Quincy, Illinois. $5 1875. Friedberg 404. The Ricker NB. Charter #2519. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ. This is a remarkably well preserved example of this First Charter $5 design type. This sharply printed example displays the vignettes <em>Columbus in Sight of Land</em> at left and <em>America Presented to the Old World</em> at right. Bold red overprint inks include the scalloped Treasury Seal at right. The signatures of bank officers George and Henry Ricker are machine printed in bold black inks. The Ricker National Bank was chartered in 1881 and issued more than $5 million in National Currency before liquidating in June 1923. First Charter $5 National Currency notes were produced by the Continental Bank Note Company, a smaller nineteenth century maker of large currency (with American Bank Note Company and National Bank Note Company being the largest). The firm was founded in 1862 by W.L. Ormsby, an outspoken critic of the American and National firms. When Continental sought Treasury contracts, Ormsbys name did not appear on the documents. He earned a $5,000 annual salary as the firms primary plate engraver. <em>From Lyn Knights sale of August 1998, lot 1524.</em>
