5 Dollar Merchants and Planters Bank Proof Note, ca 1832
date: label: date made
content: ca 1832
name: label: maker
content: Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co.
notes: label: Description
content: Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Company of New York printed this five dollar proof note for the Merchants and Planters Bank of Magnolia, Florida, in 1832. The top of the note has an image of Mercury spreading coins from a cornucopia, while the allegorical figure of Agriculture is at the bottom of the note. The three punches on the signature lines mean this note is a proof, printed to confirm that the design is suitable for mass printing.
label: Description
content: From 1790 to 1863, states and private banks issued their own currency to supply capital in a young nation without a national currency. This currency was backed by the hard money the banks had on deposit, and was only used locally where the bank and its operators were trusted in the community. However, banks often oversupplied notes, and this overextension caused bankruptcy among private and state banks when financial panic struck, particularly in 1837. Currencies from these failed banks are known as “obsolete bank notes” or “broken bank notes,” and many are held in the National Numismatic Collection.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Florida, Magnolia Springs
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
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content: American Enterprise
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content: Coins, Currency and Medals
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: NU.66.11156
label: catalog number
content: 66.11156
label: accession number
content: 266906
objectType: label: Object Name
content: note
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7.2 cm x 17.8 cm x .01 cm; 2 27/32 in x 7 in x in