Nutmeg Nationals

The Thames National Bank is the bank I most aggressively collect. It’s one I’m always on the look out for, and it’s purely a reason of circumstance and accident.

The Thames National Bank has a considerable number of notes known at 118. The population suggests it ought to be an easy bank to obtain and at a reasonable price. This isn’t actually the case and it’s a feature shared with several Connecticut banks.

The first note I purchased on the bank was a 1902 $10 Date Back. This turned out to be an incredible pick-up as I later discovered how rare this would be.

Of the 118 known notes, there are only six total Date Backs — all 1902 — and just two of them are $10s. I didn’t know this when I bought it, I simply liked the name and had just begun looking into Nationals as a genre I was interested in collecting.

It wasn’t until after I purchased my first Brown Back that I realized I was going to need access to the census to be an informed collector. It was then that I realized how lucky I got.

I love how this particular bank continues to excite me. In relative quick succession I collected three notes which would be the set upon which I thought I was stuck. On the heels of the Date Back, I found the very sharp Brown Back with the later “Cigar Box” title layout for rather cheap for its condition. Then popped up the 1865 $1 and it was there that I stood for nearly three years.

As a small child first laying eyes on the mountain of gifts Christmas morning, I too thought I was seeing things when a newly listed Red Seal graced my screen. I crossed my fingers and hoped the bidding would not spiral out of control as is frequently the case with Red Seals regardless of bank. Well, it must have been the little old lady I helped cross the street that one time because my bid held and I was the very proud owner of a Red Seal $5 on my most coveted bank.

Last night it happened once again with the early title layout (seen in the top note in the photo with both $5 Brown Backs). Although I am a member of the SPMC and had access to the proof images of all the types of notes issued, I hadn’t actually noticed there was more than one style for the $5 Brown Backs. While there wasn’t a chance I would let this get away, I didn’t have to break the bank to get it.

The original building still stands strong in Norwich, CT abutted up against the Uncas National Bank (CH 1187) and both combined as the home of a law office.