Illinois Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: $2 Original Series issued by First National Bank of Lincoln, IL, signed by H.B. Schuler, Cashier and J.D. Gillett, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

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

Illinois National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 718 Illinois 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 Illinois National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

Illinois 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 Illinois County home pages set up)

What's New in Illinois Bank Note History

Bank Histories:

Banker Bios:

Illinois Bank Histories Index

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

Illinois Bank Histories

Illinois Banker Biographies Index

The Banker Bios are organized alphabetically by Last Name. To find the Illinois 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.

Illinois Banker Biographies

Illinois National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

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

# Issuing Banks: 718

Issuing Banks wiki page

# Non-Issuing Banks: 95
# Large Size Issuers: 667
# Small Size Issuers: 469
# Territorial Banks: 0
# Towns with Issuing Banks: 408
# Counties with Issuing Banks: 102
NBN Geo. Letter: M
State Capital: Springfield
Statehood Date: December 3, 1818
Illinois 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 Illinois National Banks with Lowest # of Notes Issued
- List of Illinois National Banks (Issued Notes) Sorted by Town by Charter#

Famous Illinois Banks & Bankers

Continental NB/Continental and Commercial NB, Chicago, IL (Charter 2894) (1883-1936+)

Illinois Counties Index

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

Illinois Counties

Illinois Towns Index

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

Illinois Towns

Illinois Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

The Alton Bank, 1852-1865, Haxby IL-20 -> Alton National Bank, Alton, IL (Charter 1428) (1865-1930)
The City Bank, Cairo, 1858-1865, Haxby IL-65 -> City National Bank, Cairo, IL (Charter 785) (1865-1907)

Illinois Banking History

Wiki Links

Illinois Research Resources

Francis Murray Huston, Financing an Empire: History of Banking in Illinois (4 volumes) (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1926).

These four volumes are available online on the Internet Archive: Volume One, Volume Two, Volume Three, Volume Four

Volume One covers Illinois Banking History, Volumes Two-Four contain selected Bank Histories and Banker Biographies. Each volume has a good Index at the end, and a 'Search Inside' function.

The Higgins Museum in Okoboji, IA has a Currency Related Research Library, as well as major collections of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska National Bank Notes on display.
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.