#1 And Unique For Type

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National Bank Notes > Colorado

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Denver, Colorado Territory, First NB, 1016
Fr. 427 $20 Original #1
Grade: VF/XF    

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This $20 has excellent color and originality along with big margins, except at the lower left end. The note has been folded and the center fold shows a tiny nick or split, fortunately they are minute. Just a lovely note. This example was last offered by Barney Bluestone as part of the June 16, 1945 sale of the Grinnell Collection. This is an Original Series Colby-Spinner with blue serial Treasury number and a red serial #1. This is one of only three Original Series #1 $20 First Charters and of course the only Territorial. From the Rocky Mountain Collection. ---- Denver was founded in November 1858 as a mining town during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in western Kansas Territory. The rush began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. An estimated 100,000 gold seekers took part in one of the greatest gold rushes in North American history. Denver was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In 1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. opened in Denver, Kansas Territory after moving their principle operations from Leavenworth, Kansas Terr. to the newly formed city of Denver. Because of its convenient location to the gold & silver that was being mined nearby, it was not long before the temperate weather of Denver encouraged settlers and businesses to move in, while those in search of gold & silver made their way further up the foothills to the mountains. It's fairly well documented that Austin & Milton Clark along with Emmanuel Gruber began minting gold coins in 1860 and that they sold the assay office and mint in 1862 to the US government. But there is less known about how Clark, Gruber & Co. continued the banking operation until the First NB of Denver, Colorado Territory was chartered in 1865. The first president of the newly formed bank was George T. Clark and the cashier was J.B. Chaffee. The bank was chartered in 1865 as the First NB of Denver, Colorado Terr. with charter #1016. The two notes offered here are from the very first $10-10-10-20 sheet of banknotes. There were a total of 4400 sheets printed for this charter and each of the five original #1 notes were saved. The most recent to surface was the $1, which realized $126,000 nearly a decade ago, while the $2 and $5 were each offered more than 2 decades back.

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