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1 Dollar Bank of Michigan - Marshall, Michigan
| Issuer | Bank of Michigan, Marshall |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in black, the note carries a portrait vignette of a female figure at the lower left, flanked by a central pastoral scene of a boy and girl seated beneath a tree accompanied by cattle and sheep. A dog appears at the lower right corner, and the note bears the obligation text and bank title in period typeset lettering with the imprint of the American Bank Note Co., New-York. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted and blank, showing only the plain paper stock with show-through of the obverse design visible from the other side. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Michigan in Marshall was a state-chartered institution operating under Michigan's free banking law, which from 1837 onward allowed virtually any group meeting minimum capital requirements to issue notes. The system produced hundreds of small-town banks across the state, many of them chronically undercapitalized. Marshall itself was a prosperous enough town — it had nearly beaten out Lansing for the state capital in 1847 — but bank failures in Michigan were common enough that the public routinely discounted notes from unfamiliar institutions.
By 1862, the issuance of state bank notes was already in its final years nationally; the federal National Banking Acts of 1863–1864 would impose a prohibitive tax on state currency, effectively killing off issues like this one.