1800s Bank of Bennington 5 Dollar Obsolete Note - Vermont Obsolete Currency - Unissued Remainder - 1800s Bennington Five Dollars Banknote

This listing is for the photographed 1800s Bank of Bennington 5 Dollar Vermont Unissued Remainder Obsolete Banknote. No date or signatures, unissued remainder note. Center vignette of this note depicts an allegorical representation of liberty and justice standing beside a shield with the roman numeral V, with an eagle perched on top. A portrait of George Washington is displayed on the right end, and a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette displayed on the left end. Beautiful design! Uncirculated (UNC) grade/condition. Excellent find for notes of this age! Great piece of history.

The Bank of Bennington was chartered in 1827 and issued its own banknotes until they failed and ceased their operations in 1841. Noadiah Swift served as President of the bank for many years during its operation. The bank was located in a 2.5 story building at the intersection of Monument Ave. and Bank St. in Bennington, Vermont. This building no longer stands in Bennington today. A different bank, also named the Bank of Bennington, opened in 1917 and remains in operation today, but has no relation to the bank that issued these obsolete notes.

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.

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1800s Bank of Bennington 5 Dollar Obsolete Note - Vermont Obsolete Currency - Unissued Remainder - 1800s Bennington Five Dollars Banknote