Catalog
1 Dollar
| Issuer | Farmers' Joint Stock Banking Company, Green Bay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of the British Royal Arms flanked by a lion and a unicorn, set above the bold bank title inscription. To the left stands a female allegorical figure in classical robes, and to the right a second allegorical female figure in a similar pose; both are framed by ornate lathe-work borders with numeral "1" medallions at each corner. The lower portion bears the manuscript promise text payable at Green Bay, dated February 1st, 1849, with a small heraldic vignette at the foot and printed signature lines for Manager and President. |
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| Reverse description | The reverse is largely plain, printed on unadorned cream paper with faint bleed-through of the obverse design visible as a ghost image, consistent with the thin cotton stock used for mid-nineteenth-century American territorial banknotes. No distinct reverse vignette or engraved ornament is present, and the surface shows typical age-toning and handling wear. |
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| Comments |
The Farmers' Joint Stock Banking Company of Green Bay was one of dozens of Wisconsin territorial-era institutions that existed primarily on paper — chartered under lax free banking laws that allowed notes to be backed by questionable bond deposits rather than hard specie. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, the New York security printing firm that would later merge into the American Bank Note Company in 1858, produced the plates, as they did for scores of Midwestern wildcat and semi-legitimate banks during this period.
Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, meaning this note dates from the institution's first year of operation under the new state's equally permissive banking framework. Green Bay remained a small lumber and fur trade outpost at the time, and notes from this issuer rarely traveled far before being refused or discounted heavily by merchants skeptical of the backing.