1856 Merchants and Planters Bank 10 Dollar Banknote - Georgia Obsolete Currency - Savannah, GA - 1856 Ten Dollars Georgia Bank Note

This listing is for the photographed 1856 Merchants and Planters Bank 10 Dollar obsolete banknote. Hand signed and dated December 27th, 1856. Left end vignette portrait of Governor George M. Troup, right end vignette of a shrine to the U.S. Constitution, and a center vignette of a woman holding a sickle in a wheat field looking back at the farm behind her. Very Fine (VF) grade/condition, a cancelled "X" is punched on the signature and a hole at the center. Great piece of history.

The Merchants and Planters Bank was established in 1856, making this note one of the banks first issues. The bank was closed by 1866, likely due to the end of the Civil War.

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.

This rarer denomination obsolete bank note is a great piece of Georgia history and makes for an excellent addition to any collection!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

1856 Merchants and Planters Bank 10 Dollar Banknote - Georgia Obsolete Currency - Savannah, GA - 1856 Ten Dollars Georgia Bank Note