1929 $20 National Hennessey, Oklahoma

Description

A rare high-grade $20 from The Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Hennessey, OK (Ch. # 10209), issued in 1929, graded PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ. This is one of a small group of known high-grade examples, most of which have been off the market for many years, and it features a low serial number. "National Bank Notes represent one of the most intricate and compelling chapters in U.S. currency history. Issued from 1863 to 1935 by over 14,000 federally chartered banks across the country and U.S. territories, these notes prominently displayed the names of the issuing banks and their hometowns—earning them the nickname “hometown notes.”

Authorized under the National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864, the system required banks to purchase U.S. bonds and deposit them with the Treasury to back their note issues. The number of notes a bank could circulate was tied to the value of its bond holdings. This structure brought federal oversight and helped eliminate the disorder of the “wildcat banking” era, establishing a more uniform and trusted national currency that paved the way for the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913."