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25 Cents Northborough Bank
| Issuer | Northborough Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | A lithographed vignette at left shows two women harvesting wheat in a rural agricultural scene. The central and right portions carry the monetary text, denomination, and issuing authority in letterpress, including the promise to pay the bearer twenty-five cents in current bank bills when presented in sums of one dollar and upwards. The note is dated Marlborough, Mass., November 1st, 1862, and bears the imprint of Ferd. Mayer & Co., Lithog., 96 Fulton St., New York. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FERD. MAYER & CO. LITHOG 96 FULTON ST. NEW YORK No. *serial number* NORTHBOROUGH BANK Pay to the bearer TWENTY FIVE CENTS in current Bank Bills when presented in sums of one Dollar and upwards To the Cashier MARLBOROUGH, Mass. Nov 1st, 1862 Bigelow, Morse, & Co |
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| Comments |
Northborough Bank was a Massachusetts institution operating under the state's free banking framework, and fractional notes like this 25-cent piece were a practical response to the severe coin hoarding that swept New England in the early Civil War years. Silver disappeared from circulation almost overnight after 1861 as citizens anticipated currency instability, leaving merchants and small businesses scrambling for any workable substitute.
Ferd. Mayer & Co. handled a substantial volume of similar small-denomination scrip for regional banks during this period. The firm later reorganized and became better known under successive partnerships, but its 1862 output represents some of the more competently executed private bank printing from wartime New York.