716 40 Akron OH May 22 Jun 1 2717 23 Lafayette IN May 17 Jun 1 2718 72 Oberlin OH May 19 Jun 2 2719 153 Geneva OH May 2 Jun 1 2720 Clarksville TN May 11 Jun 3 2721 Stuart IA May 1 Jun 3 2722 Covington KY Jun 3 Jun 5 2723 Weatherford TX May 29 Jun 6 2724 Blair NE Jun 7 2725 Beloit WI Apr 26 Jun 8 2726 Newport KY Jun 2 Jun 10 2727 59 Troy OH May 5 Jun 10 2728 Lemars IA May 23 Jun 10 2729 McKinney TX May 8 Jun 13 *2730 20 Cincinnati OH May 20 Jun 14 Jun 14 2731 1 Philadelphia PA Jun 10 Jun 14 2732 Helena MT Jun 14 2733 66 Lyons IA Jun 7 Jun 15 2734 70 Cambridge City IN May 11 Jun 15 2735 Belton TX Jun 17 2736 30 Wilkes Barre PA Jun 19 Jun 21 2737 Roanoke VA Jun 14 Jun 24 2738 18 Iowa City IA Jun 12 Jun 24 2739 51 Johnstown PA Jun 15 Jun 24 2740 Catlettsburg KY May 13 Jun 24 2741 84 Nashua NH Jun 19 Jun 26 2742 47 Terre Haute IN Jun 13 Jun 29 2743 61 Bath ME Jun 16 Jun 30 2744 57 Holidaysburg PA May 15 Jun 30 2745 48 Pittsburgh PA Jun 17 Jun 30 2746 Falls City NE Jun 20 Jun 30 2747 2101 Michigan City IN May 22 Jul 1 2748 83 Janesville WI May 23 Jul 1 2749 Houlton ME Dec 31g Jul 5 h 2750 Lincoln NE Jul 6 2751 85 Monmouth IL Jul 7 2752 Miles City MT Jun 12 Jul 7 2753 117 Marion IA Jun 30 Jul 12 2754 South Charleston OH Jul 12 2755 Franklinville NY Jun 13 Jul 14 2756 Hebron NE Jun 14 Jul 14 2757 Helena . MT Jul 20 2758 Atchison KS Jul 8 Jul 21 2759 Eau Claire WI Jul 17 Jul 22 2760 Lynchburg VA Jul 10 Jul 26 2761 1550 East Saginaw MI Jul 26i 2762 Atlantic IA Jun 24 Aug 1 2763 Fort Dodge IA Jul 8 Aug 5 2764 Cottonwood Falls KS Jun 21 Aug 9 2765 Canandaigua NY Aug 11 2766 Villisca IA May 29 Aug 11 2767 San Angelo TX Jul 31 Aug 17 (Footnotes for Table 3 on page 118.) This was the highest chartered bank to issue Series of 1875 notes. See Table 3. It was also the last of the 41 banks that skipped directly from Series of 1875 to Series of 1902 issues in 1902. See Table 9. Lt? :11114; 1) 1417,11TE8* 4 esli (2031111 ,.; t rix Tn 1: I '.S.T1tEAst J. INK 0V t031A1 V, E WitiVa:s A I,LA Ei) 6W-0) Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 105 has both a unique Treasury and bank serial number. These sheet serial numbers are repeated on all the subjects in the sheet, the only difference between notes of like denomination being the plate position letters. The National Bank of Cleveland, Ohio (2662) issued 5-5-5-5 sheet A1- 1-A,B,C,D from a plate that was approved July 25, 1882. As shown in Table 3, Series of 1875 notes continued to be issued to new banks organized before July 12, 1882. This was to be expected; however, two groups of inconsistent exceptions occurred. The first group included charters 2663, 2720, 2721, 2722, 2755 and 2757 and represent banks that received Series of 1882 notes. The second group is particularly odd and in- volves only charters 2759 and 2767. These two banks were or- ganized after July 12, 1882, yet received Series of 1875 notes. I have found no explanation for the out of character issuances from these eight banks. Notice that with the exception of charters 2759 and 2767. the cutoff for banks receiving Series of 1875 notes were those organized before passage of the Act of July 12, 1882. Once again, there is recognition that policy—if only which This bank and the Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio (2730) were chartered in 1882 and have the distinction of having first issued Series of 1875 notes, then switching to Series of 1882 notes in 1882. The 50-100 combination shown here is a Series of 1875 impression. (Smithsonian photo.) 'Of.41 '4)=0fe" Stiic tit e y::1 111)...A ...A„.„, FIVE D 0 CLAW* 1-2"Y.Vd43•3-3,0=43^ 1.3 i.9.V'?3,421,0=43.A:=It0:` ,17110 4...); ,` aWolitLiCe0,..., Page 106 Paper Money Whole No. 123 series of notes to issue—could be based on the date of organization. THE CLEVELAND AND CINCINNATI CASES Both the National Bank of Commerce of Cleveland (2662) and the Third National Bank of Cincinnati (2730) share the dis- tinction of having issued Series of 1875 and Series of 1882 notes during their first year of operation. Both banks were the reorganized successors to earlier banks and together they repre- sent a transition group between an earlier group of reorganized successors that got only Series of 1875 notes, and a later group that received only Series of 1882 notes. In both cases the banks were chartered before the Act of July 12, 1882 was passed, and both began by issuing high de- nomination Series of 1875 notes. The 1875 combinations for Cleveland and Cincinnati were respectively 50-100 and 100-100. All such sheets printed were issued to the banks be- will compare the total circulation in Table 6 against purchases of bonds in Table 5, you will discover that the bank quickly achieved a large circulation of $540,000 by September 12, 1882. All but $3,300 of this was actually sent to the bank in 1882. What is curious is the fact that just nine days after the first shipment of 300, 50-100 Series of 1875 sheets was sent to the bank, Table 7 shows that 278 of them were redeemed. I specu- late without confirmed information that these were used by the bank to pay off a loan to a correspondent bank or bonding agent that put up the capital to finance the original $50,000 bond. The sheets were quickly turned in. One wonders if the number one sheet was in the redeemed group. We know that the rest of the 856 sheets of 50-100 notes were cut and reached circulation because, as shown in Table 7, they began to dribble in for re- demption beginning in May, 1883. The National Bank of Commerce was the reorganized successor to the Second National Bank (13). Notice that its charter date, April 17, 1882, is earlier than the Act of July 12, 1882. The first brown back 5-5-5-5 sheet was printed from this plate. (Smithsonian photo.) fore the Series of 1882 notes began to be shipped. Interestingly, both banks converted to small denomination Series of 1882 notes. Tables 4 through 7 summarize everything that I was able to glean from the Comptroller of the Currency ledgers and Smith- sonian proofs for the National Bank of Commerce issues. If you Table 4. Information available from the certified proofs for the Nation- al Bank of Commerce of Cleveland, Ohio, held by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Plate Series Combination Plate Date Approval Date Table 5. Circulation bonding record for the National Bank of Com- merce of Cleveland, Ohio. During the period of this record, the bank was issued a circulation that represented 90 percent of the totals shown in the balance column. Date Bought Sold Balance Circulation Apr 17, 1882 50,000 50,000 45,000 May 2, 1882 100,000 150,000 135,000 May 4, 1882 50,000 200,000 180,000 Aug 29, 1882 400,000 600,000 540,000 Oct 27, 1884 550,000 50,000 45,000 Jan 9, 1893 40,000 90,000 81,000 Aug 23, 1893 100,000 190,000 171,000 Apr 10, 1899 140,000 50,000 45,000 Jun 7, 1899 50,000 -0-0 -0-b a. The bank was voluntarily liquidated May 29, 1899. b. Unredeemed notes become the liability of the redemption fund of the U.S. Treasurer using money deposited with the Treasurer by the bank for this purpose. Series of 1875 50-100 April 17, 1882° May 5, 1882 Series of 1882 10-10-10-20 April 17, 1882 July 22, 1882 Series of 1882 5-5-5-5 April 17, 1882 July 25, 1882 a April 17, 1882 is the charter date. Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 107 Table 6. Initial shipments to the National Bank of Commerce of Cleveland, Ohio (2662). Date Type Denominations Bank Serials Value May 18, 1882 Series of 1875 50-100 1- 300a $ 45.000 Jun 22, 1882 Series of 1875 50-100 301- 578 41,700 Jul 17, 1882 Series of 1875 50-100 579- 856 41,700 Aug 14, 1882 Series of 1882 10-10-10-20 1- 1866 93,300 Aug 30, 1882 Series of 1882 5-5-5-5 1-12000 240,000 Aug 30. 1882 Series of 1882 10-10-10-20 1867- 3000 56.700 Aug 31, 1882 Series of 1882 5-5-5-5 12001-14000 40,000 Sep 4, 1882 Series of 1882 5-5-5-5 14001-15000 20,000 578,400b a. On May 27, 1882, 278 sheets of 50-100 notes were presented for redemption amounting to $41,700 and all but 22 sheets of this first shipment. b. Upon examination of Table 5, you will see that by this date the bank had $600,000 worth of bonds on deposit to secure its circulation. At that time it could issue 90 percent of that amount or $540,000 in notes. This total represents the $540,000 circulation plus $41,700 redeemed May 27, less a shortage of $3,300. The missing $3,300 due the bank was sent to it as part of its next shipment on July 28, 1883. Table 7. Highlights from the shipping and redemption ledgers of the Comptroller of the Currency for the National Bank of Com- merce of Cleveland, Ohio (2662). Shipping records: May 18, 1882 First 50-100 Series of 1875 sheet. Jul 17, 1882 Last 50-100 Series of 1875 sheet, serial 856. Aug 14, 1882 First 10-10-10-20 Series of 1882 sheet. Aug 30, 1882 First 5-5-5-5 Series of 1882 sheet. Jul 28, 1883 Regular shipments begin that offset redemptions from outstanding circulation. May 29, 1884 Last 5-5-5-5 Series of 1882 sheet, serial 16000. Oct 27, 1884- Jan 18, 1891 No shipments pending redemption of $495,000 as a result of $550,000 bond sale on Oct. 27, 1884. Jan 19, 1891 10-10-10-20 Series of 1882 shipments resume with serial 4959. Apr 5. 1899 Last 10-10-10-20 Series of 1882 sheet, serial 12356. Redemption records: May 27, 1882 278 50-100 Series of 1875 sheets redeemed. May 8. 1883 First $100 Series of 1875 redeemed from circula- tion along with first Series of 1882 notes of all three denominations. May 29, 1883 First $50 Series of 1875 redeemed from circulation. Jun 7, 1899 Records cease. $750 worth of Series of 1875 $50s and $100s outstanding. Notice also from Table 5 that the bank cut its circulation abruptly from $540,000 to $45,000 in October, 1884. It took six and a half years for the Comptroller to redeem the $495,000 difference from circulation, split $55,200 and $439,800 respec- tively between Series of 1875 and 1882 issues. This left only $6.450 in 1891 outstanding from the $128,400 worth of Series of 1875 $50 and $100 notes issued in 1882. By 1891 there were only $45,000 in outstanding notes on the bank classifying it as modest in terms of circulation. The circula- Table 8. Highlights from the shipping ledgers of the Comp- troller of the Currency for the Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio (2730) for 1882. Jul 25-31, 1882 Series of 1875 100-100 sheets 1 through 2500 shipped. Sep 6, 1882 First shipment of 5-5-5-5 Series of 1882 brown backs. Sep 11, 1882 First shipment of 10-10-10-20 Series of 1882 brown backs. Note: Plate date on all notes was Jun 14, 1882, which is the charter date. tion was again built up and reached $171,000 by 1893. This in- crease was made entirely with $10 and $20 brown backs. The notes from this bank have proven to be rare. You can see a photo of the circulated "A1- 1-A" $5 brown back on page 745 in Hickman and Oakes (1983). No Series of 1875 $50s and $100s have surfaced. When the bank voluntarily liquidated in 1889 there were only $750 worth of Series of 1875 notes left in circulation. The basic data on the Series of 1875 and 1882 issues for the Third National Bank of Cincinnati (2730) are summarized in Table 8. The details for this bank look similar to those for the National Bank of Commerce of Cleveland for the year 1882. A third bank almost joined this unique group. If you will ex- amine the Table 3 entry for the First National Bank of Wood- stock, Illinois (2675) you will discover that a Series of 1875 10-10-10-20 plate was made for the bank but never used. The time frame within which the charter of this bank was granted may represent the point when the decision was made not to issue Series of 1875 notes to the reorganized banks. The other possibility is that the Series of 1875 plate was simply made in error. Page 108 Paper Money Whole No. 123 Series of 1875 note from a 10-10-10-20 plate made for the First National Bank of Woodstock, Illinois (2675) approved for use on May 22.1882, but never used. See Table 3. (Smithsonian photo.) Series of 1882 note for the First National Bank of Woodstock, Illinois (2675) approved for use on August 10,1882. (Smith. sonian photo.) THE TRANSITION TO THE SERIES OF 1902 The startup for the Series of 1902 was simple in comparison to the changeover to the Series of 1882. The Comptroller antici- pated that forthcoming legislation would require a new series for banks that would have to be extended for a second time. In keeping with the precedent established with the Series of 1882, he also decided to use the new series to eventually phase out the current notes. Once again, the series issued by the banks would have no relationship to the laws under which they were operating. Two dates — both charter dates — depending on whether the bank was new or extending, determined which banks got the new Series of 1902 notes. In each case, the first banks to issue the new series notes had charter or first extension dates that pre- ceded passage of the Act of April 12, 1902. In fact, Series of 1902 red seals were being printed and shipped prior to April 12, 1902. The following discussion will examine in turn the conversion to Series of 1902 red seals for (1) new banks, (2) banks extend- ing for the first time, and (3) banks extending for the second time. New banks with charters of 6100 or higher received Series of 1902 red seals. Charter 6100 was awarded to the First National Bank of Paintsville, KY, in late January, 1902. Its predecessor, The First National Bank of Volga, ND (6099), was the highest charter to receive Series of 1882 notes. Banks extending for the first time — a process provided for in the Act of July 12, 1882—that had charter dates of April 11, 1882 or later, uniformly received Series of 1902 red seals. Notice from Table 3 that this date was selected purposefully to include charter 2656 of Washington, Iowa, despite the fact that the bank had already gone out of business. The choice of April 11 allowed banks issuing Series of 1882 brown backs in 1902 to convert to the new series upon their extensions. The result was dramatic. Every bank listed in Table 3 was impacted by the deci- sion, including all the banks that were issuing Series of 1875 notes in 1902. The dedsion opened a peculiar window that al- lowed 41 banks to switch directly from Series of 1875 to Series of 1902 notes upon extending. Those special banks are listed in Table 9. The purpose of the Act of April 12, 1902 was solely to pro- vide for a second 20-year extension for banks that had already been extended under the Act of July 12, 1882. The Act of Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 109 Table 9. Charter Banks chartered in 1882 that issued Series of 1875 notes until 1902 whereupon they skipped to Series of 1902 notes after having their charters extended. Organization Charter City State Date (1882) Date (1882) 2657 Watertown NY Mar 29 Apr 12 2658 Knoxville TN Mar 30 Apr 12 2659 Bangor PA Mar 14 Apr 12 2660 Lebanon IN Apr 6 Apr 12 2661 Millerton NY Feb 18 Apr 12 2665 Omaha NE Apr 11 Apr 25 2667 Sellersville PA Feb 23 Apr 28 2669 West Grove PA Mar 25 Apr 29 2671 Conshohocken PA Apr 14 May 1 2676 Bloomington IL Apr 6 May 1 2679 Shenandoah IA Mar 3 May 4 2681 Streator IL Feb 22 May 5 2683 York NE Apr 22 May 6 2686 Gunnison CO May 2 May 11 2688 Springfield IL May 2 May 12 2689 Fort Worth TX Apr 17 May 12 2702 De Kalb IL May 13 May 23 2705 Georgetown OH Mar 24 May 23 2706 Crete NE May 12 May 24 2709 Sterling IL Apr 20 May 27 2711 Pittsburgh PA May 8 May 29 2723 Weatherford TX May 29 Jun 6 2725 Beloit WI Apr 26 Jun 8 2726 Newport KY Jun 2 Jun 10 2728 La Mars IA May 23 Jun 10 2729 McKinney TX May 8 Jun 13 2730 Cincinnati OH May 20 Jun 14 2737 Roanoke VA Jun 14 Jun 24 2740 Catlettsburg KY May 13 Jun 24 2746 Falls City NE Jun 20 Jun 30 2749 Houlton ME Dec 31# Jul 5 2752 Miles City MT Jun 12 Jul 7 2756 Hebron NE Jun 14 Jul 14 2758 Atchison KS Jul 8 Jul 21 2759 Eau Claire WI Jul 17 Jul 22 2760 Lynchburg VA Jul 10 Jul 26 2762 Atlantic IA Jun 24 Aug 1 2763 Fort Dodge IA Jul 8 Aug 5 2764 Cottonwood Falls KS Jun 21 Aug 9 2766 Villisca IA May 29 Aug 11 2767 San Angelo TX Jul 31 Aug 17 # year is 1881. April 12, 1902 was passed before the first of the old banks would expire, so the process went smoothly. The first banks af- fected by the 1902 act were the 19 year banks organized under the Act of February 25, 1863. Only those with organization dates of July 12, 1863 or later had survived the 1882 purge. Consequently, the process of extending the 39 year old banks did not begin until July 12, 1902, three months after passage of the act. REASSIGNED CHARTER NUMBERS The late passage of the Act of July 12, 1882 forced many of the nation's earliest national banks into liquidation because there were no procedures for extending them in the Acts of February 25, 1863 or June 3, 1864. The only option for these banks was to reorganize under new charters. In reality, the succeeding institution was virtually unchanged, but it did incur two losses in the process, plus all the legal hassle and expense associated with a reorganization. The losses were that the succeeding bank now operated under an 1882 vintage charter number, and the or- ganization date associated with the bank was also of 1882 vintage. In essence, the first 19 years of the corporate founda- tion of the bank were lopped off. To many banks that operated in a conservative industry projecting an image of longevity, sta- bility. and tradition, the reorganization process caused what amounted to a perceived penalty. It is clear that some of the im- pacted banks agitated for the use of their 1863 vintage charter numbers, because some of them ultimately got their wish. I have been unable to locate policy decisions that relate to this matter, or a statement of the procedure that could be used by banks to regain their old charter numbers. However, by 1902 a procedure was available, and the First National Bank of Phila- delphia (1-2731) and the First National Bank of Pittsburgh (48-2745) were the first to regain their old numbers. The deci- sions that allowed the use of the old numbers are noted in the National Currency and Bond Ledgers (Comptroller of the Cur- rency, various dates). For example, the following appears on the last ledger sheet for the First National Bank of Philadelphia (2731) : "resumed original charter number 1 by decision of the Comptroller of the Currency, June 17, 1902." Similarly, the last ledger sheet for Youngstown, Ohio (2693) reads : "permit- ted to adopt and transact business under its original number 3." During the period 1909 to 1913 another 27 banks won the right to use their old numbers. All such banks are listed in Table 10. Notice the circuitous path that charter 2798 of Cincin- nati used to gain the use of charter number 20. The only thing that a bank got out of this was its old charter number. The date of organization associated with the bank was the date on its 1882 reorganization certificate, not the date on its original 1863 organization certificate. At least for the collector, this process resurrected some of the lost charter numbers includ- ing 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8. The conversion to the original charter number for both the First National Banks of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh took place on June 17, 1902. In the case of Philadelphia the reassignment occurred a week after it was extended ; for Pittsburgh the reas- signment and extension took place on the same day. Both banks were extended under the authority of the Act of July 12, 1882. Notice from Table 10 that the plate dates on the Series of 1902 notes for these banks are related to the organization dates for the 1882 successor, not to the organization of the original 1863 bank. In all the other cases listed in Table 10 the conversion to the low charter numbers was made after the successor banks had been extended in 1902. Consequently, the first Series of 1902 notes issued by the banks carried the 1882 charter numbers. These were followed by Series of 1902 notes from new plates which carried the 1863 charter numbers. Serial numbering re- verted to 1 for each combination when the new Series of 1902 plates were prepared bearing the original charter numbers. All of the notes with the now obsolete 1882 charter numbers were is- sued to the bank before shipments of new notes were begun. An entry on the last ledger sheet for Fort Wayne (2701) states : "charter number changed to 11 June 14. 1910, will ship old money." In one extreme, sheets were still being delivered to the Comptroller by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for the First National Bank of Chicago from the charter 2670 plate on June 15, 1911, three weeks after the bank was reassigned charter 8. All of these were issued to the bank before it received its first charter 8 Series of 1902 notes. Table 10. National Banks reorganized in 1882 to succeed 1863 banks that applied to the Comptroller of the Currency for the right to reassume the 1863 charter numbers. Successor Charter Original Charter First Title of Successor Bank City Date Original Bank Was Liquidated Date Successor Bank Retook Original Charter Number Dates on First Series of 1902 Plates' Successor Charter Number Original Charter Number Connecticut 2682 2 First NB New Haven May 6, 1882 Mar 19, 1909 Apr 11, 1902 Mar 19, 1909 Illinois 2670 8 First NB Chicago Apr 29, 1882 May 24, 1911 Apr 26, 1902 Apr 26, 1902 Indiana 2680 17 First NB Richmond May 5, 1882 May 31, 1910 Apr 16, 1902 Apr 16, 1902 2701 11 First NB Fort Wayne May 22, 1882 Jun 14, 1910 May 7, 1902 May 7, 1902 2734 2742 70 47 First NB First NB Cambridge City Terre Haute Jun 29, Jun 15, 1882 1882 Jun 12, May 20, 1913 1911 May 12, Jun 14, 1902 1902 May 12, Jun 14, 1902 1902 Iowa 2695 15 First NB Davenport May 9, 1882 May 22, 1911 May 2, 1902 May 2, 1902 2733 66 First NB Lyons Jun 15, 1882 Aug 8, 1911 Jun 8, 1902 Jun 8, 1902 2738 2753 18 117 First NB First NB Iowa City Marion Jun 24, Jul 11, 1882 1882 Dec 2, May 27, 1911 1911 Jun 13, Jul 1, 1902 1902 Jun 13, Jul 1, 1902 1902 New Hampshire 2672 19 First NB Portsmouth Apr 29, 1882 Jun 8, 1910 Mar 3, 1902 Mar 3, 1902 New York 2668 62 Second NB New York Apr 28, 1882 Jul 13, 1911 Apr 14, 1902 Apr 14, 1902 Ohio 2664 32 Second NB Cincinnati Apr 28, 1882 Oct 31, 1912 Apr 18, 1902 Apr 18, 1902 2690 7 First NB Cleveland May 13, 1882 May 16, 1910 Apr 13. 1902 Apr 13, 1902 2691 43 First NB Salem May 15, 1882 Sep 12. 1910 Apr 11. 1902 Apr 11, 1902 2693 3 First NB Youngstown May 15, 1882 Apr 6, 1909 Apr 5, 1902 Apr 6, 1902 2703 5 First NB Fremont May 22, 1882 Feb 23, 1910 May 14, 1902 May 14, 1902 2712 46 First NB McConnelsville May 31, 1882 Jun 8, 1911 Apr 13, 1902 Apr 13, 1902 2719 153 First NB Geneva Jun 1, 1882 Apr 11, 1917 May 3, 1902 May 3, 1902 2727 2798 59 20 First NB Queen City NB Troy Cincinnati Jun 10, Jun 14, 1882 1882 Apr 30, Mar 5, 1909 1913 May 6, Sep 29, 1902 1902 Apr 30, Jun 2, 1909 1908 (2798 consolidated with 2730 which was the successor to 20; 2730 was liquidated June 18, 1908) Pennsylvania 2697 77 First NB Scranton May 18, 1882 Oct 19, 1911 May 6, 1902 May 6, 1902 2700 42 First NB Strasburg May 22, 1882 May 20, 1911 May 9, 1902 May 9, 1902 2710 25 First NB Marietta May 27, 1882 Jun 2, 1911 May 25, 1902 May 25, 1902 2731 1 First NB Philadelphia Jun 10, 1882 Jun 17, 1902 no plates Jun 11, 1902 2736 30 First NB Wilkes Barre Jun 20, 1882 May 31, 1911 Jun 20, 1902 Jun 20, 1902 2739 2745 51 48 First NB First NB Johnstown Pittsburgh Jun 24, Jun 29, 1882 1882 Jun 2, Jun 17, 1911 1902 Jun 16, no plates 1902 Jun 16, Jun 18, 1902 1902 Wisconsin 2715 64 First NB Milwaukee May 31, 1882 May 31, 1911 Apr 25, 1902 Apr 25, 1902 • Dating conventions for these Series of 1902 plates are: 1902 dates-Date of organization of 1882 successor bank + 20 years + 1 day, 1909 dates-Date 1863 charter number was reassigned to 1882 successor bank, June 2, 1908 date for charter 20 is date when title of 2798 was changed to Fifth-Third NB. 0 C0 Paper Money Whole No 123 Page 111 Table 10 shows that things got somewhat complicated when dealing with plate dates on the first Series of 1902 plates made with the reassigned numbers. Except for charter 20, one or the other of the following conventions was used in each case : (1) the date is the day that the old charter number was reassigned to the successor bank, or (2) the date is the date of organization of the successor bank plus 20 years plus one day. Notice how, in the latter case, the organization date for the successor bank re- mained in force. These reassigned charter numbers will cause some confusion when we deal with extensions in 1922. Remember that al- though the reassigned charter numbers date from 1863, the date of organization associated with those charter numbers is now that of the 1882 successor bank. It was the latter date that determined when the bank extended its charter in 1922. That extension — technically the second for the bank —was under- taken under the provisions of the Act of April 12, 1902. Here we have cases where the charter number is strictly a cosmetic device devoid of true corporate significance. THE TRANSITION TO 1921 - 1922 PLATES The second 20 year extensions provided for in the Act of April 12, 1902 were about to run out, beginning on July 14, 1922, for the 1863 banks organized after July 12, 1863. Once again legislation was required to perpetuate these banks. The Comptroller again anticipated the necessity for new designs, this time for banks extending for a third period. He also wanted to use the new designs for other banks extending during this transition period, as was the practice in 1882 and 1902. The result was a most interesting group of Series of 1902 notes dated 1921 or 1922 that collectors call "Fourth Charter" notes. Note from a 10-10-10-20 plate used to print Series of 1902 red seals. Plate date is the date of organization. Plate approved for use on July 3, 1902. (Smithsonian photo.) Series of 1902 date back. The red seal plate was altered to produce this by changing the obligation and changing the plate let- ters from A-B-C-A to D-E-F-B. Plate approved for use on August 5, 1908. (Smithsonian photo.) . 24 :