United States 1854 - Empire City Bank 100 Dollars Proof (Pick NY1585G16P)
The central vignette depicts a steamship associated with the Collins Line, an elite American transatlantic shipping company whose vessels symbolized speed, technological progress, and commercial prestige during the 1850s. The imagery is widely understood to represent a steamer of the S.S. Arctic class. Contemporary evidence indicates that the Empire City Bank maintained connections with interests linked to the Collins Line, making the choice of this vignette a deliberate association between the bank’s highest denomination and themes of international commerce and reliability. Read more →