An incredible piece of history, this very rare 1807 1 Dollar Banknote Issued by the Hillsborough Bank of Amherst NH is now available to purchase. Read below for more information.
Exact note photographed. We are based in New Hampshire (and live in NH) and are always looking for any NH items with historical significance. So we were very excited to find this one!
The Hillsborough Bank of Amherst in New Hampshire issued this one dollar note on June 23rd, 1807.
The note reads “The President, Directors, & Company of the Hillsborough Bank promise to pay [Name] or bearer on demand, One Dollar, Amherst, June 23, 1807.” The note is signed by the bank’s cashier, Dave Holmes, and the bank’s president, Samuel Bell. The Hillsborough Bank was founded on June 18, 1806, and capitalized with 50,000 dollars. The notes were printed using Jacob Perkins’s “Permanent Stereotype Steel Plate” that prevented forgery. The bank only lasted three years, as it extended its currency beyond its reserves, and the Embargo Act of 1807 stymied New England’s trade. When note holders came to collect their specie, the bank could not fulfill its obligations and was forced to shut down.
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 often known as “obsolete bank notes” or “broken bank notes”.
1807 Hillsborough Bank One Dollar Banknote, Amherst NH - One Dollar Note New Hampshire 1807, Early American Banknote - Historic Item