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20 Dollars National Bank Note; "Brown Back"
| Issuer | Otica City National Bank, Utica, New York |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882 |
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| Value | 20 Dollars 20 USD = RSD 2028 |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is executed in intaglio on a fine lathe-work border with denomination numerals "20" at upper left and right corners and repeated in the side margins. At left, a vignette illustrates the "Battle of Lexington," with Revolutionary War combatants in dynamic composition; at right, a second vignette shows "Columbia leading a procession," a classically draped allegorical female figure accompanied by attendants. The issuing bank's name and charter number appear in bold Gothic lettering at center, with the Treasury signatures, red serial number, and charter number overprinted in red ink. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | THIS NOTE IS RECEIVABLE AT PAR IN ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES, IN PAY-MENT OF ALL TAXES AND EXCISES AND ALL OTHER DUES TO THE UNITED STATES, EXCEPT DUTIES on IMPORTS, AND ALSO FOR ALL SALARIES AND OTHER DEBTS and DEMANDS OWING BY THE UNITED STATES TO INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS & AS- SOCIATIONS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, EXCEPT INTEREST ON PUBLIC DEBT. COUNTERFEITING OR ALTERING THIS NOTE, OR PASSING ANY COUNTER- FEIT OR ALTERATION OF IT, OR HAVING IN POSSESSION ANY FALSE OR COUNTERFEIT PLATE OR IMPRESSION OF IT, OR ANY PAPER MADE IN IMI- TATION OF THE PAPER ON WHICH IT IS PRINTED, IS FELONY, AND IS PUN- ISHABLE BY $1,000 FINE OR 15 YEARS IMPRISONMENT AT HARD LABOR OR BOTH. 20 XX NATIONAL CURRENCY |
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| Comments |
The "Brown Back" series ran from 1882 to 1908, bridging the transition away from the earlier Series of 1875 nationals. Fr#493 is the $20 denomination within that series — brown ink on the reverse was a deliberate Treasury decision to distinguish reissued notes from the green-back reverses of the preceding type, reducing confusion during the overlap period when both circulated simultaneously.
National Bank Notes of this era were obligations of the issuing bank, not the federal government directly. The Utica City National Bank, chartered in Oneida County, was one of several competing commercial banks operating in Utica during a period when the city's manufacturing economy — particularly textiles — was still expanding. Brown Backs from smaller regional New York charters are meaningfully harder to locate than those from major metropolitan issuers.