National Gold Bank Notes were National Bank Notes issued by nine national gold banks in California in the 1870s and 1880s and redeemable in gold. Printed on a yellow-tinted paper, six denominations circulated: $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $500. [1] A $1,000 note was designed and printed but never issued. [2] During the issuing period of national gold banks (1871–83), the U.S. Treasury issued 200,558 notes [3] totaling $3,465,240. [1] Today, National Gold Bank Notes are rare in the higher denominations (and unknown on some issuing banks) with condition generally falling in the good-to-fine range. [nb 1] Approximately 630 National Gold Bank Notes are known to exist, and roughly 20 grade above "very fine". [4]
The National Gold Bank Notes were authorized under the provisions of the Currency Act of July 12, 1870. [5] The series was a result of the California Gold Rush, where gold coins were preferred in commerce. [6] Ten national gold banks were charted, nine of them in California and one in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Kidder Bank was the only bank to have $1,000 notes among others prepared, however, no notes circulated from the bank. [7]
Title | City | Charter | Date [9] | Denominations | Total issue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Kidder National Gold Bank [nb 2] | Boston | 1699 | 15 Aug 1870 | 50, 100, 500, 1000 [11] | $120,000 [12] |
The First National Gold Bank | San Francisco | 1741 | 30 Nov 1870 | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 [11] | $1,185,000 [12] |
The National Gold Bank and Trust Company | San Francisco | 1994 | 3 Jun 1872 | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 [13] | $853,750 [12] |
The National Gold Bank of D.O. Mills & Co. | Sacramento | 2014 | 19 Jul 1872 | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 [13] | $270,450 [12] |
The First National Gold Bank | Stockton | 2077 | 27 Jan 1873 | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 [13] | $414,700 [12] |
The First National Gold Bank | Santa Barbara | 2104 | 7 May 1873 | 5, 10, 50, 100 [14] | $80,000 [12] |
The Farmers National Gold Bank | San Jose | 2158 | 21 Jul 1874 | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 [14] | $242,590 [3] |
The First National Gold Bank | Petaluma | 2193 | 25 Sep 1874 | 10, 20, 50, 100 [14] | $178,150 [3] |
The First National Gold Bank | Oakland | 2248 | 10 Apr 1875 | 10, 20 [14] | $80,600 [3] |
The Union National Gold Bank | Oakland | 2266 | 20 May 1875 | 10, 20, 50, 100 [14] | $40,000 [3] |
Value | Image | Plate dates | Signatures [nb 3] | Remarks [nb 4] |
---|---|---|---|---|
$5 | 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874 |
Edwin D. Morgan (cashier) and Ralph C. Woolworth (president) [15] |
427 reported | |
$10 | 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875 |
Galen M. Fisher (cashier) and Benjamin F. Ferris (president) [16] |
117 reported | |
$20 | 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875 | Edwin D. Morgan (cashier) and Ralph C. Woolworth (president) [15] |
71 reported | |
$50 | 1870, 1874 | Edwin D. Morgan (cashier) and Ralph C. Woolworth (president) [15] |
7 reported [17] | |
$100 | 1870, 1873, 1874, 1875 |
Henry H. Atwater (cashier) and Issac G. Wickersham (president) [18] |
9 reported [19] | |
$500 | None known | 1870, 1872 | Unknown [nb 5] | |
$1,000 | None known | 1870 | Not issued [nb 6] |
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