STL Charter 12220
STLNATS
Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭
A couple of months ago, I added a $5 on charter 12220 to my collection. Hadn't shared it yet so here it is:
This is an interesting bank in that from its founding in 1922 to 1925, it operated under 3 titles:
The Missouri National Bank
The Grand Avenue National Bank
The Grand National Bank
The bank issued $5, $10, and $20s on 1902 plain backs on all 3 titles and the same denominations on both type 1 and type 2 smalls on only the last title. While the last two titles are relatively common, the first is fairly scarce. Also, large size notes on these titles are commonly encountered without signatures irrespective of grade so it's a positive delight to find one like this $5 with bold sigs (of T S Baskett and Ed Mays). The story is that the bankers were so tight-fisted that they often had the ink watered down - resulting in vivid reddish-violet sigs which seemed to fade quickly or just issued the notes without sigs at all.
Ed Mays founded the bank and seems to have been. or wanted to be, a promoter/player. The regulators took an increasing interest in Banker Mays and his bank, especially after a spectacular robbery of $1 million of the securities in the bank's vaults. Nothing was ever proven that he or his senior officers were involved, and in the end the bank simply was overextended and forced to enter receivership in early 1934. A reasonable, albeit overly positive, overview appeared in Paper Money several years ago and is well worth the read.
Here's another note on the charter, third title, with pleasant sigs of W C Johnson and again Ed Mays. The earlier type 1 smalls carry the sigs of Herbert and Redwine, while later type 1s and all type 2s carry those of Ledbetter and Mays. There's an interim overprint variety in the first type 1s and some of the smalls are quite elusive.
FWIW, I'm looking for a $10 on the first title to complete my denomination set for all 3 large titles.
What fun!
Comments
Congrats! Great post, I love the way you stacked the images!
Thanks!