Jim M. writes: Help: I need the help of someone who is knowledgeable about broken bank notes. I just bought what was purported to be a broken bank note. I don’t think it is but I’m not sure what it is. It’s printed on one side, on thin paper and with engraving sort of similar to Confederate money. It says:
Elyria, Ohio
I promise to pay ____________ or bearer on demand FIVE DOLLARS in current
bank notes at ______________________
___________________clerk
S. Styles Sherman & Smith. N.Y.
I bought it because I live in Elyria but this has me baffled. Do you have any idea what this might be and if could have any value? Thanks in advance, JimÂ
What you have is a I.O.U. or promissory note, not a bank note. The only bank in Elyria, Ohio wasn’t a “broken” bank, that is, it was organized after the depression period of the 1830’s and wasn’t “broke”.
It was called the Elyria Exchange Bank or the Lorain Bank. It was organized in 1847 and became a National Bank in 1864. It was also known as the State Bank of Ohio, Lorain Branch.
The pre-National Bank issue is an obsolete one dollar note that was issued May 26, 1855. It shows a plow and steamboat, a sailor, anchor, bale and ship on right, mechanic seated, farmer, wheel, grain and trees on left. The reverse shows Pandora, ONE above. To the left is a portrait of a man “1” above, ONE below.
Banking in the United States was erratic in the early part of the 19th century. Even the United States placed its money in a private bank. The practices of these banks were questionable and even down right fraudulent. The bank notes from this era are known to collectors as Broken Bank Notes because so many of them went bankrupt. There are thousand of Broken Banks and each one has an interesting story.
