My first Note!

PeakRarities

The circumstances of aquisition are posted in my show report on the US coin forum, but I figured id throw this out here too. My first Bank note, fits right in with with the rest of my gold.

“The National Gold Bank Notes were a western phenomenon and staple of the Gold Rush-era currency. It was a hard money economy, and other United States paper money (such as Legal Tender notes) was not payable in specie on demand. These issues were created by their own act of July 12, 1870, authorizing nine chartered California banks (and one Boston bank that did not circulate notes) to issue them. Like all national banks created by the initial National Banking Act of 1863, their circulation was backed by bank deposits made to the Treasury Department in U. S. bonds. Their distinctive appearance and obligation "Will Pay to Bearer on Demand FIVE DOLLARS IN GOLD COIN" at the bottom sets them apart from other National Bank Notes. The face designs of all denominations were identical to their respective Original Series National Bank Note types (the special act date is in the bottom border of the $5 notes, although not on the higher denominations), but were printed on special golden-yellow paper. This distinctive paper would easily differentiate them from other large size notes not payable in gold coin. The common back design was unique to the series. Within a brown frame, a montage of assorted United States gold coin obverses and reverses (engraved in black ink) is contained within the central cartouche. The special coin vignette was engraved with a "trompe l'oeil" effect. Curiously, there is an 1871-dated Liberty double eagle at the center, though the initial notes were issued in 1870.”

Source: https://forums.collectors.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https://currency.ha.com/itm/national-bank-notes/california/san-francisco-ca-5-1870-original-fr-1136-the-first-national-gold-bank-of-san-francisco-ch-1741-pmg-choice-very/a/3575-25244.s

element159

That's a pretty strong first note!!! Wow!!!

johnny9434

That will compliment the gold coin for sure. Nice I like 👍

sellitstore

Good signatures and nice, clear coin vignette on back make this a particularly attractive example. It's probably nicer than 98% of the other surviving National Gold Bank Notes. Now you need a $10 (and maybe even a $20, if a nice one ever turns up.)

Steve_in_Tampa

Easily a trophy note in many collector’s eyes. Wonderful comment-free example, thanks for sharing.

PeakRarities

Here’s some additional pics

sellitstore

Great close ups. They show that the images are created by a series of finely engraved lines of varying thickness which determines the degree of the shading. I find the photo-realistic image of the coins on back the height of the engravers skill. I'm not sure that any engraver alive today could do this kind of work. That's why bank note engraving is often referred to as a lost art.

Finding examples with the coin vignette clear enough to convey that photo-realism is difficult indeed. The vast majority of surviving notes were circulated to the point where this detail and effect is lost.

CRHer700

I wonder who picked the dates on the coins depicted on the back. I see 1864, 1867, and 1871. The notes were made in the early 1870s.

golden

Nice note. I was looking for one of those at the ANA in 1971 and did not find one that I wanted. I just never got around to buying one.

Jimnight

Real nice note!

JimTyler

Notes are cool.

coinkat

attractive examples and terrific images... well played

asheland

Killer note! 😎

gsalex

@sellitstore said:
Great close ups. They show that the images are created by a series of finely engraved lines of varying thickness which determines the degree of the shading. I find the photo-realistic image of the coins on back the height of the engravers skill. I'm not sure that any engraver alive today could do this kind of work. That's why bank note engraving is often referred to as a lost art.

Finding examples with the coin vignette clear enough to convey that photo-realism is difficult indeed. The vast majority of surviving notes were circulated to the point where this detail and effect is lost.

This is my all-time favorite backside of a federal note and this example is a beauty. It's all downhill from here, DD!

I would observe that the coins depicted are medallion engravings, meaning an engraver did not do them by hand, but instead a ruling machine was used to create a 3-D image out of fine parallel lines -- sort of like a topo map. You'll notice that many of the coins are somewhat worn. In the engraving process, the ruling machine pulled something like a fine tooth comb over the coin and circulated coins didn't catch on the comb teeth the way a shiny new coin might.

You can see another example of this here:
https://papermoneyforum.com/post/1850s-promissory-notes-8927146

BLUEJAYWAY

Best of both worlds:coins and currency.