5 Pounds Dartmouth General Bank

The Dartmouth General Bank was one of dozens of short-lived provincial banks that proliferated in England and Wales following the Country Bankers Act of 1826 — though this note predates that legislation, placing it in the earlier, more precarious era of unlimited-liability private banking. Country banks of this period frequently collapsed without warning, leaving noteholders with worthless paper. Whether the Dartmouth General Bank survived long enough to redeem its obligations is itself a question worth researching before assigning premium value to this piece.