Fr. 476. Clayton, New York. 1882 $5 Brown Back. The National Exchange Bank of Clayton. Charter #5108

Fr. 476. Clayton, New York. 1882 $5 Brown Back. The National Exchange Bank of Clayton. Charter #5108. Serial #1. Plate A. PMG Choice About Uncirculated 58 EPQ.，This very attractive note has the eye appeal of a Gem upon first glance. The colors are excellent and the paper is bright and fresh, showing nice embossing. Fine penned signatures in dark gray and black ink. Beautifully centered for a National, with broad margins all around. As the first note from the first sheet of Brown Back $5 notes on this title, this was almost certainly carefully cut from the sheet and saved by one of the bankers as was common for such notes. Sometimes even full sheets were saved, but now most of those have been cut apart to fill the needs of individual collectors. It is fortunate that such notes were often saved, with the result that todays collectors have many nicely preserved Serial #1 notes to compete for and they always generate enthusiasm. <p><p>This is one of just two banks chartered in Clayton, New York, and notes are scarce on both titles. This was the second of the two banks chartered, and the only one to operate until the end of the National Banking era. When the other charter number closed in 1930, this bank assumed the circulation of the other institutions outstanding notes. As of the final accounting in 1935, just $4,995 was thought to remain outstanding in large-size notes for both titles combined.<p><p>Today, there are just 13 large-size notes reported in the Census on this title and only four Brown Backs. As popular as Brown Backs and Serial #1 notes are with collectors, a #1 Brown Back is just that much more desirable. <p><p>This note is also a scarce Friedberg number. PMG has graded only 11 examples of this variety and this is the second finest.<p>，From the A.J. Vanderbilt Collection. Earlier from Currency Auctions of America, November 1990, lot 155.，