Description and research notes
The First National Bank of Easthampton, Massachusetts, Charter 428, was organized on May 17, 1864, during the first wave of the National Banking era. Originally titled The First National Bank of East Hampton, it shortened its name to Easthampton in 1903 as the town itself adopted the single-word spelling. The institution served a growing industrial community along the Manhan River, best known for its textile and elastic mills financed by local manufacturer and bank founder Samuel Williston.
Through seven decades of operation, the bank was led by a succession of presidents and cashiers who mirrored the town’s development from mill village to regional center: Williston and Horatio G. Knight in the 19th century, then Horace L. Clark and C. A. Richmond into the 1920s. Its resources peaked above 1.5 million dollars by 1929, a remarkable figure for a community of fewer than 10 000 people. The bank continued under its national charter until the mid-1930s, later transitioning into the federally insured system.
The note shown here is a Series of 1929 Type 2 ten-dollar issue bearing the red-brown Treasury seal and charter number 428 at both sides of Alexander Hamilton’s portrait. Type 2 nationals were the final small-size format before the National system’s consolidation in 1935. Each note carries both federal and local officer facsimile signatures, linking Washington oversight with hometown banking identity. Serial A002473, plate position A, records a late-issue print run of only a few thousand sheets.
Certified PMG 63 EPQ Choice Uncirculated, this piece exemplifies original color and paper quality seldom preserved in small-town issues. It represents not just Easthampton’s banking history but the closing chapter of a uniquely American experiment that tied national currency directly to local enterprise.