North Dakota
Grand Forks, North Dakota. $5 1882 Brown Back. Fr. 472. The Merchants NB. Charter #4812. PCGS Banknote Choice Extremely Fine 45 Details. Rust, Adhesive Residue.
The Merchants National Bank of Grand Forks was opened in 1892 and closed in 1899. At one point in the 1890s there were five different national banks competing for business in Grand Forks. And The Merchants National Bank was the last to that party. No doubt the glut of banks in a city of less than 8,000 people was one of the contributing factors to this bank only lasting seven years. That short-life span helped create a great numismatic rarity though. This $5 brown back was recently discovered in Indiana, apparently never before seen by a collector or dealer, as the census reports no known survivors. The bank issued five dollar brown backs only. Only 1,607 sheets were issued, leading one to believe that this was saved as a keepsake by someone realizing that the bank was near the end. In terms of condition, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. This note was saved thanks to decades spent in a frame. But the framing left a little bit of residue behind and a staple must have made contact with the paper as well, allowing rust to form as PCGS Banknote comments "Rust, Adhesive Residue." Otherwise the signatures are picture perfect and the note is clearly original and in its unrestored condition.
Estimate: $10000 - $15000