Probably these bags and many other banker-necessities were in a catalog, and those were the way you ordered them. "Send me 25 #4 bags, $3.08 enclosed." That sounds about right, 1930s.
Now we should backtrack a moment to find the largest and smallest bags out there. ============= Can you silk-screen on bag material (I don't think it's canvas anymore)? If so, make up some "Property of Scrooge McDuck," bags, bet they would sell on eBay. Uh, Disney would sue you, never mind... Maybe if you gave them a cut?
I assume you mean physical size when you say largest ? I've got some (4 I think) that are 2 ft wide and 4 ft tall. But they're not coin bags, they are currency bags from the Bank of Hawaii. I used them for years to keep fishing and camping gear in.
This is my biggest. Ive shown it before. Not sure when it was used or what would have been in it. But it is the only one I have ever seen with this reinforced stitching.
Okay, folks . . . I just received notification of this auction offering a fair number of US Mint bags for sale. Enjoy!
That's the one I'd been watching . . . not to buy it, mind you, but to get a baseline for valuing a bag I own. I was bowled over by the number.