Description
This is a RARE 1929 RAPPAHANNOCK NATIONAL BANK OF WASHINGTON, VA $20 TY II, PMG VF-25-2 NOTES REPORTED. NESTLED IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, WASHINGTON, VA IS A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE HAMLET RICH IN HISTORY AND CULTURE. FOUNDED BY THE VIRGINIA ASSMEBLY IN 1796, “LITTLE WASHINGTON” WAS THE FIRST WASHINGTON IN THE UNITED STATES (THERE ARE PRESENTLY 28 OTHER WASHINGTONS). THE TOWN IS HOME TO THE WORLD FAMOUS INN AT LITTLE WASHINGTON, AN ICONIC RESTAURANT THAT HAS SERVED PRESIDENTS, WORLD LEADERS, NUMEROUS HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES AND FAMOUS ATHLETES.
In July 1749, a 17-year old George Washington noted in his journal, “in the Blue Ridge Mountains I laid off a town.” The young surveyor, assisted by two chainmen, laid out the town of Washington in the same five-block by two-block grid that exists today. The Town of Washington is located on the site of a trading post that served frontier families and members of the Manohoac tribe. The village was officially established as a Town by the General Assembly on December 14, 1795, having achieved the necessary population of 200 people. In 1835, the Gazetteer noted that the town now contained one academy, fifty-five dwellings, four mercantile stores, two taverns, one house of worship, twenty-seven trade shops, and two large flour mills. *
CURIOUSLY, THE TOWN OF WASHINGTON NEVER GREW TO ANY SIGNIFICANT SIZE GENERALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCEPTION OF A NATIONAL BANK. IN PART, THIS EXPLAINS THE INSTITUTION’S MINISCULE ISSUANCE OF NATIONAL BANK NOTES. ALTHOUGH ALWAYS PROSPEROUS, WASHINGTON AND SURROUNDING AREAS WERE ALSO LARGELY RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL. THIS CERTAINLY HELPS EXPLAIN THE EXTREME RARITY OF BANKNOTES FROM THIS ONE-BANK-TOWN. REPORTED NOTES WERE THOUGHT TO BE UNKNOWN UNTIL A LARGE-SIZE EXAMPLE SHOWED UP IN THE 1960s. A SUBSEQUENT SMALL SIZE EXAMPLE SHOWED UP APPROXIMATELY 20 YEARS LATER, BOTH HAD BEEN HELD IN TIGHT HANDS BY LOCAL FAMILIES. AND FINALLY, THE PRESENT EXAMPLE IS THE THIRD AND MOST RECENT DISCOVERY. SUFFICE TO SAY, THE CHANCE OF FURTHER NOTES APPEARING IS SLIM. FURTHERMORE, ALL OF THE OTHER NOTES ARE PRESENTLY IN TIGHT HANDS, MAKING THIS THE ONLY AVAILABLE CANDIDATE TO FILL A WOULD-BE COLLECTOR’S VOID.
THIS NOTE WAS RECENTLY GRADED VF-25 BY PMG, A FULL 10 POINTS HIGHER THAN THE LAST NOTE TO SELL ON THE OPEN MARKET ACCORDING TO TRACK AND PRICE. SOLD BY HERITAGE ON APRIL 28, 2011. THAT EXAMPLE REALIZED $6325.00.
HERE IS A RARE OPPORTUNITY INDEED TO PROCURE ONE OF THE RAREST AND MOST DESIRABLE OF ALL VIRGINIA BANKNOTES. ONCE SOLD, IT LIKELY WILL BE SOME TIME BEFORE ANOTHER EXAMPLE SURFACES.
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- REPRINTED FROM WASHINGTONVA.GOV
