About US National Bank Notes

In 1863, at the height of the Civil War, the U.S. Government decided to get local banks into the moneymaking business. Thus was born the National Bank Note, which continued to be printed until 1935.

The system was relatively straightforward: For every $90 worth of U.S. Bonds that a bank would buy, the government would give them $100 worth of National Bank Notes to issue, each printed with the name of the bank on its front...

There were three 20-year "charters" in a variety of denominations, each of which had a different design. Among the most popular bills from the first charter, 1863 to 1882, during which 179 regional banks went national, is the Lazy 2, a $2 bill that features a very large, sideways, numeral two on the front of the note. The reverse side of a $20 bill from that period depicts Pocahontas being baptized; a $50 shows Washington crossing the Delaware.

The bills of the second charter, 1882 to 1902, are a little bit smaller than those of the first. Instead of acquiring these bills for their vignettes and engravings, collectors differentiate second-charter notes based on the type of back a bill has. The Brown Backs were, as the name suggests, brown, with the bank’s charter number printed in the center. Other bills had Date Backs (whose dates did not always correspond precisely to the duration of the second charter), while a third type had Value Backs, in which the value of the bill was spelled out in capital letters.

By the time of the third charter, 1902 to 1929, the bills began to look more like the money we were familiar with up until just a few years ago, when the design of U.S currency changed for the first time in decades. For example, five-dollar bills from this period bear an engraving of the Lincoln Memorial, as they do today. But the program of National Bank Notes was discontinued in 1935 due to the failure of many of the nation’s smaller banks during the Great Depression.

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New 1882 $20 Brown Back Miners Nat'l Bank,blossburg Pa.$910.00 Ends Sunday 15 bids 17 watchers
Au 1929 $100 National Currency Grand Rapids Mi Ch#13758$623.00 Ends Tuesday 12 bids 12 watchers
Two (2) Very Rare 1882 $5.00 National Bank Note (vf)$500.00 Ends Saturday 5 bids 9 watchers
1882 $5 Value Back Citizens Bank Cincinnati Ohio$495.00 Ends in 13 hours 2 bids 5 watchers
1882 $10 Date Back Citizens National Bank Cincinnati Oh$495.00 Ends in 13 hours 1 bid 4 watchers
Very Rare 1882 $10.00 National Bank Note Of Dayton (vf)$430.01 Ends Saturday 5 bids 6 watchers
1929 Edwardsville Il National Currency Brown Seal Notes$340.00 Ends in 4 hours 12 bids 13 watchers
1902 $10 National Bank Note--dublin, Ga$307.55 Ends in 16 hours 5 bids 14 watchers
1929 $10 National Albuquerque Nm Ch# 2614!! Must See!!$302.33 Ends Thursday 24 bids 14 watchers
1929 $20 Us National Currency Frb Winston-salem Nc Unc$300.05 Ends Saturday 7 bids 13 watchers
1882 $5 National Bank Note Currency Brown Back Missouri$235.50 Ends Thursday 15 bids 18 watchers
1929 $10 Note Merchants Bank Wadena Minnesota Xf$234.50 Ends Thursday 4 bids 5 watchers
1902 $20 National Bank Note Providence Rhode Island Ri$227.50 Ends Thursday 14 bids 26 watchers
$5 1902 National Bank Note Boston$225.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 5 watchers
Usa - Bath $10 1929 Super No. A000001a Pmg Au53 Rare$224.50 Ends Sunday 7 bids 24 watchers
1902 $10 National Currency Bank Note..huntington,wv$199.99 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 1 watcher
Large 1904 10$ Ten National Bank Note Washington Nj 860$199.99 Ends Friday 1 bid 11 watchers
1902 $5 Db Rare Nat. Bank Of Washington Dc Ch#3425$199.99 Ends Tuesday 4 bids 6 watchers
$5 1902 National Bank Note "gloucester" Cga 64$197.50 Ends Tuesday 11 bids 8 watchers
1902 $5 National Currency Bank Note..baltimore,maryland$190.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 9 watchers
1902 $20 Citizens First National Banks Of Independence$175.00 Ends in 12 hours 1 bid 5 watchers
Beautiful Gem 1928 $1 Red Seal Crisp U.s. Note No Res$172.05 Ends Wednesday 10 bids 14 watchers
Lqqk 1850,s Rochester,new York $10.00 Pmg Very Good 8$158.63 Ends in 43 mins 16 bids 11 watchers
*uc* 1929 $10 Easthampton Ty 2 National!! Pcgs 66 Ppq$152.51 Ends Thursday 6 bids 7 watchers
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4 Sequential 1929 $5 National Bank Notes Chicago Il #d2$132.50 Ends Thursday 9 bids 9 watchers
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Rare 1902 $10 National Banknote Date Back**pmg Vf30 Epq$121.77 Ends Monday 12 bids 11 watchers
1902 $10 National Currency Bank Note..new York,new York$120.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 2 watchers
Shelby, North Carolina $5 1929 National Banknote Nr$110.09 Ends Wednesday 7 bids 21 watchers
$100.00 1929 National Note - New York - Xf But Torn$109.99 Ends in 14 hours 1 bid 1 watcher
1902 $10 National Currency Note~sharon Pa~e1685~fr#626$109.50 Ends Tuesday 9 bids 15 watchers
$10 1929 New York National Banknote #2370 Pmg Unc-65$100.99 Ends Thursday 6 bids 6 watchers
*uc* 1929 $20 Philadelphia Frbn!! Pmg Choice Unc 64 Epq$100.99 Ends Thursday 7 bids 4 watchers
$2 1918 New York Battleship Note$100.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid 4 watchers
National Currency 1929 Series Richmond Va $100$97.55 Ends in 14 hours 9 bids 5 watchers
1929 $100 National- New York- No Reserve!!!$97.00 Ends Tuesday 4 bids 6 watchers
1902 $20 National Currency Note~youngstown Oh~m2350$91.00 Ends Tuesday 11 bids 7 watchers
1929 $10 The Peoples National Bank Of West Alexender Pe$85.00 Ends in 12 hours 1 bid 2 watchers
1929 $10 Home National Bank Meriden Ct Note$85.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid 1 watcher
1929 T-2 $10 National Currency Note - Seattle, Wa In F$82.82 Ends in 12 hours 11 bids 4 watchers
Julesburg, Colorado $10 1929 National Banknote Nr$82.82 Ends Monday 11 bids 14 watchers
$1 National Currency Note 1918 Series "philadelphia"$81.55 Ends in 5 hours 9 bids 8 watchers
1929 $20 National Currency Note Bank Of Wausau, Wis. $81.00 Ends Tuesday 7 bids 7 watchers
1929 National Bank Note Baton Rouge, La~#9834~v.f.$80.00 Ends Friday 1 bid 1 watcher
$10 1902 Parkersburg National Banknote #2649 Pmg Vg-10$79.99 Ends Thursday 1 bid 5 watchers
1902 $10 National Bank Note - Portland, Or In Vg #4514$78.25 Ends Saturday 4 bids 3 watchers
*uc* 1929 $20 Chicago Frbn!!! Pcgs Gem New 65 Ppq$78.00 Ends Thursday 3 bids 8 watchers
1918 $1 National Currency Note "boston"$73.00 Ends in 5 hours 8 bids 6 watchers
Rare 1902 $10 National Currency Terra Alta Wv. Ch# 6999$69.00 Ends Tuesday 4 bids 10 watchers
1902 $5 National Bank Note Norfolk No Reserve!!!$66.00 Ends in 8 hours 12 bids 18 watchers
1929 Type 2 $10 National # 6617 Los Angeles California $66.00 Ends Thursday 3 bids 4 watchers
1929 $10 Washington Dc National Note Raw Au++$65.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid 6 watchers
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Killer Unc 1929 $5 National Bank Note Philadelphia!$52.52 Ends in 8 hours 5 bids 12 watchers

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