Private Bank Note

Banknote

Vermont Historical Society

Name/Title

Private Bank Note

Entry/Object ID

1937.9

Description

Uncut paper money in two denominations, 20 and 50. Both notes are inscribed in the center with, "The West River Bank/Will pay [denomination] Dollars in demand/to the bearer. Jamaica, 185" The denomination is also written in red letters with grey shadows in a different font and offset to the lower right. The denominations also appear in numerical form in the upper right within a circular seal. The twenty is also labeled in the upper left with Roman numerals (XX), and the fifty is also labeled in the lower left written out. The upper note (the 20) has an illustration on the left of a woman draped in cloth and holding a spear and shield. She is wearing a five-pointed star on the top of her head, and brooch in the shape of a face at her center breast. At the center top is a woman on the shore sitting on a rock and leaning against a shield and a sheaf of wheat. She is wearing a tiara and holding a short staff. Ships and a lighthouse are visible in the background. In the bottom right is an illustration of a woman sitting on a plow and holding a sheaf of wheat in one arm and a scythe in the other. She is next to a basket overflowing with fruits and berries. The lower note (the 50) has an illustration on the left of a woman draped in fabric and holding a downward-point sworn and a balance scale. She is wearing a coronet or wreath, and one of her breasts is bared. At the center top is an illustration of a woman sitting on a flying black eagle. The bird is holding one side of a length of striped fabric, while the woman holds the other end to shield her head. In the lower right corner is a portrait of Andrew Jackson. Both notes are labeled, "STATE OF VERMONT." across the top. They each have unfilled signature lines at the bottom for "Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, New-York./Cashr." and "New England Bank Note Co. Boston./Prest."

Context

Made for The West River Bank of Jamaica, Vermont.

Acquisition

Accession

1937.9

Source or Donor

Booker, W. E.

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Bureau

The West River Bank

Date made

1850 - 1859

Place of Origin

Town

Jamaica

County

Windham County

State/Province

Vermont

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

Designer or Engraver

Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term

Note, Private Bank

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Money, Paper

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Money

Nomenclature Class

Exchange Media

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Width

6-1/2 in

Length

7-15/16 in

Composition

Material

Paper

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization