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25 Cents Indian Head Bank
| Issuer | Indian Head Bank, Nashua, NH |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 88 × 46 mm |
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| Obverse description | At left, a vertical banner cartouche bears the merchant imprint 'WHITE & HILL'; at right, a vignette shows a Native American figure seated on a rocky outcrop. The centre carries the bank title, a numeral medallion with the denomination '25', and the issuing location and date in letterpress. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | WHITE & HILL / Indian Head Bank / Pay to the bearer / 25 / Twenty-Five Cents / Nashua, NH / Oct. 1, 1862 / White + Hill |
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| Comments |
Civil War-era fractional currency from private banks filled a genuine void — hoarding of silver coin had stripped small change from daily commerce almost entirely by mid-1862, forcing local institutions to issue their own scrip. The Indian Head Bank of Nashua was among hundreds of state-chartered banks that stepped into that gap with small-denomination notes, none of which had federal authorization.
These 25-cent obligations were redeemable at the issuing branch only, which made them functionally useless beyond the immediate locality — by design, not accident. Many were never presented for redemption at all.