The National Bank Of Pontiac
The National Bank Of Pontiac in Illinois printed $768,030 dollars worth of national currency. That is a high amount, but condition and serial numbers can make otherwise common currency from this bank quite valuable. This national bank opened in 1874 and stopped printing money in 1934, which equals a 61 year printing period. That is considering a long operation period for a national bank. During its life, The National Bank Of Pontiac issued 10 different types and denominations of national currency. We have examples of the types listed below. Your bank note should look similar. Just the bank name will be different. For the record, The National Bank Of Pontiac was located in Livingston County. It was assigned charter number 2141.
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The National Bank Of Pontiac in Illinois issued 3,250 sheets of $5 original series national bank notes. It is actually pretty standard for an early national bank to have a sheet output range between 2,500 and 5,000. The exact value of a bill is still going to be based on the number of notes known and the condition of each bank note. Each five dollar original series bank note has a spiked red seal. That is pretty much the only design difference between it and later issues. These are really beautiful notes. One neat thing about these is that the back of each note has a vignette of the corresponding state seal. Some of the state seals are very imaginative. Collecting by state seal was very popular early on in the hobby. Today most collectors are more concerned about bank of issue and condition. Serial number one bank notes are also extremely popular.
Original Series $5 National Bank Note
The National Bank Of Pontiac printed 4,509 sheets of $5 series of 1875 national bank notes. Hundreds of banks had sheet outputs between 2,500 and 5,000. That is pretty typical for a medium sized national bank in the 1870s. Series of 1875 $5 bills are some of the most commonly encountered bank notes from the first charter series. Only the original series $1 bill is more available. Some banks exclusively issued five dollar bills. So if you want an example from one of those banks then you don’t have many options. These notes have a rounded red seal and red serial numbers. They also all have a red charter number.
Series of 1875 $5 National Bank Note
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 3,380 sheets of $10 1882 brown back national bank notes. That it is not an exceptionally low number of sheets. However, you have to remember that we are talking about bank notes printed before 1902. Even a large print number could have a very low survival rate. There were three $10 bills printed on a single sheet of 1882 brown backs. The design of the bill is similar to all earlier ten dollar national bank notes. The nickname comes from the fact that these bills have a brown seal and brown overprint. Despite saying series of 1882, these were actually printed by some banks up until 1908. The date you see in cursive relates to when the bank first started issuing brown back notes.
Series of 1882 $10 Brown Back
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 3,380 sheets of $20 1882 brown back national bank notes. As you can see, the sheet output is the same for $20 brown backs as it is for $10 brown backs. There was only one $20 brown back printed on a sheet. So the sheet output also equals the total note output. One neat thing about all brown backs is that they each have a different back design based on which state issued them. The back left hand side of the note shows the state seal of which ever state the national bank was located in. Generally speaking, 1882 $20 brown backs are pretty difficult to locate. They typically were printed in small numbers and they don’t have a great survival rate.
Series of 1882 $20 Brown Back
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 2,281 sheets of $10 1882 blue seal national bank notes. 1882 blue seals are traditionally not the most popular national bank notes. However, when we are talking about such a low print number, these become much more desirable. All of these notes say series of 1882 but they were actually printed between 1908 and 1921. So they aren’t quite as old as the dates might suggest. There is also a date on these notes that is between 1888 and 1901. That date is written in cursive text and it represents when the bank was chartered or re-chartered. Some of the so called 1882 value back notes have a chance to be really rare. Most of the earlier notes that say 1882-1908 on the back are likely going to be relatively common. The designs are exactly the same on the front. Each has a blue seal and charter number.
1882 Blue Seal $10 National Bank Note
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 2,281 sheets of $20 1882 blue seal national bank notes. That is the same number of sheets as the ten dollar denomination. You don’t have to multiply by three to get the exact number of notes issued though. There was only one twenty dollar bill per sheet. As with any national bank note, the exact value is still based on the condition, serial number, and bank of issue.
1882 Blue Seal $20 National Bank Note
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 972 sheets of $50 1902 blue seal national bank notes. There is no trick to knowing which 1902 blue seals will be common and rare. Often times the number printed won’t tell you much information. The value still comes down to condition and demand. That is a surprise to most people. In fact, most 1902 $50 bills we see are worth between $750 and $1,250. The rarer ones can be worth more than $5,000. However, there isn’t much middle ground.
1902 $50 Blue Seal National Bank Note
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 972 sheets of $100 1902 blue seal national bank notes. It is no coincidence that the sheet numbers for $50 bills and $100 bills are the same. They were printed on the same sheets. Most $100 blue seals are at least scarce; others can be very rare. John J Knox is printed on the front of each bill. Most collectors like the back design a lot more though. It is really unique and different from most other national bank notes. Prices for 1902 $100 blue seals are pretty similar to $50 blue seals. They are both equally common or equally rare, depending on how you look at it.
1902 $100 Blue Seal National Bank Note
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 156 sheets of Type1 1929 $50 national bank notes. That is an extremely small sheet printing number. Survivors are still likely but definitely not guaranteed. As is the case with all modern fifty dollar bills, Ulysses Grant is pictured on the front of 1929 $50 bills. This is a higher denomination that was only printed by 300 different national banks. Many examples are only worth around a few hundred dollars. Rarer specimens can sell for more than $1,000.
Series of 1929 Type1 $50 National Bank Note
The National Bank Of Pontiac also printed 25 sheets of Type1 1929 $100 national bank notes. That is an extremely small sheet printing number. Survivors are still likely but definitely not guaranteed. Despite saying series of 1929, all type1 national bank notes were actually printed between 1929 and 1933. Exactly 289 national banks printed $100 type1 notes. Most are relatively common. However, as with anything, there are always exceptions to that rule.
Series of 1929 Type1 $100 National Bank Note
