Delaware Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: $10 Series 1875, issued by First National Bank of Milford DE, signed by J.B. Smith, Cashier and James M. Hall, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com

The Delaware Bank Note History home page consolidates historical information on the National/Obsolete Banks, Bankers and Banking History of Delaware. It also highlights What's New, along with some Famous Delaware Banks & Bankers, and lists helpful Research Resources.

Delaware National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 28 Delaware National Banks that issued notes during the National Bank Note Era (1863-1935). Information shown for each bank includes Charter#, Bank Name, Town, County, Open & Close Year, Bank Fate, Number of notes Issued and Total $ Issued. The charter number for each bank is a link to that Bank Info page on the SPMC U.S. National Bank lookup website.

• List of Delaware National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

Delaware County home pages

County Bank Note History home pages provide information on the Banks, Bankers and Bank Notes for that county during the National Bank Note Era (1863-1935), and also the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866) (if applicable for that county). All of the county's National & Obsolete Banks are listed with links to their Bank History pages. Prominent Bankers are also listed with links to their Banker Bio pages. Several Bank Notes are featured, as well as bank postcards and other bank related ephemera.

If you have a local County Historical Society/Museum, they may be interested in adding a link on their website to their County's Bank Note History home page in our wiki.

• (There are currently no Delaware County home pages set up)

What's New in Delaware Bank Note History

• Bank Histories:
  • First National Bank, Frankford, DE (Charter 8918) (1907-1983)
  • National Bank, Newark, DE (Charter 1536) (1865-1913)
• Banker Bios:

Delaware Bank Histories Index

The Bank Histories are organized alphabetically by Town, then by Bank Open Date. To find the Delaware Bank you are looking for, select from the following Index list. You can also search the entire wiki for the Bank's town name or charter number using the Search Box in the upper right corner.

• Delaware Bank Histories

Delaware Banker Biographies Index

The Banker Bios are organized alphabetically by Last Name. To find the Delaware Banker you are looking for, select from the following Index list. For an Index list of all Banker Bios for all States, use the Banker Biographies sidebar link. You can also search the entire wiki for the Banker's last name using the Search Box in the upper right corner.

• Delaware Banker Biographies

Delaware National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

The label for each of these Stats is a link to the corresponding pdf list of banks

• # Issuing Banks: 28

Issuing Banks wiki page

• # Non-Issuing Banks: 2
• # Large Size Issuers: 28
• # Small Size Issuers: 16
• # Territorial Banks: 0
• # Towns with Issuing Banks: 21
• # Counties with Issuing Banks: 3
• NBN Geo. Letter: E
• State Capital: Dover
• Statehood Date: December 7, 1787
• Delaware National Bank Graphs & Lists
  • # of National Banks Chartered By Year
  • # of National Bank Failures (Receivership) By Year
  • # of National Bank Closures (Receivership/Liquidation/Closed) By Year
  • # of National Banks In Operation By Year
  • List of 40 Delaware National Banks with Lowest # of Notes Issued
  • List of Delaware National Banks (Issued Notes) Sorted by Town by Charter#

Delaware Counties Index

This index lists Delaware counties that had towns with National or Obsolete Banks (1782-1935).

• Delaware Counties

Delaware Towns Index

This index lists Delaware towns that had National or Obsolete Banks (1782-1935).

• Delaware Towns

Delaware Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

Delaware had several Obsolete Banks that converted to National Banks between 1864 and 1865.

• The Mechanics' Bank of Wilmington, Haxby UNL (1856-1864); -> First National Bank, Wilmington, DE (Charter 473) (1864-1912)
• Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine, Haxby DE-85 (1810-1865); -> NB of Wilmington and Brandywine, Wilmington, DE (Charter 1190) (1865-1912)

Wiki Links

• Information on the origin and history of National Bank Notes (Wikipedia)
• General information on Delaware (Wikipedia)

Delaware Research Resources

• (List any State-specific National Bank and Obsolete Bank References first)
• Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
• Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
• The National Bank Note Census, nbncensus.com
• OCC Annual Reports 1863-1935 (U.S. Treasury Dept: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency).

(The OCC Annual Reports are available online at the Currency Club of Chester County (PA) website).

• The Bankers Magazine 1846-1922 (New York: various publishers over the years).

(The Bankers Magazine volumes are available online at the Currency Club of Chester County (PA) website).

• Rand McNally Banker's Directories 1879-1935 (Chicago: Rand McNally & Company).
• Polk's Banker's Encyclopedias 1895-1935 (Detroit and New York: Polk Bankers Encyclopedia Co.).
• James A. Haxby, United States Obsolete Bank Notes 1782-1866 (4 volumes) (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1988).
• Paper Money Journal, 1962-present (Published by the Society of Paper Money Collectors, spmc.org). Many articles over the years about the history of National & Obsolete Banks and Bankers. An archive of all back issues with search capabilities is online for SPMC members at spmc.org.
• FDIC, Bank Find History website. https://research2.fdic.gov/bankfind/index.html
• Delaware State Historical Society website, (?)
• Delaware State Legislators - Past & Present website, (search for this - many states have a website with past member bios and pictures).
• Ancestry.com, Findagrave.com, Newspapers.com