Front
Enlarge

Back
Enlarge

The first Bank of the United States (1791-1811) was the first bank chartered by the U. S. Congress. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton conceived the idea of a central bank, and President George Washington signed the bill into law on February 25, 1791.

The bank, serving as quasi central bank of the Unites States, was authorized to issue paper money, to conduct commercial business and to serve as U. S. Treasury's fiscal agent.

The bank issued the first "United States" banknotes. Earlier banknotes were chartered either under The Continental Congress (Continental currency) or by the 13 Colonies (Colonial currency).

The $50 note shown above was issued on January 16, 1801, exactly midway in the bank's twenty-year charter. Apparently it was redeemed on August 20, 1811 (see endorsement on the back.), just before the bank closed its operation.

The first Bank of the United States was headquartered in Philadelphia with branch offices in eight major cities: Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, New York, Norfolk, Washington D. C., Savannah and New Orleans.

Thomas Willing, whose signature appears on the note, was the bank's president 1791-1807. Previously, he held offices as President of the Bank of North America, Mayor of Philadelphia, the Secretary to the Congress of Delegates at Albany, and Judge of Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

George Simpson, whose signature also appears on the note, was the bank's cashier and in that capacity served as the day-to-day manager of the bank.

The bank closed in 1811 when Congress failed to renew its charter.

The only other banknote from the first Bank of the United States I've come across is a 1792 $10 note at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's American Currency Exhibit. The note has the same two signatures: G. Simpson and Thomas Willing. See scan below.

Uniface

This note is not in my collection. Scan courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's American Currency Exhibit

A 1782 oil painting by Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Uniface
Enlarge

This note is not in my collection. Scan courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's American Currency Exhibit

In 1816 the U. S. Congress chartered the second Bank of the United States. When its charter expired in 1836, the bank continued to operate under a charter granted by the State of Pennsylvania until 1841. The $1000 note shown above was issued under the State charter.

Uniface
Enlarge

Three most commonly seen replicas of the Bank of the United States notes are
$10 dated Jan. 23, 1834 serial number 646,
$1000 dated Dec. 15, 1840 serial number 8894,
and $1,000,000 dated Dec. 25, 1840 serial number 711.

These replicas were reproduced in the 1960's for a promotional giveaway in cereal boxes. These replicas are essentially worthless. They were printed on yellowish-brown "antiqued" paper that is crisp and brittle to the touch.