Lot of (4) Meredith, New Hampshire. Belknap County Bank. Steel Printing Plates. $1, $2, $3, and $10.Haxby NH-190-G4,G10,G16,G28 (Whitman NH-530-001-G10,G30,G50,G90) 8.25 X 3 inches. Imprint of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson. New England Bank Note Co. $1 Portrait of George Washington at left. Female portrait seated with rudder at center. Portrait of Benjamin Franklin at right. $2 Eagle on Bale, cannon balls, and machinery at center. $3 Washington standing by horse at left. $10 Man standing by oxen and plow at center. Woman standing with rudder and cornucopia at right. Each of the four plates are nearly perfect and almost appear unused, uncanceled and showing no signs of wear or rust of any kind. pOn July 10, 1846, the State legislature passed an act chartering the Belknap County Bank. Capital was to be $50,000 to $150,000, divided into shares valued at $100 each. The bank was located in the same building as the old Winnipisiogee Bank, but used the address of Meredith Bridge rather than simply Meredith. In 1855 Laconia was incorporated as a town, including the district earlier known as Meredith Bridge. As a result, later currency was imprinted Laconia, even though the bank did not change location. In the mid-1860s there were intense discussions about changing the Belknap County Bank to a National Bank, but there was considerable disagreement among the stockholders, and nothing was done. The charter of the bank expired on July 7, 1866, after which the affairs of the bank were wound down. The State Bank Commission last reported on the bank in 1869, at which time settlement was near. Only $1,400 in bills remained in circulation.pGenuine notes from the Belknap Count Bank are extremely rare, with only a few known to have survived.From the Q. David Bowers Collection.
