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20 Dollars The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank
| Issuer | The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, Savannah, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 190 × 75 mm |
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| 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 | STATE OF GEORGIA THE FARMERS AND MECHANICS BANK Will pay TWENTY DOLLARS to bearer on demand SAVANNAH, June 1st 1861 American Bank Note Company |
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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.