Maine Bank Note History

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Featured Bank Note: $10 Series 1875, issued by Merchants National Bank of Bangor, ME, signed by A.P. Baker, Cashier and Edward H. Blake, Vice-President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

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

Maine National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 120 Maine 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.

Maine 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.

What's New in Maine Bank Note History

  • Banker Bios:


Maine Bank Histories Index

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

Maine Banker Biographies Index

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

Maine National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

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

Issuing Banks wiki page

Famous Maine Banks & Bankers

Maine Counties Index

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

Maine Towns Index

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

Maine Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

Maine Banking History

Maine's first bank came into existence in 1797 when the Portland Bank was incorporated with Hugh McLellan as the first president and John Abbott, the first cashier. The bank opened for business in a dwelling house on Middle Street that formerly stood on the site of the Canal National Bank. The bank prospered from the start and increased its capital stock from $100,000 to $300,000, the amount fixed as the limit by the General Court. A few years later the bank moved into commodious quarters on exchange Street. In 1808, the bank suffered heavily from commercial depression, business was suspended and the bank closed its door in 1815, four years before its charter expired.

The Maine Bank incorporated in June 1802, was the second bank established in Maine. The whole amount of capital stock allowed by its charter, $300,000, was soon subscribed. The bank was located on Jones' Row and Samuel Freeman, one of Portland's most active citizens, was the first president. The bank was chartered for only 10 years and at the end of that time would up its affairs. It was succeeded in 1812 by the Cumberland Bank which occupied the former rooms of the Maine Bank. It started with a capital of $300,000, subsequently reducing it to $200,000. The bank enjoyed a fairly successful business up to the expiration of its charter in 1831.

The General Court on June 23, 1812, granted charters to 20 banks, six of which were established in Maine. These charters were all limited in duration to October 1, 1831. The country members of the General Court observed the tendency to make large banking investments and were under the impression that banks were highly productive and therefore placed a tax of 1% upon the capital stock of every bank.

The Bank of Portland with a capital of $200,000 was incorporated in 1819 and was the fourth bank to be established in Portland. In 1820 when Maine became a State, the number of state banks within its borders had increased to 15. The National Bank Act passed by Congress on February 25, 1863, caused many of the state banks to change to national banks and the passaged of the act of 1865 taxing state bank notes 10% forced most of the others to become national banks.[1]

In 1863 there were 69 state banks in Maine. Only nine of these remained in full operation as of April 1866 with a great portion of the old circulation retired. The inducements held out by the United States Treasury to invest in Government bonds largely decreased the deposits in the savings institutions of Maine; of 15 examined during the year, a reductions of $336,147 in deposits was found compared to 1865.[2]

Wiki Links

Maine 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.
  • Maine Historical Society website
  • Maine Legislators Biographical Database
  1. ↑ Portland Press Herald, Portland, ME, Sun., Apr. 29, 1928.
  2. ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 20, July 1865 - June 1866, p. 822.
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