Unique Rhyolite, Nevada

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National Bank Notes > Nevada

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Rhyolite, First NB, P8686
Fr. 618 $10 1902DB
Grade: VF/XF    

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The First National Bank of Rhyolite received charter #8686 on May 14, 1907, with a capital of $50,000. The officers were Oscar J. Smith, President; Bert L. Smith and P.A. Busch, Vice Presidents and Frank H. Stickney, Cashier. Operating out of temporary offices at first, in 1909 the bank moved into the John S. Cook Bank building when that bank, a branch of a Goldfield bank, liquidated. The John S. Cook building was the largest and most substantial in Rhyolite. The bank circulated just two types of national bank notes: Series of 1902 Red Seals and Series of 1902 Blue Seal Date Backs. Notes were printed in the $5 and $10 denominations only, with 820 sheets of Red Seals and 248 sheets of Blue Seals issued, for a total value of $30,640. Until this important discovery, no national bank notes were known to have survived from the First National Bank of Rhyolite although decades of determined collectors have tried to find one, to no avail. From the Rocky Mountain Collection. ----- In the summer of 1904 Frank “Shorty” Harris and Ed Cross discovered rich ore in the vicinity of what would become Rhyolite. People soon flocked in to make their claims in what came to be known as the Bullfrog Mining District, named after Shorty and Ed’s original mine. By 1909 Rhyolite, Nevada was a substantial town approaching 10,000 in population, third largest city in Nevada and largest railhead in the state, served by three railroads, featuring 45 saloons and dining halls, and electric light plant, four newspapers, several fine hotels, a telephone exchange, water system and a large, two story brick school, all supported by three banks, two of which were housed in impressive multi-story stone structures. Rhyolite lies about 75 miles northwest of Las Vegas in Nye County, easily accessible on paved roads, the drive long over lonely stretches of beautiful desert landscape. It lies a few miles west of Beatty, Nevada, a tiny hamlet that straddles the junction of Highways 95 and 374, on the edge of Death Valley. Today, Rhyolite is a ghost town in the truest sense of the phrase – its shattered and desolate ruins crumbling on the edge of Death Valley. The John S. Cook Bank building is the most impressive ruin in the remains of the once lively town. It is one of the most impressive ghost town ruins to be seen anywhere, and has been widely photographed. In addition to the bank, other ruins include the Overbury Building (very little stands, but its massive lead-lined vault is virtually complete), the façade of the Porter General Store, the shell of the high school and some distance away, at the foot of Ladd Mountain, the jail. Best preserved is the town’s unique railroad depot, which had served as a casino well into the 1950s. *Excerpted from the column “Hotz Off the Press NOTES ON NATIONAL BANKS” by Mark Hotz published in October & November 2011 in the Banknote Reporter. Used with permission.

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