The history of modern American paper money begins in early 1861, when the United States Government found itself without the cash in coin on hand needed to fight the Civil War. Amazingly, the first purchases of supplies and equipment for the US military were made by involuntary seizure, with IOUs, and by the promises to pay later of upstanding private citizens and soldiers.
Accordingly, Congress passed the Act of July 17th, 1861 permitting the Treasury to print and issue sixty million dollars worth of paper money, an enormous amount of money at the time. These first notes were known as Demand Notes, and were backed on by user’s faith in the US Government. They were printed on paper, actually high quality rag bond, which is almost cloth, and actually signed by hand in ink.
They were soon followed in 1862 by Legal Tender Notes (with Red Treasury Seals), which were “legal tender for all debts private and public”. In 1878 those were followed by Silver certificates first with red seals and later with blue seals), which were paper dollars exchangeable for silver dollars on demand.
National Bank Notes, like the one illustrated here, were issued by the individual banks chartered by the US Treasury which printed the notes for the bank. Each bank could issue up to 90 percent of the value of the US Government Bonds that they deposited with the Treasurer of the US as collateral. Needless to say there are several hundreds of banks that were chartered, each with a different name, charter number, and because these notes were issued between 1863 and 1935, numerous combinations of types, sizes and denominations exist. It is in this series that many of the great rarities of the currency collecting market occur.
Following Nationals, Federal Reserve Notes were issued from 1913 until today, which were unsecured paper. The last of the major types are gold certificates (with gold seals), which were issued between 1882 and 1922, and were paper dollars convertible to gold dollars.
This extremely rare uncut sheet of First Charter National Bank Notes is remarkable for several reasons. First is that survived at all, and then survived uncut. Next because it was issued in 1866 by the First National Bank of Helena, in Montana Territory, before Montana became a state. So it is rare as an uncut sheet, as a Montana National Note, rare as a Territorial Bank Note, and rare because that bank that issued it was small and issued few notes to begin with.
This is the story about the note as told by the auction house that will sell it. John D.”Whiskey” Brown was one of the earliest recorded pioneers of Cascade, Montana. He was born in County Cork, Ireland on September 26, 1826, and his parents brought him to Providence, Rhode Island when he was three years old. He married and lived there until early 1858, when he decided to go west. He left his wife and child with family and headed west. He left St. Paul, Minnesota in September 1858 for Colville, Washington Territory, but spent Christmas that year near Winnipeg, where he spent time with an American Fur Company trader. During that time he took presents to the Indians, which later the story says saved his scalp when he and several others were captured in Assiniboine County.
An Indian agent secured their release around the Fourth of July. The continued their journey down the Milk River Valley to Fort Browning and Fort Benton, arriving in the spring of 1860. During the next few years he cut timber and prospected, arriving back in Fort Benton in January 1863. He continued to prospect until 1867 when he located a ranch, soon known as the Whiskey Brown Ranch, so named because they were on the Birdtail Freight route and many freighters would stop to feed and water their animals and themselves. This sheet was acquired by the great grandfather of the original consignor, John D. Brown, around 1870.
Mrs. Brown and their three daughters, Martha, Anna and Theresa, rejoined her husband by traveling by sea around the horn to San Francisco. They then took the train to Corinne, Utah, and stagecoach the rest of the journey. This uncut sheet descended to Johns daughter Martha, through Martha’s family to her daughter, Loretta Lemire, and then to Elaine Dorrity. This uncut sheet never left the family until 2004 when Lyn Knight offered it for sale in Memphis in 2004.
This is only the third sheet of territorials of any type that are currently known to have survived, and is arguably the most important. It is being offered for sale at public auction by Lyn Knight Currency Auctions in Overland Park, Kansas and is expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000.
Neil S. Berman is an Expert Numismatist and a dealer in Rare Coins. For professional advice about most collectables Neil can be reached at neil@neilsberman.com. Comments and questions are welcome.
© 2008. Lyn Knight Currency Auctions. Overland Park, Kansas. Used with permission
