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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
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Vol. XXV No. 3 Whole No. 123 MAY/JUNE 1986
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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
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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
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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
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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) :
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Paper Money Whole No. 123 Page 99
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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
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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?
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4 esli
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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
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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.)
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