The First National Bank Of Rochester
The First National Bank Of Rochester in New Hampshire printed $765,800 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 1874 and stopped printing money in 1917, which equals a 44 year printing period. That is a fairly normal lifespan for a national bank. During its life, The First National Bank Of Rochester issued 15 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 Rochester was located in Strafford County. It was assigned charter number 2138.
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The First National Bank Of Rochester in New Hampshire printed 1,800 sheets of $1 original series national bank notes. A print range between 1,000 and 2,500 is small. Combine that with something that was printed before 1875 and you can imagine that these notes are few and far between. One of the most interesting things about early first charter one dollar national bank notes is all of the different slight variations you can find. Some notes have a red charter number, others do not. Some have red serial numbers and some have blue serial numbers. Some are printed on white paper and others are printed on paper with a slight blue tint. You can really find lots of different ways to collect these. Generally speaking, prices for “first charter aces” are down from their highs. So there are some bargains in this arena of collecting.
Original Series $1 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester printed 1,800 sheets of $2 original series national bank notes. It is important to know production numbers for original series two dollar bills for informational purposes. All $2 bills printed before 1875 are very rare and highly desirable. Most survivors represent the only known example for that bank. Collectors call these $2 bills lazy deuces. The large two on the face of the bill is pictured horizontally, thus making it look lazy. Don’t be fooled by the silly name though. These can be worth significant amounts of money on many occasions.
Original Series $2 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester also printed 2,175 sheets of $5 original series national bank notes. A print range between 1,000 and 2,500 is small. Combine that with something that was printed before 1875 and you can imagine that these notes are few and far between. Each five dollar original series bank note has a spiked red seal. That is pretty much the only design difference between it and later issues. These are really beautiful notes. One neat thing about these is that the back of each note has a vignette of the corresponding state seal. Some of the state seals are very imaginative. Collecting by state seal was very popular early on in the hobby. Today most collectors are more concerned about bank of issue and condition. Serial number one bank notes are also extremely popular.
Original Series $5 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester also printed 1,060 sheets of $1 series of 1875 national bank notes. Any time you see a print range between 1,000 and 2,500 you can assume that the bank was small and that their notes could be fairly scarce. Series of 1875 one dollar first charter national bank notes were only printed between 1875 and 1878. That is the shortest production period of any national bank note. That doesn’t automatically mean that these are worth thousands of dollars, but they could be. Collectors often don’t differentiate between original series and 1875 notes because they look so similar.
Series of 1875 $1 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester also printed 1,060 sheets of $2 series of 1875 national bank notes. If you are lucky enough to have a two dollar note from 1875 then don’t get too hung up on the number of bills printed. All notes are rare and in demand; we would be happy to help you value yours. There was only one $2 bill printed per sheet of national currency. So that sheet number also equals the total number of bank notes printed for the denomination. And as we said above, these were also only printed until 1878. That is one of the main reasons they are so rare today.
Series of 1875 $2 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester also printed 6,661 sheets of $5 series of 1875 national bank notes. A print range between 5,000 and 10,000 is a pretty high number. But you have to remember we are talking about bank notes from the 1870s and 1880s. Even banks with high issue numbers could be rare today. Series of 1875 $5 bills are some of the most commonly encountered bank notes from the first charter series. Only the original series $1 bill is more available. Some banks exclusively issued five dollar bills. So if you want an example from one of those banks then you don’t have many options. These notes have a rounded red seal and red serial numbers. They also all have a red charter number.
Series of 1875 $5 National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester also printed 8,225 sheets of $5 1882 brown back national bank notes. A print range between 5,000 and 10,000 suggests that there should be at least a couple of notes known to exist. 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 Rochester also printed 3,030 sheets of $10 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. 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 Rochester also printed 3,030 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 Rochester also printed 2,759 sheets of $5 1882 blue seal national bank notes. That is a pretty standard sheet output number for these issues. Most of the value is going to be in the condition. 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 Rochester also printed 1,956 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 Rochester also printed 1,956 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 Rochester also printed 1,945 sheets of $5 1902 blue seal national bank notes. Most banks that printed such a small number of blue seal bank notes fall into the rare bank category. Ben Harrison is on the front of all 1902 $5 blue seal bank notes. This happens to be the smallest denomination issued for the 1902 series. Each note is complete with a blue seal and blue charter number. Despite saying series of 1902, these were actually issued by national banks between 1908 and 1928. There are two different types of blue seals. The first type is called a date back and it has “1902-1908” written on the back of the bill. The other type is called a plain back; it does not have the date stamps on the back of the bill. The values for these notes range widely based on condition and the bank of issue.
1902 $5 Blue Seal National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester also printed 1,338 sheets of $10 1902 blue seal national bank notes. Most banks that printed such a small number of blue seal bank notes fall into the rare bank category. 1902 $10 blue seal bank notes all have a portrait of William McKinley on them. Values can range from as little as $40 up to over $10,000. There really is no trick to know what is rare and what is common by just doing an internet search. You really need to work with an expert (like us) in order to determine the value of your specific bank note. There are at least ten different factors than can make some 1902 $10 blue seals worth more than others. We know exactly what to look for and we would be happy to provide a free appraisal and our best offer.
1902 $10 Blue Seal National Bank Note
The First National Bank Of Rochester also printed 1,338 sheets of $20 1902 blue seal national bank notes. The same rarity rules for 1902 $10 blue seals also apply to $20 blue seals. Just remember that $20 bills are by nature three times rarer (unfortunately they don’t command a premium over other denominations). Hugh McCulloch is pictured on the front of each bill. Contact us if you need pricing help.
1902 $20 Blue Seal National Bank Note
