The First National Bank Of Forest City
The First National Bank Of Forest City in Iowa printed $572,160 dollars worth of national currency. That is a high amount, but condition and serial numbers can make otherwise common currency from this bank quite valuable. This national bank opened in 1892 and stopped printing money in 1925, which equals a 34 year printing period. That is a fairly normal lifespan for a national bank. During its life, The First National Bank Of Forest City issued 8 different types and denominations of national currency. We have examples of the types listed below. Your bank note should look similar. Just the bank name will be different. For the record, The First National Bank Of Forest City was located in Winnebago County. It was assigned charter number 4889.
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The First National Bank Of Forest City in Iowa issued 4,055 sheets of $5 1882 brown back national bank notes. That it is not an exceptionally low number of sheets. However, you have to remember that we are talking about bank notes printed before 1902. Even a large print number could have a very low survival rate. You can take the total number of sheets printed and multiply that number by four to get the exact number of 1882 $5 brown back bank notes this bank issued. Each note has a portrait of James Garfield on the left hand side of the bill. These are very popular with collectors because they have different text layouts. Some notes are worth as little as a few hundred dollars, but most are worth a good deal more.
Series of 1882 $5 Brown Back
The First National Bank Of Forest City printed 1,668 sheets of $10 1882 brown back national bank notes. That sheet output number is small. Don’t expect too many of these to be available to collectors. There were three $10 bills printed on a single sheet of 1882 brown backs. The design of the bill is similar to all earlier ten dollar national bank notes. The nickname comes from the fact that these bills have a brown seal and brown overprint. Despite saying series of 1882, these were actually printed by some banks up until 1908. The date you see in cursive relates to when the bank first started issuing brown back notes.
Series of 1882 $10 Brown Back
The First National Bank Of Forest City also printed 1,668 sheets of $20 1882 brown back national bank notes. As you can see, the sheet output is the same for $20 brown backs as it is for $10 brown backs. There was only one $20 brown back printed on a sheet. So the sheet output also equals the total note output. One neat thing about all brown backs is that they each have a different back design based on which state issued them. The back left hand side of the note shows the state seal of which ever state the national bank was located in. Generally speaking, 1882 $20 brown backs are pretty difficult to locate. They typically were printed in small numbers and they don’t have a great survival rate.
Series of 1882 $20 Brown Back
The First National Bank Of Forest City also printed 1,778 sheets of $5 1882 blue seal national bank notes. 1882 blue seals are traditionally not the most popular national bank notes. However, when we are talking about such a low print number, these become much more desirable. 1882 $5 blue seal bank notes were issued by some national banks in The United States. While these are a somewhat rarer issue, they just aren’t especially popular with collectors. With exception of some minor differences, they look exactly like the earlier brown back series. Most collectors would prefer the brown back notes. With that said, some 1882 blue seals can still be worth thousands of dollars. So don’t just assume that what you have is automatically common.
1882 Blue Seal $5 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Forest City also printed 1,207 sheets of $10 1882 blue seal national bank notes. 1882 blue seals are traditionally not the most popular national bank notes. However, when we are talking about such a low print number, these become much more desirable. All of these notes say series of 1882 but they were actually printed between 1908 and 1921. So they aren’t quite as old as the dates might suggest. There is also a date on these notes that is between 1888 and 1901. That date is written in cursive text and it represents when the bank was chartered or re-chartered. Some of the so called 1882 value back notes have a chance to be really rare. Most of the earlier notes that say 1882-1908 on the back are likely going to be relatively common. The designs are exactly the same on the front. Each has a blue seal and charter number.
1882 Blue Seal $10 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Forest City also printed 1,207 sheets of $20 1882 blue seal national bank notes. That is the same number of sheets as the ten dollar denomination. You don’t have to multiply by three to get the exact number of notes issued though. There was only one twenty dollar bill per sheet. As with any national bank note, the exact value is still based on the condition, serial number, and bank of issue.
1882 Blue Seal $20 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Forest City also printed 1,247 sheets of $50 1902 blue seal national bank notes. There is no trick to knowing which 1902 blue seals will be common and rare. Often times the number printed won’t tell you much information. The value still comes down to condition and demand. That is a surprise to most people. In fact, most 1902 $50 bills we see are worth between $750 and $1,250. The rarer ones can be worth more than $5,000. However, there isn’t much middle ground.
1902 $50 Blue Seal National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Forest City also printed 1,247 sheets of $100 1902 blue seal national bank notes. It is no coincidence that the sheet numbers for $50 bills and $100 bills are the same. They were printed on the same sheets. Most $100 blue seals are at least scarce; others can be very rare. John J Knox is printed on the front of each bill. Most collectors like the back design a lot more though. It is really unique and different from most other national bank notes. Prices for 1902 $100 blue seals are pretty similar to $50 blue seals. They are both equally common or equally rare, depending on how you look at it.
1902 $100 Blue Seal National Bank Note