My obsolete currency collection

BRandM, any info would be great. Would really like to get a year, or time frame, this note would have been used since my note is an uncirculated example.

 

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The references I have are James A. Haxby (1988) and George W. Wait (1976) so the information is pretty dated. I don't know of any updates to either or other decent references on the subject of New Jersey obsoletes.

The bank was incorporated in 1818 and in1865 became The Sussex National Bank of Newton. In 1925, it merged with The Merchants National Bank of Newton and became The Sussex and Merchants National Bank of Newton. I don't know if the bank still exists today or not.

Wait lists only one variety of a $50 note and designates it W-1780. He rates it an R-7 meaning there are only 1 to 5 examples estimated to have survived...Very rare. On the other hand, by 1988, Haxby was aware of a second minor variety. The only major difference being the number of check letters in the upper-left field of the note. The check letter is the "A" at the top left in your note. The variety with a single "A" such as yours is designated NJ-390-G50, and the other, with two check letters, as NJ-390-G50a. Since Wait wasn't aware of a second variety in 1976, I don't know if yours is a W-1780. I don't think it matters though, as both are extremely rare.

Wait has no illustration of W-1780 in his reference, but Haxby does have one of NJ-390-G50...your note... and G50a. Yours matches G50 exactly. The engravers of your note are Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co., and because of this, I believe, he dates it to the 1830's. Later issues were engraved by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson and were issued from the 1830's thru the 1850's. Haxby has the code SENC (Surviving Examples Not Confirmed) in his listing which tells us, although he has illustrations of both varieties, he cannot confirm their physical survival. Well, we now know that there's at least one.

BTW, the note is also listed in "Gwynne & Day's Descriptive Register of Genuine Bank Notes" (1859, 1860). Thanks for posting it wpgjr. I love seeing these old NJ obsoletes.

Bruce