拍品描述： San Francisco, California. $50 1870. Friedberg 1160 (W-2825). The First National Gold Bank. Charter #1741. PCGS Currency Very Fine 35.An incredibly rare offering from the Joel R. Anderson Collection, this 1870 $50 National Gold Bank Note is one of just six such notes known for the type. Of those six, four are Original Series notes from the National Gold Bank at San Francisco (as seen here), one is a Series of 1875 note from the same bank while the sixth note is an Original Series from the Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose. A seventh note was known, a laminated example traced to the King Farouk collection, but it met an unfortunate fate during attempted restoration and is for all intents and purposes no longer in existence. <p>The type is quite similar to Original and Series of 1875 $50 National Bank notes on the face with <em>Washington Crossing the Delaware</em> at left and <em>Prayer for Victory</em> at right. The most notable difference in the two types is seen on the back where a group of assorted gold coins of various types and dates are found. National Gold Bank Notes of the $50 denomination were issued by California banks in Oakland, Petaluma, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Barbara. All examples display the printed signatures of Allison and Spinner with pen signed bank officers signatures. <p>This example displays moderate circulation with darkly inked engraved design elements and a bold red overprint. The paper is quite sound for the issue and comes well cut with full margins save for at the top right. There are no distracting marks or major impairments. The grading service makes mention on the back of the holder of small repaired edge tears, which are well concealed and difficult to detect. The note was last offered in an April 2013 auction where it sold for $340,750. <p><strong>National Gold Bank Notes</strong><p>By 1870, no National Banks had been established in California, as their bills would not have been useful in commerce, for the 1850 State Constitution forbid the use of paper money. To remedy this, Congress took the unusual step of passing the Act of July 12, 1870 which provided for the establishment of institutions known as National Gold Banks. These National Gold Banks would be allowed to issue notes "redeemable at par in gold coins." Nine National Gold Banks were established in California, issuing notes in denominations from $5 to $500. These notes were instantly accepted in Western commerce and were equal at face value to gold coins in circulation, whereas Legal Tender Notes and other federal currency, if accepted at all in California, saw a deep discount in relation to gold coins.<p>Chartered on November 30, 1870, the First National Gold Bank converted to become the First National Bank of San Francisco on February 25, 1884. By that time Legal Tender Notes and other federal currency were widely used in California, which had not been the case when the bank was first chartered.<p><p><em>From Heritage Auctions sale of April 2013, lot 15596.</em>