One Hundred Dollars — Minneapolis
$100.00 · Series of 1929 · Ninth Federal Reserve District
Historical Context: The Federal Reserve Bank Notes of 1929
With the introduction of small-size paper money in 1929, the U.S. government issued two types of brown-stamped “National Currency”:National Bank Notes, backed by bonds and issued by individual national banks, and the less commonFederal Reserve Bank Notes, issued directly by each of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks —, in this case, the Minneapolis — and backed in the same way by government bonds deposited with the Treasurer of the United States.
Unlike current Federal Reserve notes (green seal), these 1929 banknotes were direct obligations of the issuing regional bank, not of the Federal Reserve System as a whole, and circulated relatively briefly, mainly in the early 1930s.
Color Scheme
Obverse:main impression in black ink, with the seal of the Federal Reserve Bank and the serial numbers in brown ink —the characteristic hallmark of the entire 1929 “National Currency” issue.
Reverse:Full print in classic green ink (greenback).
Portrait and Obverse Images
- Center:oval portrait of Benjamin Franklin, statesman and Founding Father of the United States.
- Left:text “THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA”, identifying the issuing regional bank.
- Right:brown Federal Reserve Bank seal with district letter “I”, together with the legal-tender redemption clause.
Reverse Images
Engraved vignette of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the same reverse design shared by all small-size $100 banknotes of the Series of 1929, both theNational Bank Noteslike theFederal Reserve Bank Notes.
Signatures
- Harry I. Ziemer— Cashier (Cashier) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, left.
- W. B. Geery— Governor (Governor) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis between 1927 and 1936, right.
Legacy for Collectors
Being the direct obligation of a single regional bank rather than the joint Federal Reserve system, the 1929 Federal Reserve Bank Notes were printed in considerably smaller volumes than their green seal counterparts, and large denominations like the $100 are particularly scarce for collectors of the 1929 series and American Midwest banking history.
Sources
- Friedberg, Arthur L. & Ira S.Paper Money of the United States.
- Bureau of Engraving and Printing —bep.gov(opens in a new tab)
- Heritage Auctions —ha.com(opens in a new tab)
- Numista —numista.com(opens in a new tab)