Deadwood, South Dakota. $10 1882 Brown Back. Fr. 487. The American NB. Charter #4983. PGS Very Fine 30 PPQ.
Serial Number 1.Probably once a year we auction a national banknote that would sell itself with simply a picture and not a single word from us. This is that note for 2017. It came to us from a Pennsylvania estate with a group of other lightly circulated but nondescript large size notes.
One can only assume that decades ago a collector was at the right place at the right time when this Western trophy made its way out of a banking familys holdings. Being that it is from the first sheet of currency issued by The American National Bank of Deadwood, it seems likely that the note was personally saved by either the cashier Ben Baer or by the president Harris Franklin (more on them later).
Deadwood has a well-documented and colorful history. Thanks to former residents like Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, and Seth Bullock, among others, the town ranks in terms of national recognition with cities like Tombstone and Dodge City for its Old West lore. And unlike Dodge City, for which notes dont exist from its glory days, or for Tombstone, where nationals were not issued until the 20th century, banknotes from 19th century Deadwood, while few and far between, are out there.
Counting this discovery, about a dozen notes, from all Deadwood banks combined, can trace their issue date to before 1900. The note offered here is just as rare as any of that dozen. It is the second survivor to be documented from The American National Bank of Deadwood. Since it is from the first sheet of banknotes issued, we can be certain that its release date was 1894, the same year as the charter date. The American National Bank was the last of four national banks to charter in Deadwood. However, by the time The American NB nationalized, The Merchants National Bank and The National Bank of Deadwood had already opened and closed, leaving behind just four documented banknotes between those two short-lived charters.
The American National Bank was managed much better, but it did close in 1905 after issuing just 2,905 sheets of $10 and $20 brown backs. The other survivor from this charter is from the same first sheet of currency. It is listed without a grade and has never appeared at auction. It is included in the census with a different plate letter. While slight, that is the only piece of evidence to suggest that it is not the same note here. The American National Bank of Deadwood was organized as a collaboration between Jewish pioneers and entrepreneurs Harris Franklin and Ben Baer.
The two men had a business relationship dating back to about 1878 when they were engaged in the liquor and cigar wholesale business in nearby Rapid City. Over their lives, other joint business ventures would include cattle, mining, railroads, hotels, and of course banking. So close were the two that The American National Bank was locally referred to as The Franklin and Baer Bank. Franklin came to Deadwood full time in 1878. He helped change the face of the town from a lawless frontier into a place of serious business. He would ultimately become mayor, the wealthiest man in town, and a figure whose legacy can been seen walking the streets of Deadwood today.
As an interesting side note, in 1902 Harris Franklin purchased a controlling interest in The First National Bank of Deadwood. It appears that starting in 1902 he became president of The First National Bank while his son Nathaniel Franklin was still the cashier of The American National Bank. When they shut down The American National Bank in 1905, Harris became the figurehead president of the FNB, while Nathaniel officially ran the FNB. Brown backs exist from The First National Bank (Ch. 2391), some with Harris as president and others with Nathaniel as president.We reiterate again how very fortunate we are to be able to offer this relic of Old West history for auction.
It took 123 years for this banknote to surface for bidding to the public, and it will likely be decades longer until a similarly special Deadwood piece trades hands again.
