1833 Franklin Bank 10 Dollar Boston Banknote - Massachusetts Obsolete Currency - Pre-Civil War Banknote - 1833 Ten Dollar Boston MA Note

This listing is for the photographed 1833 Franklin Bank 10 Dollar obsolete bank note. Issued by the bank on November 20th, 1833. Vignette of a Ben Franklin portrait displayed at the center of the note, surrounded by various scientific equipment, globes, telescopes, and books. Sailing ships printed at the left center, and a farm scene portrayed at the right. Allegorical women representing Abundance and Agriculture at the right and left ends of the note. Choice Fine (F+) grade/condition, visible signs of circulation and some damage to the margins, as pictured. Great, rarer piece of history. Excellent addition to any collection!

Obsolete bank notes are also called "broken bank notes." In the days prior to the Federal Reserve, any bank could produce currency for use by the clients and members of the community. Unfortunately, not many safeguards were taken to ensure that banks stood behind the currency they were producing and circulating. Banks, more often than not, failed and their currency was rendered worthless. As a result, most bank notes of the period did not trade at their full retail value. Oftentimes notes were worth 50 cents on the dollar because the public expected the banks to fail.

The Franklin Bank was incorporated in 1828 with a capital of $100,000. This capital increased in 1832 to $150,000 once the bank proved to be successful. The bank acted as an extremely prosperous and prominent bank in Massachusetts during its operation, becoming one of the primary financial institutions used within the state in the early 19th century. The bank failed and closed its doors in 1837, likely as a result of the financial panic that occurred in the United States that year, which led to the closure of many other privately owned and operated banks across the country that year.

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1833 Franklin Bank 10 Dollar Boston Banknote - Massachusetts Obsolete Currency - Pre-Civil War Banknote - 1833 Ten Dollar Boston MA Note