1 Dollar Bank of Washtenaw

The Bank of Washtenaw operated out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, during the Free Banking era — a period when Michigan state law allowed virtually any group meeting minimum specie reserve requirements to issue currency. The system was notorious for abuse, and Michigan had already lived through the "wildcat banking" disasters of the late 1830s, when dozens of institutions collapsed and left note-holders with worthless paper. By 1854, the regulatory environment had tightened, but public suspicion of Michigan bank notes remained well-founded.

Danforth, Wright & Co. was among the most technically accomplished security printers of the antebellum period, their work considered a credible deterrent to counterfeiters at a time when forgery of small-denomination notes was endemic.