Wisconsin Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: $10 1902 Red Seal issued by the First National Bank, Grantsburg, WI pen signed by H.A. Anderson, Cashier (1906-1920) and F.H. Wellcome, President (1906-1920).

The Wisconsin Bank Note History home page consolidates historical information on the National & Obsolete Banks, Bankers and Banking History of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 240 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin County home pages set up)

What's New in Wisconsin Bank Note History

• Bank Histories:
  • First National Bank of Mayville, WI (Charter 10653) (1914-1934)
  • First National Bank, Stone Lake, WI (Charter 10322) (1913-1933)
  • Waukesha National Bank, Waukesha, WI (Charter 1086)(1865-1985)
  • Commercial National Bank, Oshkosh, WI (Charter 5557) (1900-1919)
  • First National Bank, Marshfield, WI (Charter 4573) (1891-1932)
  • Oconomowoc National Bank, Oconomowoc, WI (Charter 13616) (1932-1985)

• Banker Bios:
  • Caswell, Lucien B., (Sr.) (Fort Atkinson, WI)
  • Clapp, Joseph D., (Fort Atkinson, WI)

Wisconsin Bank Histories Index

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

• Wisconsin Bank Histories

Wisconsin Banker Biographies Index

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

• Wisconsin Banker Biographies

Wisconsin National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

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

• # Issuing Banks: 240

Issuing Banks wiki page

• # Non-Issuing Banks: 29
• # Large Size Issuers: 222
• # Small Size Issuers: 157
• # Territorial Banks: 0
• # Towns with Issuing Banks: 132
• # Counties with Issuing Banks: 65
• NBN Geo. Letter: M
• State Capital: Madison
• Statehood Date: May 29, 1848

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

Wisconsin Counties Index

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

• Wisconsin Counties

Wisconsin Towns Index

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

• Wisconsin Towns

Wisconsin Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

Wisconsin had 33 Obsolete Banks that converted to National Banks between 1863 and 1918.

Wisconsin Obsolete to National Bank Conversions

Wiki Links

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

Wisconsin Research Resources

• Chester L. Krause, Wisconsin Obsolete Bank Notes and Scrip (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1994).
• 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).
• nbncensus.com The National Bank Note Census
• 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.
• Wisconsin Historical Society