1860 Merchants and Planters Bank 5 Dollar Banknote - Georgia Obsolete Currency - Savannah, GA - 1860 Five Dollars Georgia Bank Note

This listing is for the photographed 1860 Merchants and Planters Bank 5 Dollar obsolete banknote. Hand signed with a printed date of June 1st, 1860. Center vignette of an allegorical Justice holding a sword, and Liberty wearing a freedom cap and holding a cornucopia of plenty sat on either side of a shield depicting a shrine to the Constitution with an eagle perched on top. Vignette of a steamship on the left end, and a vignette of a locomotive on the right end. 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. 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.

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1860 Merchants and Planters Bank 5 Dollar Banknote - Georgia Obsolete Currency - Savannah, GA - 1860 Five Dollars Georgia Bank Note