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5 Dollars The Commercial Bank of Columbia
| Issuer | The Commercial Bank of Columbia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | At top centre, an allegorical vignette of Ceres and Commerce seated together, flanked by two portrait vignettes: Zachary Taylor to the left and Thomas Sumter to the right. The note carries manuscript and printed text establishing the issuing institution, denomination, and place of issue. Typical engraved letterpress execution consistent with mid-nineteenth-century American obsolete bank note production. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse of aged paper stock, bearing only incidental manuscript notations and foxing consistent with circulation wear. No printed design, vignettes, or lettering are present. |
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| Comments |
The Commercial Bank of Columbia was chartered in South Carolina in 1833 and operated until the Civil War effectively ended private banknote circulation in the state. By 1856, antebellum South Carolina had over a dozen competing chartered banks issuing their own notes, and redemption reliability varied considerably — the Commercial Bank of Columbia maintained a generally sound reputation for specie payment through most of its operating life.
Haxby G2 designations indicate a genuine-issue note rather than a remainder or proof, meaning this example entered actual circulation. Columbia's position as the state capital made the bank a significant clearing point for upcountry commerce.