District of Columbia Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: $1 Original Series, issued by German American National Bank of Washington, DC, signed by C.E. Prentisss, Cashier and R.B. Donaldson, Vice-President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com

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

District of Columbia National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 27 District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

District of Columbia 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.

(There are no District of Columbia Counties, only two towns, Washington and Georgetown, that issued National Bank Notes. Neither has a home page set up)

What's New in District of Columbia Bank Note History

Bank Histories:

Banker Bios:
- Thompson, John William (Washington, DC)
- King, William (Georgetown, DC)

District of Columbia Bank Histories Index

The Bank Histories are organized alphabetically by Town, then by Bank Open Date. To find the District of Columbia 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.

District Of Columbia Bank Histories

District of Columbia Banker Biographies Index

The Banker Bios are organized alphabetically by Last Name. To find the District of Columbia 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.

District of Columbia Banker Biographies

District of Columbia National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

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

# Issuing Banks: 27

Issuing Banks wiki page

# Non-Issuing Banks: 4
# Large Size Issuers: 25
# Small Size Issuers: 11
# Territorial Banks: 0
# Towns with Issuing Banks: 2
# Counties with Issuing Banks: 1
NBN Geo. Letter: E
Federal Capital: Washington
Capital district Date: July 16, 1790
District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia National Banks with Lowest # of Notes Issued
- List of District of Columbia National Banks (Issued Notes) Sorted by Town by Charter#

Famous District of Columbia Banks & Bankers

Farmers and Mechanics NB, Georgetown, DC (Charter 1928) (1872-1928) began in 1814 as the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, Haxby DC-90.
Citizens NB of Hagerstown, MD/Citizens NB of Washington, DC (Charter 1893) (1871-1904)

District of Columbia Counties Index

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

District of Columbia Counties

District of Columbia Towns Index

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

District of Columbia Towns

District of Columbia Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

The Bank of Washington, Haxby DC-385 (1809-1885) -> National Bank, Washington, DC (Charter 3425) (1885-1990)
Bank of the Metropolis, Haxby DC-290 (1814-1865) -> National Metropolitan Bank/National Metropolitan Citizens Bank, Washington, DC (Charter 1069) (1865-1958)

District of Columbia Banking History

Wiki Links

District of Columbia Research Resources

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.