The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington in Iowa printed $1,614,210 dollars worth of national currency. Over $1,000,000 face value is a lot of money. However, some types and denominations of currency from this bank could still be rare. This national bank opened in 1870 and stopped printing money in 1930, which equals a 61 year printing period. That is considering a long operation period for a national bank. During its life, The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington issued 17 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 Merchants National Bank Of Burlington was located in Des Moines County. It was assigned charter number 1744.
We buy all national currency. Please call or email us for a quote. Sales@AntiqueMoney.com
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington in Iowa printed 1,500 sheets of $1 original series national bank notes. A print range between 1,000 and 2,500 is small. Combine that with something that was printed before 1875 and you can imagine that these notes are few and far between. One of the most interesting things about early first charter one dollar national bank notes is all of the different slight variations you can find. Some notes have a red charter number, others do not. Some have red serial numbers and some have blue serial numbers. Some are printed on white paper and others are printed on paper with a slight blue tint. You can really find lots of different ways to collect these. Generally speaking, prices for “first charter aces” are down from their highs. So there are some bargains in this arena of collecting.
Original Series $1 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington printed 1,500 sheets of $2 original series national bank notes. It is important to know production numbers for original series two dollar bills for informational purposes. All $2 bills printed before 1875 are very rare and highly desirable. Most survivors represent the only known example for that bank. Collectors call these $2 bills lazy deuces. The large two on the face of the bill is pictured horizontally, thus making it look lazy. Don’t be fooled by the silly name though. These can be worth significant amounts of money on many occasions.
Original Series $2 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 2,375 sheets of $5 original series national bank notes. A print range between 1,000 and 2,500 is small. Combine that with something that was printed before 1875 and you can imagine that these notes are few and far between. 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 Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 2,500 sheets of $10 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. These notes were issued during the glory days of the national bank note era. Each $10 bill was pen signed by the president and cashier of the bank. Small towns and large cities both issued these notes. Of course the small town issuers tend to be scarcer today. Prices range from $500 to thousands of dollars (and more if the condition and rarity warrant it). Contact us if you need help valuing your bank note.
Original Series $10 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 2,500 sheets of $20 original series national bank notes. That issue number may or may not sound like a lot of sheets depending on your experience with collectible currency. However, all original series $20 bills are rare. The production amount is irrelevant when it comes to values. These seem like common issues until you want to buy one. These just aren’t readily available from rare banks in very fine or better condition. We definitely feel like these are undervalued in today’s market.
Original Series $20 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 1,040 sheets of $5 series of 1875 national bank notes. Any time you see a print range between 1,000 and 2,500 you can assume that the bank was small and that their notes could be fairly scarce. 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 Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 2,652 sheets of $10 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. The two vignettes seen on 1875 $10 bank notes are “Franklin and Electricity” and “America Seizing Lightning”. These notes occasionally confuse novices because the year 1752 is printed on them. That is when Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity. It has nothing to do with when these bank notes were issued. The back of each $10 bill has “DeSoto Discovering the Mississippi.”
Series of 1875 $10 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 2,652 sheets of $20 series of 1875 national bank notes. The exact number of series of 1875 $20 national bank notes printed by this bank is good to know. Don’t expect a high number to lower the value or a small number to increase the value. These notes are scarce enough on their own that the stats don’t really matter. Twenty dollars was a lot of money between 1875 and 1901, which is the time period in which these were printed. These just weren’t saved in high numbers.
Series of 1875 $20 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 2,473 sheets of $50 1882 brown back national bank notes. Not many banks printed $50 1882 brown backs. Sheet outputs aren’t extremely important. However, it is good factual information to know. The most common 1882 $50 brown backs are worth about $5,000. However, some can be worth more than $10,000 based on condition, serial number, and bank of issue.
Series of 1882 $50 Brown Back
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 2,473 sheets of $100 1882 brown back national bank notes. Just because this bank printed more than 1,000 one hundred dollar brown backs does not mean that they are all common. We are very interested in purchasing $100 1882 brown back national bank notes. We have paid more than $15,000 for some examples. Send us pictures of what you have and we will respond quickly with an appraisal and offer.
Series of 1882 $100 Brown Back
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 1,825 sheets of $5 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. 1882 $5 blue seal bank notes were issued by some national banks in The United States. While these are a somewhat rarer issue, they just aren’t especially popular with collectors. With exception of some minor differences, they look exactly like the earlier brown back series. Most collectors would prefer the brown back notes. With that said, some 1882 blue seals can still be worth thousands of dollars. So don’t just assume that what you have is automatically common.
1882 Blue Seal $5 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 26,294 sheets of $5 1902 blue seal national bank notes. Once a bank prints more than 10,000 sheets of blue seals it becomes very difficult for those notes to be rare. Ben Harrison is on the front of all 1902 $5 blue seal bank notes. This happens to be the smallest denomination issued for the 1902 series. Each note is complete with a blue seal and blue charter number. Despite saying series of 1902, these were actually issued by national banks between 1908 and 1928. There are two different types of blue seals. The first type is called a date back and it has “1902-1908” written on the back of the bill. The other type is called a plain back; it does not have the date stamps on the back of the bill. The values for these notes range widely based on condition and the bank of issue.
1902 $5 Blue Seal National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 1,172 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 Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 1,172 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 Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 1,506 sheets of Type1 1929 $5 national bank notes. That is a pretty typical sheet output for a national bank during the small size era. Every 1929 $5 bill has a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on it. This is also the lowest denomination of small size national currency that any bank issued. All serial numbers end with the letter A and start with a letter between A and F. Remember that you can take the total number of sheets printed and multiply it by six get to the actual number of bank notes printed for this denomination. All small size national bank notes were printed on sheets of six.
Series of 1929 Type1 $5 National Bank Note
The Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 29 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 Merchants National Bank Of Burlington also printed 1 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
