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1 Dollar The State Bank - Massachusetts
| Issuer | The State Bank, Boston, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849-1877 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Dollar (1 USD) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue-black ink on white paper stock and carries the bold bank title 'THE STATE BANK' in large arched letterpress across the centre. A central vignette depicts a group of figures in a rural or mercantile scene, while a female allegorical figure with a staff occupies the left panel alongside a large numeral '1'. To the right, a circular portrait medallion contains a male bust in profile. The denomination 'ONE Dollar' is set in bold type at centre, with the promise-to-pay text and place of issue 'BOSTON' rendered in script, and two manuscript signatures appear along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS The President Directors & Co. of THE STATE BANK Promise to pay ONE Dollar on demand to the bearer BOSTON |
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| Comments |
The State Bank of Boston operated under a Massachusetts charter and issued notes across a remarkably long window for a state-chartered institution — surviving well into the National Banking era, when most contemporaries had either converted or folded. Massachusetts state banks that remained unchartered as national banks after 1865 faced a punishing 10% federal tax on their note circulation, effectively killing most of them. That The State Bank continued issuing through the 1870s suggests it had either shifted its business model away from note circulation or found some operational niche worth protecting.
Boston-printed issues from this period were commonly produced by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson or its successor, the American Bank Note Company, though confirmation of the specific engraver for this series would require plate letter or imprint verification on the note itself.