Description and research notes
Series of 1929 10 Dollars Type 2 National Bank Note issued by The Warren National Bank of Peabody, Massachusetts, Charter 616. This example is certified PMG 25 Very Fine and carries serial number A000791 with plate position E.
The note belongs to the small-size National Currency series introduced in 1929, when United States paper money was reduced to the modern smaller format. National Bank Notes of this period retained the local bank identity that had defined the National Banking era since the Civil War, but presented it within a standardized federal currency design printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
The issuing institution is clearly identified across the face as The Warren National Bank of Peabody, Massachusetts. Charter 616 ties the note to a specific federally chartered bank rather than to a generic national issue. This local-bank connection is the defining feature of National Currency: each note combines federal currency design with the name, charter number, and signatures of an individual issuing bank.
Peabody, Massachusetts was one of the important leather-producing centers of New England. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the city's commercial identity was closely tied to tanning, leather goods, and related manufacturing. A National Bank Note from Peabody therefore represents more than a local banking issue. It is also a document of the financial structure behind an industrial Massachusetts community.
This note is a Type 2 small-size National Bank Note. The Type 2 format is identified by the charter number printed next to the serial number, in addition to the charter numbers printed at the sides of the note. On this example, Charter 616 appears clearly on the face, linking the note directly to The Warren National Bank of Peabody.
The design follows the standard 10 Dollars National Currency format with Alexander Hamilton at center, brown seal and serial elements, federal treasury signatures, and local bank officer signatures. The bank title, town, state, charter number, serial number, and plate position remain readable, preserving the note's documentary value as an issued local currency artifact.
As a surviving 1929 Type 2 National Bank Note from Peabody, Massachusetts, this piece is a focused example of small-size National Currency from the final phase of the National Bank Note system. Its importance rests in the combination of federal currency design, local bank identification, Charter 616 attribution, Peabody industrial context, and certified preservation in PMG 25 Very Fine condition.