8 Dollars Peoples' Bank of Paterson

The $8 denomination was never part of federal currency but flourished briefly in the free banking period, when state-chartered institutions could issue whatever face values they judged practical. Paterson, New Jersey's industrial economy — built around the Passaic River mills and silk works — generated payroll and commercial needs that didn't always map neatly onto the standard $5/$10 ladder, which is the most plausible reason this denomination existed at all.

Casilear, Durand, Burton & Edmonds was among the more technically accomplished banknote firms operating out of New York in the 1830s before the consolidation that eventually produced the American Bank Note Company. Their work on this series reflects the period's arms race against counterfeiters through fine-line engraving.