Name/Title
Commercial Bank of Columbia BanknoteEntry/Object ID
2023.3.1Description
$5 banknote from the Commercial Bank of Columbia, South Carolina. The bill, printed on watermarked paper, is dated September 6, 1854. Included are medallion portraits of generals Taylor and Sumter, the South Carolina state seal, and a depiction of the union of the allegorical characters of Prosperity and Liberty.Use
Banknotes such as this were promissory notes issued by a bank with the permission of the state in which it was chartered. As the federal government did not circulate paper money prior to 1861, banknotes were the main, regulated currency of the antebellum period.Context
While the United States established a coinage system in 1792 and used the dollar value as the principal unit of currency, paper money was not in circulation until 1861. In the years before the Civil War, private banks were allowed to design, print, and circulate their own paper currency within their respective states. One such bank was the Commercial Bank of Columbia, which was incorporated in 1831 with a capital of $500,000.
Printed by Charles Toppan & Co. of Philadelphia on watermarked paper, this $5 note issued by the Commercial Bank of Columbia in 1854 features a depiction of the South Carolina state seal and medallion portraits of South Carolina revolutionaries and statesmen General Thomas Taylor (1770-1832) and General Thomas Sumter (1734-1832). The bank's president at the time, John A. Crawford (1797-1876), and cashier, Edwin J. Scott (1803-1884), would remain in their roles until the bank's destruction during the burning of Columbia in February 1865. At the time of its destruction, the bank–located on the west side of Richardson (Main) Street–held $800,000 in capital.Made/Created
Bureau
Charles Toppan & Co.Date made
1854Place of Origin
City
Columbia, South CarolinaDimensions
Width
3-13/16 inLength
7-7/8 inRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Edwin J. Scott
