The German National Bank Of Memphis
The German National Bank Of Memphis in Tennessee printed $514,650 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 1866 and stopped printing money in 1885, which equals a 20 year printing period. That is a fairly normal lifespan for a national bank. During its life, The German National Bank Of Memphis issued 14 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 German National Bank Of Memphis was located in Shelby County. It was assigned charter number 1636.
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The German National Bank Of Memphis in Tennessee issued 2,000 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 German National Bank Of Memphis printed 2,000 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 German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 1,250 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 German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 1,020 sheets of $10 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. These notes were issued during the glory days of the national bank note era. Each $10 bill was pen signed by the president and cashier of the bank. Small towns and large cities both issued these notes. Of course the small town issuers tend to be scarcer today. Prices range from $500 to thousands of dollars (and more if the condition and rarity warrant it). Contact us if you need help valuing your bank note.
Original Series $10 National Bank Note
The German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 1,020 sheets of $20 original series national bank notes. That issue number may or may not sound like a lot of sheets depending on your experience with collectible currency. However, all original series $20 bills are rare. The production amount is irrelevant when it comes to values. These seem like common issues until you want to buy one. These just aren’t readily available from rare banks in very fine or better condition. We definitely feel like these are undervalued in today’s market.
Original Series $20 National Bank Note
The German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 1,218 sheets of $50 original series national bank notes. The printing number for original series $50 bills is irrelevant. There are only about 35 known to exist from all banks in the country. Despite being extremely rare, condition is still very important. Lots of first charter fifty dollar bills are heavily circulated; there are significant premiums for anything that grades extremely fine or higher.
Original Series $50 National Bank Note
The German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 1,218 sheets of $100 original series national bank notes. The same piece of advice applies here as it does to first charter fifties. These are rare enough to the point that printing numbers don’t matter. The same condition guidelines apply to original series $100 bank notes. These traded hands frequently and are often found in “well-used” states today. As with other bank notes, there can be huge price gaps between different grade points.
Original Series $100 National Bank Note
The German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 4,610 sheets of $1 series of 1875 national bank notes. Hundreds of banks had sheet outputs between 2,500 and 5,000. That is pretty typical for a medium sized national bank in the 1870s. 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 German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 4,610 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 German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 3,750 sheets of $5 series of 1875 national bank notes. Hundreds of banks had sheet outputs between 2,500 and 5,000. That is pretty typical for a medium sized national bank in the 1870s. 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 German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 300 sheets of $10 series of 1875 national bank notes. It is rare to see a sheet output of under 1,000 like this. However, it did happen for some very scarce issuers. The two vignettes seen on 1875 $10 bank notes are “Franklin and Electricity” and “America Seizing Lightning”. These notes occasionally confuse novices because the year 1752 is printed on them. That is when Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity. It has nothing to do with when these bank notes were issued. The back of each $10 bill has “DeSoto Discovering the Mississippi.”
Series of 1875 $10 National Bank Note
The German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 300 sheets of $20 series of 1875 national bank notes. The exact number of series of 1875 $20 national bank notes printed by this bank is good to know. Don’t expect a high number to lower the value or a small number to increase the value. These notes are scarce enough on their own that the stats don’t really matter. Twenty dollars was a lot of money between 1875 and 1901, which is the time period in which these were printed. These just weren’t saved in high numbers.
Series of 1875 $20 National Bank Note
The German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 886 sheets of $50 series of 1875 national bank notes. The printing number for original series $50 bills is irrelevant. There are only about 35 known to exist from all banks in the country. To make matters worse, these are not being discovered much at all these days. The supply is pretty constant, as is the demand. Prices start at about $10,000 and can go up sharply from there.
Series of 1875 $50 National Bank Note
The German National Bank Of Memphis also printed 886 sheets of $100 series of 1875 national bank notes. There are currently only about 70 series of 1875 $100 national bank notes known to exist. So the sheet output is really only included for factual purposes – it won’t affect values. The actual value is based on condition and bank of issue. If you don’t know how to grade currency, then send us pictures of what you have. We can help you grade and value any national bank note. Of course series of 1875 $100 bank notes would be a treat to see.
Series of 1875 $100 National Bank Note