1852 $1 Columbia Bank Washington DC PMG 55 AU

Updated August 7, 2026

THE COLUMBIA BANK - WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA $1, dated October 28, 1852 - ISSUED & SIGNED - Eagle Vignette Haxby DC-195-G2 | Plate Position B | Serial No. 537 PMG 55 About Uncirculated A genuinely ISSUED obsolete banknote - hand-signed by the Cashier and the President, countersigned and registered by the Treasurer, and hand-numbered in period ink. This is the scarcer format for the issue: the large majority of surviving Columbia Bank notes are unsigned remainders that never entered circulation. Issued, signed examples in About Uncirculated preservation are considerably harder to locate. Engraved and printed by Danforth, Bald & Co., New York & Philadelphia. The face displays a spread-winged American eagle perched on a shield with sailing ship beyond at center; an allegorical Liberty feeding an eagle beside the Stars and Stripes at left; and a young woman harvesting grain before a farmstead at right. Bold "ONE" counters flank the design at left, with an ornate lathework "1" die at upper right. The upper border reads "Capital Stock $100,000, Secured by Pledge of $100,000 Pennsylvania 6 Per Cent Bonds." Blank reverse, as issued. WHY THIS MATTERS TO COLLECTORS: The District of Columbia is among the most difficult jurisdictions to complete in obsolete type collecting. Far fewer note-issuing banks operated in the nation's capital than in the surrounding states, and D.C. material consistently commands a premium over comparable obsolete issues. The $1 denomination is the classic entry point for the series and the most broadly collected. Bright paper, bold ink, strong signatures, fully original. No restoration, repairs or alterations noted by PMG. Housed and sold in the original PMG holder. A matching PMG 55 companion note - the $3 of the same bank, same October 28, 1852 date, featuring a Benjamin Franklin portrait - is offered separately in Lot 307.

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