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5 Dollars Bank of Philippi
| Issuer | Bank of Philippi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Wellstood, Hay & Whiting |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a green underprint with anti-counterfeiting protector overprint. A central vignette presents a portrait of George Washington at upper centre, flanked by large numeral 5s at left and right. At lower left is a vignette of a young woman, while lower right bears a vignette of a young woman with a horse's head; diagonal numeral 5s appear at upper left and upper right. At lower centre, the inscription FIVE DOLLARS is arranged in a circular legend surrounding a tree vignette. The note was engraved and printed by Wellstood, Hay & Whiting of New York. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | STATE OF VIRGINIA THE BANK OF PHILIPPI Promises to pay FIVE dollars to bearer on demand Philippi. April 2, 1861 FIVE DOLLARS Cash Pres WELLSTOOD. HAY & WHITING. NEW YORK . |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Philippi was chartered in Barbour County, Virginia — territory that voted overwhelmingly against secession in 1861 and became part of the new state of West Virginia in 1863. Notes issued under the Virginia bank charter were therefore circulating in what would shortly become enemy territory from the Confederate perspective, and the bank itself continued operating under Union-sympathetic governance through the war years.
Wellstood, Hay & Whiting was a New York security printing firm, which means this note was engraved and produced in the North before the political fracture made such arrangements impossible. By mid-1861, Southern banks could no longer place orders with Northern printers.