Michigan Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: Serial Number 1 $10 Series 1902 Red Seal, issued by St. Johns National Bank of St. Johns, MI, signed by R.C. Dexter, Cashier and John C. Hicks, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www. ha.com

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

Michigan National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 278 Michigan 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 Michigan National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

Michigan 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 Michigan County home pages set up)

What's New in Michigan Bank Note History

• Bank Histories:
  • Old National Bank of Battle Creek, MI (Charter 7589) (1905-1934)
  • Old National Bank, Grand Rapids, MI (Charter 2890) (1883-1929)
  • National City Bank/Grand Rapids National City Bank/Grand Rapids NB, Grand Rapids, MI (Charter 3293) (1885-1933)
  • St. Johns National Bank, St. Johns, MI (Charter 3378) (1885-1936+)

• Banker Bios:

Michigan Bank Histories Index

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

• Michigan Bank Histories

Michigan Banker Biographies Index

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

• Michigan Banker Biographies

Michigan National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

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

• # Issuing Banks: 278

Issuing Banks wiki page

• # Non-Issuing Banks: 32
• # Large Size Issuers: 249
• # Small Size Issuers: 145
• # Territorial Banks: 0
• # Towns with Issuing Banks: 141
• # Counties with Issuing Banks: 59
• NBN Geo. Letter: M
• State Capital: Lansing
• Statehood Date: January 26, 1837
• Michigan 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 National Banks with Lowest # of Notes Issued
  • List of Michigan National Banks (Issued Notes) Sorted by Town by Charter#

Michigan Counties Index

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

• Michigan Counties

Michigan Towns Index

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

• Michigan Towns

Michigan Banking History

• First and Old Detroit National Bank, Detroit, MI (Charter 10527) (1914-1933); Eighth largest bank in the U.S. after the 1931 merger with the Peoples Wayne County Bank forming First Wayne NB

Wiki Links

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

Michigan Research Resources

• Historical Society of Michigan website.
• Michigan Legislative Biography Database
• Dr. Wallace G. Lee, Michigan Paper Money: Obsolete, Scrip and National Bank Notes (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2006)
• 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.