What makes these Whitman Publishing series’ so intriguing is the rarity of the entries that make the top 100. While we understand that it is part of the process of choosing the coveted 100 and a criterion for most, we do not take for granted how much we learn from going through these lists. That is certainly the case for what we feel is the lesser known of the series’, the 100 Greatest American Currency Notes authored by Q. David Bowers and David M. Sundman.
While coins are a larger part of what collectors take interest in, paper money has an extensive history in the United States alone, warranting the top 100 we have waded through together so far. This next in the blog series covering an extremely rare note that were not only made in small numbers but were only issued by two banks total.
#36 – Just Two Banks of Issue $100 Value Back National Bank Note, Series of 1882
The Series 1882 was issued in three different formats: the Date Back, the Brown Back, and the Value Back. The Value Backs were printed in small numbers but ONLY issued by two different banks. Those banks were the Winters National Bank of Dayton, Ohio, and the Credit-Commerical National Bank of New Orleans. Four-subject sheets of $50-$50-$50-$100 were printed with 1,800 sheets going to Dayton, Ohio, and 1,057 sheets (of 1,300 total printed) given to New Orleans. They were officially delivered to those banks in 1920 and 1921.
Of all the notes issued with the Value Back in the Series 1882, only two have been reported from the Credit-Commercial National Bank and only three from the Winters National Bank. They range from Fine to Very Fine condition.
The face of the note features the vignette of Commodore Perry’s Victory; however, it was more popularly known as The Battle of Lake Erie. The goddess Union is to the right, signifying America and Liberty. The back of the notes has the value spelled out in large letters right in the center in two lines. The $100 denomination is the largest of the 1882 Value Back series.
In 1960, these notes in a Very Fine condition were bringing an “unknown” amount according to authors Bowers and Sundman. By the publishing of the 100 Greatest series in 2006, it had been valued at $100,000 with only five examples known.
