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20 Dollars The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank
| Issuer | The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, Savannah, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Haxby GA290-G10a |
| Obverse description | At upper center, an intaglio portrait of Governor George Troup is flanked by circular denomination counters reading TWENTY to each side, with cherub vignettes occupying the upper left and right corners. The lower left carries a vignette of two seated figures at a waterfront port scene, while the lower right bears a portrait vignette of a young woman. The imprint of the American Bank Note Company appears at the base of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, showing the plain cream-coloured paper stock with age toning and two handwritten manuscript signatures applied at the lower portion of the note. |
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| Comments |
The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Savannah was a modestly sized commercial institution that found itself issuing currency in the opening year of the Confederacy — a period when Southern banks were under enormous pressure to keep notes circulating as specie disappeared from trade. What makes this particular note worth attention is the printer: the American Bank Note Company, based in New York. By the time Georgia seceded in January 1861, contracting with a Northern firm had already become politically untenable, and ABNCo's Southern business collapsed almost entirely within months.
This note almost certainly used plates engraved and held in New York before the break, making it among the last products of that relationship.