The First National Bank Of Scranton
The First National Bank Of Scranton in Pennsylvania printed $29,103,960 dollars worth of national currency. Once a bank issues that much money there really isn’t much room for rare issues. However, there are certainly exceptions to every rule. This national bank opened in 1863 and stopped printing money in 1882, which equals a 20 year printing period. That is a fairly normal lifespan for a national bank. During its life, The First National Bank Of Scranton issued 11 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 First National Bank Of Scranton was located in Lackawanna County. It was assigned charter number 77.
We buy all national currency. Please call or email us for a quote. Sales@AntiqueMoney.com
The First National Bank Of Scranton in Pennsylvania issued 5,450 sheets of $5 original series national bank notes. Just because a print range is between 5,000 and 10,000 doesn’t mean that individual notes will be easy to buy. That number isn’t really high or low. Some notes are extremely rare and some could be from a hoard. Values are determined based on condition and the number of known survivors. 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 First National Bank Of Scranton printed 7,084 sheets of $10 original series national bank notes. Just because a print range is between 5,000 and 10,000 doesn’t mean that individual notes will be easy to buy. That number isn’t really high or low. Some notes are extremely rare and some could be from a hoard. Values are determined based on condition and the number of known survivors. 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 First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 7,084 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 First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 474 sheets of $10 series of 1875 national bank notes. It is rare to see a sheet output of under 1,000 like this. However, it did happen for some very scarce issuers. 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 First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 474 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 First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 295,346 sheets of $10 1882 brown back national bank notes. Very few national banks printed more than 50,000 brown back sheets like this bank. This is something that will likely be common for the type, but it could still be very collectible. 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 First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 295,346 sheets of $20 1882 brown back national bank notes. Due to the way brown back sheets were printed we know that the sheet output number equals the number of $20 brown backs printed. When we see a number over 10,000 there is a good chance that the note isn’t going to be especially rare. However, it never hurts to ask. 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 First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 95,400 sheets of Type1 1929 $10 national bank notes. Once you start talking about sheet printing numbers over 50,000 then there is no chance that issue will be rare. However, there could still be lots of collector value based on popularity and condition. Each $10 bill from 1929 has a portrait of Alexander Hamilton on it. The black number written vertically is the charter number. The charter number never affects the value; it is just an identifier. The ten dollar type1 national bank note happens to be the single most common national bank note, with over 65,000 known to exist from all banks. Of course each note is valued based on its condition and rarity. Some are very rare.
Series of 1929 Type1 $10 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 27,452 sheets of Type1 1929 $20 national bank notes. Sadly, based on a number that high, there is basically no chance for these notes to be especially rare. Andrew Jackson is featured on the front of each 1929 $20 bill. Be sure to take note of the serial number on your specific bank note. If it is 000001 then you can expect a nice premium. There is a special market for serial number one bank notes. Of course, even if the number isn’t #1, it could still be collectible and have a high value just based on its condition and rarity alone.
Series of 1929 Type1 $20 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 326,396 individual notes from the type2 1929 $10 national bank note series. A production number higher than 100,000 is a sign that these particular notes won’t be rare. The easiest way to spot the difference between type1 1929 $10 bills and 1929 type2 $10 bills is in the serial number. Type2 notes have a serial number that ends with a number. 1929 type1 notes have a serial number that ends with the letter A. Generally speaking, these $10 bills are rarer than the earlier type1 issues. However, most collectors don’t pay more for that rarity because they look basically the same.
Series of 1929 Type2 $10 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Scranton also printed 78,378 individual notes from the type2 1929 $20 national bank note series. That is a high printing total. Don’t expect much rarity here, but condition factors can always make common items more valuable. One of the great things about 1929 type2 $20 national bank notes is that they really aren’t that old and some can be extremely rare. Until the big head $20 series started there really wasn’t much difference between something printed in 1929 and the same bill printed in 1993. We have bought some examples in the past few months that people just found in their change.
Series of 1929 Type2 $20 National Bank Note
