Pennsylvania Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: Series 1902 Red Seal $5 bank note, issued by The First National Bank of Philadelphia, PA, signed by Chas. H. James, Asst. Cashier and J. Tatnall Lea, President.

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

Pennsylvania National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 1196 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

Pennsylvania 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.

• Current list of Pennsylvania County Home pages

What's New in Pennsylvania Bank Note History

• Bank Histories:
  • First National Bank, Dallas, PA (Charter 8164) (1906-1953)
  • Pitt National Bank, Pittsburgh, PA (Charter 13701) (1933-1946)
  • New First National Bank of/First NB of Meadville, PA (Charter 4938) (1894-1969)
  • Wellsville National Bank, Wellsville, PA (Charter 8498) (1907-1970)
  • First National Bank, Benson, PA (Charter 7935) (1905-1927) Note: the post office is Hollsopple
  • First National Bank, Trafford City, PA (Charter 6962) (1903-1932)
  • Ridgway National Bank, Ridgway, PA (Charter 5945) (1901-1983)
  • First National Bank/Spring Grove NB, Spring Grove, PA (Charter 6536) (1902-1996)
  • First National Bank, Galeton, PA (Charter 7280) (1904-1965)
  • Diamond National Bank, Pittsburgh, PA (Charter 2236) (1875-1932)

• Banker Bios:
  • Jacobs, Dr. John N. (Montgomery County, PA)
  • Wells, Henry (Riegelsville, PA)
  • Johnson, Henry (Muncy, PA
  • Miller, Harry Stephen (Trafford City, PA)
  • Herman, Edwin S. (New Cumberland, PA)
  • Eby, Jacob Rupley (Harrisburg, PA)
  • Rhawn, William Henry (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Laughlin, George McCully, Major, USA (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Passmore, Ellis Pusey, Jr. (Avondale, PA)
  • Weidman, Grant (Lebanon, PA)
  • Sands, Lawrence E. (Pittsburgh, PA)

• Other Articles:
  • A Brief History of the Grange National Banks in Pennsylvania
  • Huntoon, Peter & Gladfelter, David, "Camden, NJ, National Bank had a Branch in Philadelphia, PA," Paper Money, Jan/Feb 2020, Vol. 325, pp 37-41. [SPMC Membership required to access]
  • Huntoon, Peter, Duplicated Town Names in the Same State. Four cases, all from banks in Pennsylvania are known. The duplicated town names are Coaldale, Jefferson, Millerstown, and New Salem.
  • Citizens and Southern Bank at Nineteenth and South Streets, Philadelphia, founded in 1921 by the civil rights advocate and entrepreneur Richard R. (“Major”) Wright Sr. as the only African American-owned bank in the North.
  • Peter Huntoon, Bob Liddell, and James Hughes, "Pittsburgh Banks Offer Innumerable Twists," Chapter O07, The Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank Notes.

Pennsylvania Bank Histories Index

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

• Pennsylvania Bank Histories

Pennsylvania Banker Biographies Index

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

• Pennsylvania Banker Biographies

Pennsylvania National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

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

• # Issuing Banks: 1196

Issuing Banks wiki page

• # Non-Issuing Banks: 78
• # Large Size Issuers: 1087
• # Small Size Issuers: 899
• # Territorial Banks: 0

• # Towns with Issuing Banks: 662
• # Counties with Issuing Banks: 68

• NBN Geo. Letter: E
• State Capital: Harrisburg
• Statehood Date: December 12, 1787

• Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania National Banks (Issued Notes) Sorted by Town by Charter#

Famous Pennsylvania Banks & Bankers

• Famous Pennsylvania Banks
  • First National Bank, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 1-2731-1) First national bank in the United States to receive a charter in 1863.
  • Bank of North America, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 602) First bank in the United States, receiving a charter in 1781.
  • First National Bank, Wilkes-Barre, PA (Charter 30-2736-30) Powerful regional bank, taking the name First Eastern Bank, National Association in 1971, merging with PNC, NA in 1994
  • Corn Exchange National Bank, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 542) The Girard Trust merges with this bank in 1951 to form the third largest bank in that city, Girard Trust Corn Exchange Bank.
  • Girard National Bank, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 592) This bank traces its origins to The Girard Bank, a Philadelphia-based bank founded by Stephen Girard in 1811.
  • Tenth National Bank, Philadelphia, PA (Charter 3423) Only Philadelphia and New York City had banks that used the numerical title of "Tenth."
  • The Mars National Bank, Mars, PA (Charter 5599) Few people realize that Mars is a borough in southern Butler County about halfway between the cities of Pittsburgh and Butler.
  • First National Bank/First-Columbia NB, Columbia, PA (Charter 371) Bank's museum features one of the oldest banking houses.
  • Fulton National Bank, Lancaster, PA (Charter 2634) Bank still open and operates as Fulton Bank National Association (as of 2023)
  • Oil City National Bank, Oil City, PA (Charter 14274) (1934-1962) This bank has the highest charter number of any Pennsylvania national bank that issued notes.

• Duplicated Town Names see Huntoon, Peter, Duplicated Town Names in the Same State. Four cases, all from banks in Pennsylvania are known. The duplicated towns are Coaldale, Jefferson, Millerstown, and New Salem.
  • First National Bank, Coaldale, PA (Charter 9739) The First National Bank of Coaldale was in Schuylkill County
  • Broad Top NB of Coaldale, PA (Charter 11188) was in Bedford County and moved in 1925 with title change to Farmers NB of Bedford, PA
  • First National Bank, Jefferson, PA (Charter 11370) The First National Bank of Jefferson was in Greene County
  • Codorus National Bank of Jefferson, PA (Charter 9660) The Codorus National of Jefferson was in York County
  • Codorus National Bank in Jefferson, PA (Charter 14071) The Codorus National in Jefferson was in York County
  • First National Bank, Millerstown, PA (Charter 7156) The First National Bank of Millerstown was in Perry County
  • German National Bank of Millerstown, PA (Charter 2241) was in Butler County
  • First National Bank, New Salem, PA (Charter 6599) The First National Bank of New Salem was in Fayette County
  • The Delmont National Bank of New Salem, PA (Charter 5837) was in Westmoreland County

• Famous Pennsylvania Bankers
  • Dr. David Hostetter, (Pittsburgh, PA) Patent medicine man who developed Dr. J. Hostetter's Stomach Bitters and President, Fort Pitt National Bank
  • Ellis Pusey Passmore, Jr., (Avondale, PA) Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
  • Frank Pierce (Sharpsville, PA) Frank Pierce's father, Gen. James Pierce, was the great great great grandfather of Barbara Pierce Bush, wife of President George H.W. Bush
  • Thomas Smith (Philadelphia, PA) Seventh President, Bank of North America (1860-1883). Convinced comptroller of the currency Hugh McCulloch to charter his institution without inserting "National" in its historic title

Pennsylvania Counties Index

Postcard of the Pennsylvania Turnpike with tunnels. Towns along Route 30 and 22 are shown. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

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

• Pennsylvania Counties

Pennsylvania Towns Index

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

• Pennsylvania Towns

Pennsylvania Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

Pennsylvania had many Obsolete Banks that converted to National Banks between 1863 and ~1865.

Pennsylvania Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

Wiki Links

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

Pennsylvania Research Resources

• T. Holdsworth, Financing An Empire: History of Banking in Pennsylvania (4 Volumes) (Chicago - Philadelphia: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1928).
• Richard T. Hoober, Pennsylvania Obsolete Notes and Scrip (SPMC.org: Society of Paper Money Collectors, 1985).
• 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.
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• Historical Biographies (with Bios & Photos) - PA State Senate
• Historical Biographies (with Bios & Photos) - PA House of Representatives
• Bank Buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania, on Wikipedia.
• Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, on Wikipedia