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5 Dollars Citizens' Bank of Louisiana, New Orleans, Bilingual
| Issuer | Citizens' Bank of Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Year | 1857-1899 |
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| Size | 186 × 80 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a standing allegorical female figure wearing a Phrygian cap mounted on a spear, accompanied by the American eagle crest and a cornucopia. The denomination numeral '5' is composed of intertwined cherub figures, with bilingual text in English and French arranged in two parallel panels. At the bottom, a small vignette of a pelican feeding its young, a symbol associated with Louisiana. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | FIVE BANQUE DES CITOYENS DE LA CINQ LOUISIANE paiera au porteur sur demande CINQ piastres. 5 5 The CITIZENS' BANK OF LOUISIANA Promises to pay FIVE DOLLARS on demand to the bearer. NEW ORLEANS _________________18___ _______________________Cash.r ____________________Pres.t Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson. New Orleans |
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| Comments |
The Citizens' Bank of Louisiana was one of the few antebellum American banks to print bilingual notes as a matter of routine — French and English side by side — reflecting New Orleans' genuinely bifurcated commercial culture rather than any decorative impulse. The Louisiana Civil Code still operated largely in French, and a significant portion of the city's merchant class conducted business in that language exclusively.
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson merged into the American Bank Note Company in 1858, which places production of this note before that consolidation. The Citizens' Bank itself survived well past the Civil War on paper, though its practical operations were effectively broken by wartime disruption and Reconstruction-era financial instability long before its formal dissolution.