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| Issuer | Merchants and Planters Bank, Savannah, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1860 |
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| In circulation to | 1866 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | STATE OF GEORGIA THE MERCHANTS AND PLANTERS BANK Will pay TEN DOLLARS to bearer on demand. SAVANNAH. June 1, 1860. _________Cash. __________Pres. AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY. |
| Reverse description | Unprinted plain paper reverse, with show-through of the obverse design visible due to paper thinness. Two manuscript signatures appear at the lower portion, applied by bank officials at the time of issue. |
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| Comments |
The Merchants and Planters Bank of Savannah was chartered by the Georgia legislature and operated during the final years before secession made Northern-printed banknotes a political liability for Southern institutions. This note dates to 1860, when the bank was still ordering plates from the American Bank Note Company in New York — a relationship that would become untenable within months. After Georgia seceded in January 1861, many Georgia banks scrambled to source printing from Southern firms, making pre-secession ABNCo issues like this one a narrow window in the bank's history.
Georgia state law required banks to maintain specie reserves, but suspension came quickly in 1861 regardless.