10 Cents Lyons Bank

Lyons Bank was a small state-chartered institution in Lyons, New York — one of hundreds of minor banks operating under New York's Free Banking Act of 1838, which allowed virtually any group meeting the bond-deposit requirement to issue their own paper currency. By 1862, these small-denomination notes were filling a real gap: the outbreak of the Civil War had driven silver and copper coinage almost entirely out of circulation as hoarding accelerated.

Henry Seibert & Bros. operated out of New York City and handled a substantial volume of work for smaller upstate banks during this period. The Kappen reference places this firmly in the obsolete banknote literature for Wayne County issues.