Catalog
2 Dollars The Farmer's Joint Stock Bank, Second Issue
| Issuer | The Farmer's Joint Stock Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1792-date) |
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| Obverse description | Denomination numeral '2' appears in the upper left and upper right corners. The upper centre carries an intaglio portrait of Prince Albert (Prince Consort), flanked by a lion to his left and a unicorn to his right. A vignette of a blacksmith at his anvil occupies the lower left, while a standing allegorical figure of Navigation fills the lower right; the Royal Arms are engraved at the bottom centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 2 - 2 AUTHORIZED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT THE FARMER`S JOINT STOCK BANK - ing Company, will pay the bearer on demand TWO DOLLARS at their Office in Toronto, for Value Received Toronto Feb: 1st 1849. TWO UPPER CANADA Manager - Pres. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, New York |
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| Comments |
The Farmer's Joint Stock Bank operated out of Weston, Ontario County, New York — a rural community whose agricultural economy made two-dollar notes genuinely functional for everyday farm transactions at mid-century. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson were among the most technically accomplished security printers in antebellum America; the same firm would later merge into the American Bank Note Company in 1858.
New York's Free Banking Act of 1838 permitted any group meeting minimum capital requirements to issue notes backed by approved securities deposited with the state comptroller. The Farmer's Joint Stock Bank was a direct product of that law — and so was the wave of failures it eventually enabled.