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50 Cents Bank of Industry
| Issuer | Bank of Industry, Martinsburg, VA |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Bank of Industry This bill will be Received for FIFTY-CENTS, Or exchanged for Current Notes, when FIVE DOLLARS in amount, are presented at my store Plate C Martinsburg, VA. May 28 1861 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely blank, consisting of plain unprinted paper, consistent with the production standards of locally issued Civil War-era scrip notes. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Industry in Martinsburg was a small commercial institution in what was then Virginia's lower Shenandoah Valley — a town that would change hands more than once during the Civil War. This fractional note almost certainly dates to the early months of the Confederacy's formation, when small-denomination specie disappeared from circulation almost overnight as the public hoarded coin. Local banks across the South and border regions filled the gap with their own fractional scrip, often printed quickly by local job shops with minimal security features.
Martinsburg passed permanently into Union control by 1862 and became part of the newly created state of West Virginia in 1863, which effectively ended this institution's operating authority. Notes from banks that ceased operation under those specific political circumstances were rarely redeemed.