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1 Dollar State Bank of Michigan
| Issuer | State Bank of Michigan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
| Type | Local banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE STATE BANK OF MICHIGAN, LYMAN'S PROTECTION. Bank note on the right end measuring: $1. One Dollar, One third the length of the paper $2. Two Dollars, One half ' ' ' $3. Three Dollars, Two thirds ' ' ' $5. Five Dollars, Three fourths ' ' ' AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY / DETROIT, _ 18_ / THE State Bank OF MICHIGAN Will pay to the bearer ONE DOLLAR ON DEMAND. NO. _ A SECURED BY THE PLEDGE OF PUBLIC STOCKS |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Lyman's Protection system: the denomination is indicated by the proportional length of the printed area relative to the total paper size, making alteration of the face value detectable by measuring the note. |
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| Comments |
The State Bank of Michigan had a brief and troubled existence — Michigan's free banking legislation of the 1830s had already produced one spectacular collapse, and by the time this note was issued in 1859, the state was operating under far tighter regulatory controls introduced after that earlier debacle. The American Bank Note Company had by this point consolidated much of the private bank note printing business in the United States, absorbing several rival firms in 1858, making this note among the earliest issues to emerge from that newly merged operation.
Proportion protection was a relatively primitive security measure, essentially a mathematical relationship between printed elements intended to defeat alteration of the denomination — a genuine concern when note-alterers routinely raised 1s to higher values.