Washington Territory – The Ellensburgh National Bank

The Ellensburgh National Bank, Territory of Washington (3867) was chartered on 4/14/1888 and liquidated on 7/18/1896.

Austin Mires [VP] (1852-1936) was Vice-President of the bank from its opening in 1888 until 1894. Mires was also an attorney (Michigan State Law, 1882) and Chief Clerk of the Oregon State Senate (1882-1883). He began a private practice in 1883 and was elected Ellensburgh’s first Mayor in 1886. Mires was Prosecuting Attorney for Kittitas County (1904-1907), Ellensburgh City Attorney (7 terms), and the Ellensburgh Treasurer (3 terms).

Ralph Kauffman [Cash] (1860-1943) received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1886 and that same year opened loan and trust company in Portland, Oregon. In 1888 he organized the Ellensburgh National Bank and was Cashier for two years. In 1890 Kauffman began practicing law and in 1907 he was appointed to the Superior Court where he remained until 1916. He served as City Attorney for two terms and was Chairman of the Kittitas County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Texas – The First National Bank of Booker (Never Issued)

Originally founded as La Kemp, Oklahoma in 1909, the town relocated into the Texas panhandle when the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railways was built in 1917. The town was renamed Booker for one of the railroad engineers.

On October 21, 1919 records from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) indicate that 200 sheets of 10-10-10-20 Series of 1902 Plain Back notes were printed and delivered to the OCC. The bank never actually issued national currency.

Alabama – The Merchants and Planters National Bank of Montgomery

The Merchants and Planters National Bank of Montgomery, Alabama (2029) was chartered on 8/19/1872 and liquidated on 5/19/1903. They issued $383,650 in Original, Series of 1875, and 1882 Brown Backs. In 1910 $4,630 remained outstanding. Signed by Thomas B. Jordan (Pres) and Robert Goldthwaite (Cash). Two notes are reported in the census. This is the only Original or Series of 1875 $20 known for the state.

South Dakota – American National Bank of Deadwood

The American National Bank of Deadwood, South Dakota (4983)

Chartered on December 29th, 1894 and liquidated in June of 1905 this was one of four banks in town. They issued 2,905 sheets of 10-10-10-20 Series of 1882 Brown Backs. This addition to the census doubles the count of notes known on the bank. The only other example is, I believe, a serial number 1 BB which resides in the Higgins Museum.

Washington – The Citizens National Bank of Dayton

The Citizens National Bank of Dayton, Washington (#4473) UNIQUE for Bank

Chartered on November 24th, 1890 and liquidated on March 3rd, 1899, this bank issued 680 sheets of 10-10-10-20 Series of 1882 Brown Backs. There was $440 reported outstanding in 1910.

This is the third #1 BB known on the state of Washington (all are $10’s). Signed by Gustavus A. Parker (Pres) and William David Perkins (Cash).

California – First National Bank of Fowler (Discovery Note for Bank)

The First National Bank of Fowler, California (7390). This previously unreported bank was chartered in 1904 and liquidated in 1928. The only other national bank in town has one large size note reported.

My First Wikipedia Experience (as an author)

I’ve used Wikipedia as a reference (with caution). Articles range from book-length to a few phrases or sentence fragments hastily strung together. Some have warning signs at the beginning noting the lack of reference citations, and very few (allegedly) are given the distinction of being “Featured” articles. I say allegedly because I have yet to come across one of these Wiki-Pulitzer winning pieces.

Having done some academic writing where the use of references and citations are second nature, I asked myself, “Well, how hard can this be?”

Yeah… I was under the assumption that writing a Wikipedia article was roughly the same as writing an article in a word document. Those reading this who have written for Wikipedia should be ROFL. I will not delve into the particulars, but suffice it to say that I was sizing up my window to see if the computer would fit through. Luck for my computer there are child guards on the windows.

Anyhow, I wrote a brief article (which I think was demoted technically to a “list”). Wikipedia allows any registered member to edit any article. So, before the work is no longer completely original, check it out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_on_United_States_Bank_Notes

Cecil B. deMille on a National Bank Note

The Commercial National Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles, CA (#6864) was chartered in 1903 and closed in 1927. It is not a rare bank with 55 notes reported in the census (www.nbncensus.com).  What makes this note particularly rare (one of two known) is the Vice-President who signed the note: Cecil Blount deMille.

Cecil Blount deMille was born August 12, 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts. He made his acting debut on stage in New York (1900) and in 1913 formed a partnership with Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn founding the Lasky Film Company, later known as Paramount Pictures. His film production credits include The King of Kings (Director, 1927), The Ten Commandments (Director, 1923), The Greatest Show on Earth (Producer, 1952), The War of the Worlds (Executive Producer, 1953), The Ten Commandments (Director & Narrator, 1956), and he played himself in Sunset Boulevard (1950). deMille was a co-founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. During his career he directed and produced over 80 films.

deMille signed the illustrated note in his capacity as Chairman and Vice-President of motion picture loans for the bank.

LA – Gibsland – 10049

Proof of the Month

by

Peter Huntoon

and

James Hughes

William Choate wanted to see what a note looked like from The First National Bank of Gibsland, Louisiana, a minimally capitalized bank with circulation of $6,250, that operated between 1911 and 1928, from which no notes are reported. Gibsland, a wide spot in the road at the junction of US 80 and state route 154, was made famous on May 23, 1934, when Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker stopped in at Ma Canfield’s café, got sandwiches to go, and headed down highway 154 into an ambush seven miles south of town. They were taken off the FBIs most wanted list in a hail of gunfire from four Texas and two Louisiana lawmen. Thus ended a serious crime spree that wove through the central states. Clyde’s gang robbed banks, but he preferred to stick up gas stations and stores. Gibsland is located 30 miles east of Shreveport along Interstate 20, where you can visit the Bonnie and Clyde museum on the former site of Ma Canfield’s café, or a plaque commemorating the kill 7 miles down the road to the south. There’s nothin’ like goin’ on a serious rampage to launch people to folk hero status and immortality in the good-ol US of A! There’s much more at http://texashideout.tripod.com/bc.htm.

Visit to the Smithsonian (December, 2012)

Every trip to the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian contains fantastic surprises. We were able to finish scanning the Small Size Type from the Treasury Collection, which will appear in the Spring of 2013 (Part II of the Treasury Highlights Exhibit).

While looking at some boxes from the Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, one label stood out, “Checks – Famous People.” We scanned a small handful of these checks/drafts signed by the people depicted on U.S. Bank Notes and who are featured in the “Portraits on U.S. Bank Notes” Exhibit http://nationalcurrencyfoundation.org/portraitgallery.html

Almost half of the bios in the exhibit now have an image of a signed check or draft.