A Recent Purchase and a Bit of History (1929 $50 National Bank Note Nashville, TN)

Bradley Trotter · Nov 23, 2021

I've been looking for an eye-appealing $50 National for several years now. Several months ago, I came across a $50 National from Nashville, Tennessee, being offered at the Gallatin Coin and Currency show by a local currency dealer. Granted, I did not purchase it at the time as I had already spent more than I had initially planned that day. Long story short, however, I reached out to this dealer right before he left for the Whitman Expo in Baltimore, and much to my surprise, he still had the aforementioned note available for purchase. As such, I was able to procure the note for my collection for less than he wanted originally albeit, slightly more than when it was last sold by Heritage in June 2018.

Face:

Reverse:

Chartered in 1883, the American National Bank of Nashville issued an estimated $23,720,110 dollars worth of national currency until the passage of the Gold Reserve Act. The passage of which resulted in an accounting gain for the Treasury, which was in turn used to retire all bonds against which National Banks Notes were issued. However, the American National Bank continued operating all the way through 1999 under a different name after it merged with the Fourth and First National Bank, becoming the First American National Bank in 1930.

(Image Courtesy of Bridgestone Arena)

Regardless, the American National Bank of Nashville is also a part of NHL folklore. In 1971 during the construction of the First American Center (now known as the UBS Tower), the partial remains of a saber-toothed cat were discovered in an ancient cave that had been revealed during the early stages of construction. Consequently, in 1997, the logo for the NHL's newest expansion team, the Nashville Predators, was unveiled depicting a saber-toothed cat like the one discovered in 1971.