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20 Dollars Citizens' Bank of Louisiana, Shreveport, Bilingual
| Issuer | Citizens' Bank of Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1857-1899 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BRANCH OF THE CITIZENS' BANK OF LOUISIANA AT SHREVEPORT XX 20 The Citizens Bank of Louisiana Pay to bearer TWENTY DOLLARS on demand. CASHIER. PRESIDENT. PATENTED 30 JUNE 1857. |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in orange-red on a pale ground, centred on a large oval guilloche framework enclosing an oversized interlaced 'XX' monogram above the denomination numerals '20' in counter circles at each lower corner. The French bank name curves in bold letters along the upper arc of the oval, with 'DE LA LOUISIANE' and 'NOUVELLE ORLEANS' inscribed across the centre field. Decorative lace-pattern borders with rosette and star ornaments frame the entire reverse. |
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| Comments |
The Citizens' Bank of Louisiana was chartered in 1833 as a mortgage-backed institution — planters pledged land and enslaved people as collateral in exchange for capitalization. That origin shaped the bank's entire geography: New Orleans was the operational center, but Shreveport branches served the cotton economy of the Red River valley, where this note circulated. The bilingual French-English text reflects Louisiana's legal and commercial bilingualism, a practical necessity well into the late nineteenth century, not an affectation.
The American Bank Note Company printed the series following the 1858 consolidation of several competing security printers into that firm. The Citizens' Bank survived the Civil War in compromised form, limping through Reconstruction before finally closing.