Massachusetts Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: $2 Series 1875, issued by Home National Bank of Milford, MA, signed by N.B. Johnson, Cashier and Saml Walker, President. Courtesy Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

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

Massachusetts National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 346 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts County home pages set up)

What's New in Massachusetts Bank Note History

Massachusetts Bank Histories Index

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

Massachusetts Bank Histories

Massachusetts Banker Biographies Index

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

Massachusetts Banker Biographies

Massachusetts National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

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

# Issuing Banks: 346

Issuing Banks wiki page

# Non-Issuing Banks: 24
# Large Size Issuers: 332
# Small Size Issuers: 145
# Territorial Banks: 0
# Towns with Issuing Banks: 148
# Counties with Issuing Banks: 14
NBN Geo. Letter: N
State Capital: Boston
Statehood Date: February 6, 1788
Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts National Banks with Lowest # of Notes Issued
- List of Massachusetts National Banks (Issued Notes) Sorted by Town by Charter#

Famous Massachusetts Banks & Bankers

Massachusetts Counties Index

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

Massachusetts Counties

Massachusetts Towns Index

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

Massachusetts Towns

Massachusetts Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

The Massachusetts Bank (Haxby MA-270) (1784-1865) -> Massachusetts National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 974) (1865-1903)
State Bank of Boston, (Haxby MA-365) (1811-1865) -> State National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 1028) (1865-1912
Agricultural Bank, (Haxby MA-975) (1818-1865) -> Agricultural National Bank, Pittsfield, MA (Charter 1082) (1865-1984)
The Columbian Bank, Boston (Haxby MA-140) (1822-1865) -> Columbian National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 1029) (1865-1898)
The Eagle Bank, Boston (1822-1865) -> National Eagle Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 993) (1865-1898)
The Globe Bank, Boston (Haxby MA-210) (1824-1865) -> Globe National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 936) (1865-1899)
The Bunker Hill Bank, Charlestown, (Haxby MA-470) (1825-1864) -> Bunker Hill National Bank (Charter 635) (1864-1906)
Atlantic Bank, Boston (Haxby MA-100) (1828-1864) -> Atlantic NB/Fourth-Atlantic NB/Commonwealth-Atlantic NB/Atlantic NB, Boston, MA (Charter 643) (1864-1932)
Marine Bank, New Bedford (Haxby MA-885) (1832-1864) -> First National Bank, New Bedford, MA (Charter 261) (1864-1989)
Merchants Bank, Boston (Haxby MA-285) (1833-1864) -> Merchants National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 475) (1864-1991)
Northampton Bank, (Haxby MA-956) (1833-1865) -> Northampton NB/Northampton NB & TC, Northampton, MA (Charter 1018) (1865-1991)
The Granite Bank, (Haxby MA-215) (1833-1864) -> Second National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 322) (1864-1955)
The Peoples Bank of Roxbury, (Haxby MA-1065) (1833-1864) -> Peoples NB of Roxbury/Peoples NB of Roxbury at Boston, Boston, MA (Charter 595) (1864-1922)
The Chicopee Bank, Springfield, MA 1836-1865 (Haxby MA-1175) -> Chicopee National Bank, Springfield, MA (Charter 988) (1865-1927)
The Prescott Bank, Lowell, MA, 1850-1865 (Haxby MA-760) -> Prescott National Bank, Lowell, MA (Charter 960) (1865-1908)
Hadley Falls Bank, (Haxby MA-695) (1851-1865) -> Hadley Falls National Bank, Holyoke, MA (Charter 1246) (1865-1916)
The Malden Bank, (Haxby MA-795) (1851-1864) -> First National Bank, Malden, MA (Charter 588) (1864-1982)
Abington Bank, (Haxby MA-10) (1853-1865) -> Abington National Bank, Abington, MA (Charter 1386) (1865-1988)
Maverick Bank, East Boston, (Haxby MA-275) (1854-1864) -> Maverick National Bank, Boston, MA (Charter 677) (1864-1891)
The Shelburne Falls Bank, (Haxby MA-1140) (1856-1865) -> Shelburne Falls NB, Shelburne, MA (Charter 1144) (1865-1983)

Massachusetts Banking History

Wiki Links

Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts Historical Society website