Obsolete Bill · Connecticut · c. 1850–1860
City Bank of New Haven
$5.00 · New Haven, Connecticut
Obverse (top) and reverse (bottom) — Notofilia.com Collection
Country / State
United States / Connecticut
Issuing Entity
City Bank of New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut
Denomination
$5.00 (Five Dollars)
Epoch / Type
Obsolete Banknote (Obsolete Banknote), c. 1850–1860. File copy with printed numbering, without date or handwritten signatures.
Printer
Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co. — New York and Philadelphia
Catalog Reference
Haxby CT-265-G52b
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Color Scheme
Obverse:black ink on light security paper, with the word “FIVE” and large “5” counters in intense red ink.
Reverse:security impression in red ink, with the denomination “FIVE” in inverted filigree on a faint guilloché background.
Vignettes and Images of the Obverse
- Center:harbor vignette with a smoking sidewheel steamer among sailing ships on the waters of New Haven Harbor —a tribute to the city's shipping and commercial boom.
- Left side:coat of arms of the city of New Haven, with a counter “5” superimposed.
- Right side:oval portrait of a period gentleman in formal dress and bow tie —probably a director or founder of the bank.
- Corners:four identical circular counters with the number “5”, two in black ink (top) and two in red ink (“FIVE”, bottom).
New Haven, nicknamed “the City of Elms”, once had nine different banks issuing its own paper money during the era of obsolete banking (1782–1866). The City Bank of New Haven reflected the city's maritime and commercial identity in its banknotes: the central vignette of a smoking steamer next to sailing ships evokes the busy port of Long Island Sound that supported local commerce before the Civil War and the national banking laws of 1863–1864 ended the era of American private currency.
— Historical Context Note
Sources
- Haxby, James A.Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes, 1782–1866.
- Heritage Auctions —ha.com(opens in a new tab)
- Numista —numista.com(opens in a new tab)