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3 Dollars State Bank of Michigan
| Issuer | State Bank of Michigan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1859 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 3 Dollars (3 USD) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | At left, a large ornate numeral "3" within an elaborate lathe-work circle serves as the primary counter, while a vignette at lower right depicts a farmer harvesting corn stalks. The denomination is repeated in large ornate script at centre over a guilloche underprint, with the bank title arched above in letterpress; a Lyman's Protection panel in a contrasting colour occupies the right portion of the note, covering approximately two-thirds of the surface as an anti-alteration security device. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | A coloured protective overprint panel (Lyman's Protection) covers two-thirds of the note's surface, intended to reveal alteration or erasure attempts by visibly changing colour if subjected to chemical treatment. |
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| Comments |
Michigan's free banking era produced hundreds of short-lived institutions, but the State Bank of Michigan was a state-chartered entity operating under stricter oversight than the wildcat banks that plagued the region through the 1840s and 1850s. By 1859 the American Bank Note Company, recently consolidated from several competing security printers, was producing notes for dozens of Midwestern banks from its New York facilities.
The Lyman's Protection overprint — a patented geometric lathe-work screen applied over the note's face — was marketed specifically as a counterfeit deterrent, making chemical alteration and photographic reproduction visible. Its presence here suggests the issuing bank paid the additional premium for the security feature, not all customers did.