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1 Dollar New England Commercial Bank - Rhode Island
| Issuer | New England Commercial Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1850-1860 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries the numeral 1 in all four corners and presents three intaglio vignettes: at left, an allegorical figure of Commerce seated among harvested goods on a shoreline; at center, a second Commerce figure holding a caduceus at the water's edge; and at right, a sailing vessel moored beside a waterway. The promise-to-pay text, bank title, and place of issue — Newport, Rhode Island — are set in letterpress across the face, with signature lines for Cashier and President left blank for manuscript completion. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1 ONE DOLLAR 1 1 1 THE PRESIDENT, DIRECTORS & CO., OF THE NEW ENGLAND COMMERCIAL BANK Will pay ONE DOLLAR on demand ONE to the bearer NEWPORT____________18___ NEW ENGLAND BANK NOTE CO., BOSTON. 1 _____________ Cash.r______________Pres.t 1 RHODE ISLAND |
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| Comments |
The New England Commercial Bank operated out of Newport, Rhode Island, and this note falls within the period when Rhode Island's banking laws were notoriously lax — the state had chartered so many institutions by mid-century that the sheer volume of circulating paper made note authentication a practical impossibility for ordinary commerce. Counterfeiters thrived in exactly this environment.
The New England Bank Note Co. of Boston printed for dozens of New England institutions during this period, which meant that engraved elements were routinely shared across unrelated issuers — a cost-saving measure that ironically made forgery detection harder, not easier.