Figure 1by Bob Schreiner | April 6, 2001
A few months ago I obtained an obsolete banknote from my hometown, South Bend, Indiana, shown in figures 1 and 2. The Bank of the State of Indiana had branches in several Indiana communities, including South Bend. The standard catalog of Indiana Obsolete Notes and Scrip, by Wendell Wolka, Jack Vorhies, and Donald Schramm, didn't list a surviving example from South Bend, but records indicated there was a branch there. The dealer I bought the note from, a man of considerable experience and knowledge, believes it to be a genuine note, as compared to a contemporary counterfeit. Counterfeits often survive in greater numbers because genuine notes of honest banks (and this one was) were usually redeemed and destroyed.
Figure 1
Figure 2
I was curious about the signers of the note. Most banknotes of the era were signed by ranking bank officials, usually the president and the cashier. In nineteenth century banking, the position of cashier was one of high rank, without the clerical connotation that the term now possesses. I had recently read a 1927 history of South Bend, and one of the prominent citizens in business and church matters was Horatio Chapin. His adult life was contemporaneous with the note's date, 1857. The signature, shown in detail in figure 3, could be that of H. Chapin, even though it looks more like A. Chupin. But was he ever a banker? Wolka's book didn't mention him. I did a little research in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill library, and found two different journal articles that say that he did become a prominent banker in South Bend. That discovery was really exciting! Wolka's book does state that Hugh McCulloch was the bank president, and it pictures genuine notes from other branches with McCulloch's signature, clearly the same signature as on my note. McCulloch later became the United States' first Comptroller of the Currency and also Secretary of the Treasury under several presidents.
Figure 3
Another note in my collection, one from the State Bank of Indiana, branch at South Bend, provides an interesting comparison (see figure 4). This bank preceded the Bank of the State of Indiana, and my note is dated 1848. Unlike the 1857 note with its distinguishing back, the 1848 note has a blank back, the norm for obsolete currency. The note design is common for all branches, with the branch name filled in on issue. I had not earlier paid attention to the signers, but was thrilled to see that this note, too, was signed by Chapin as cashier. The president was James Morrison, not that this is at all obvious from the note's signature. But Wolka provides this information, and illustrates notes from other branches with the same signature as my note. He lists any note from this bank from the South Bend branch as rarity R-7, 1-5 known.
Figure 4
I happened to show the 1848 note to Wolka, who was at the convention where I found it. He indicated that they were not as rare as once thought, and that all examples he had seen were contemporary counterfeits, including mine. He is the Indiana expert, and I shouldn't doubt him, but I do.
Figure 5 shows the Chapin signature from 1848 blown up. It looks a lot like the other signature, but not close enough that I am sure. When I can locate a handwriting expert, I hope to learn more! There is another step I will take, and that is to write the Northern Indiana Historical Society, located in South Bend, and ask if they have Chapin's signature in their archives.
Figure 5
One of the joys of collecting obsolete paper money is that the notes are usually also historical documents with autographs from local people, many who remain obscure, but a few who became famous. I treasure my two South Bend notes not only as money collectables, but even more as personal artifacts entwined with the place of my origin.