Kentucky Bank Note History

Featured Bank Note: $10 Series 1882 Brown Back issued by the Hardin National Bank, Elizabethtown, KY pen signed by W.C. Montgomery, Cashier (1901-1910) and C. Hotopp, President (1901-1922). Courtesy of Lyn Knight Currency Auctions, www.lynknight.com

The Kentucky Bank Note History home page consolidates historical information on the National & Obsolete Banks, Bankers and Banking History of Kentucky.

Kentucky National Banks that Issued Notes

The link below is a searchable, sortable list of the 238 Kentucky National Banks that issued notes during the National Bank Note Era (1863-1935). Information shown for each bank includes Charter#, Bank Name, Town, County, Open & Close Year, Bank Fate, Number of notes Issued and Total $ Issued. The charter number for each bank is a link to that Bank Info page on the SPMC U.S. National Bank lookup website.

• List of Kentucky National Banks that Issued Notes (1863-1935)

Kentucky County home pages

County Bank Note History home pages provide information on the Banks, Bankers and Bank Notes for that county during the National Bank Note Era (1863-1935), and also the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866) (if applicable for that county). All of the county's National & Obsolete Banks are listed with links to their Bank History pages. Prominent Bankers are also listed with links to their Banker Bio pages. Several Bank Notes are featured, as well as bank postcards and other bank related ephemera.

If you have a local County Historical Society/Museum, they may be interested in adding a link on their website to their County's Bank Note History home page in our wiki.

• (There are currently no Kentucky County home pages set up)

What's New in Kentucky Bank Note History

• Bank Histories:
  • First National Bank, Mayfield, KY (Charter 2245) (1875-still open (August 2023)
  • City National Bank, Paducah, KY (Charter 2093) (1873-1931)
  • German National Bank/Liberty NB, Covington, KY (Charter 1847) (1871-1928)
  • Citizens National Bank, Covington, KY (Charter 4260) (1890-1986)
  • Hardin National Bank/First-Hardin NB, Elizabethtown, KY (Charter 6028) (1901-1936+)

• Banker Bios:
  • Hotopp, Conrad Christian (Elizabethtown, KY)

Kentucky Bank Histories Index

The Bank Histories are organized alphabetically by Town, then by Bank Open Date. To find the Kentucky Bank you are looking for, select from the following Index list. You can also search the entire wiki for the Bank's town name or charter number using the Search Box in the upper right corner.

• Kentucky Bank Histories

Kentucky Banker Biographies Index

The Banker Bios are organized alphabetically by Last Name. To find the Kentucky Banker you are looking for, select from the following Index list. For an Index list of all Banker Bios for all States, use the Banker Biographies sidebar link. You can also search the entire wiki for the Banker's last name using the Search Box in the upper right corner.

• Kentucky Banker Biographies

Kentucky National Bank Stats, Lists & Graphs

The label for each of these Stats is a link to the corresponding pdf list of banks

• # Issuing Banks: 238

Issuing Banks wiki page

• # Non-Issuing Banks: 7
• # Large Size Issuers: 225
• # Small Size Issuers: 141
• # Territorial Banks: 0
• # Towns with Issuing Banks: 112
• # Counties with Issuing Banks: 81

• NBN Geo. Letter: S
• State Capital: Frankfort
• Statehood Date: Jun 1, 1792

• Kentucky National Bank Graphs & Lists
  • # of National Banks Chartered By Year
  • # of National Bank Failures (Receivership) By Year
  • # of National Bank Closures (Receivership/Liquidation/Closed) By Year
  • # of National Banks In Operation By Year
  • List of 40 National Banks with Lowest # of Notes Issued
  • List of Kentucky National Banks (Issued Notes) Sorted by Town by Charter#

Famous Kentucky Banks & Bankers

• Liberty National Bank & TC, Louisville, KY (Charter 14320) (1935-2003) was the bank with the highest charter number to issue National Bank Notes in the country.

Kentucky Counties Index

This index lists Kentucky counties that had towns with National or Obsolete Banks (1782-1935).

• Kentucky Counties

Kentucky Towns Index

This index lists Kentucky towns that had National or Obsolete Banks (1782-1935).

• Kentucky Towns

Wiki Links

• Information on the origin and history of National Bank Notes (Wikipedia)
• General information on Kentucky (Wikipedia)

Kentucky Research Resources

• Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
• Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
• The National Bank Note Census, nbncensus.com
• OCC Annual Reports 1863 – 1935 (U.S. Treasury Dept: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency).

(The OCC Annual Reports are available online at the Currency Club of Chester County (PA) website).

• The Bankers Magazine 1846 – 1922 (New York: various publishers over the years).

(The Bankers Magazine volumes are available online at the Currency Club of Chester County (PA) website).

• Rand McNally Banker's Directories 1879 – 1935 (Chicago: Rand McNally & Company).
• Polk's Banker's Encyclopedias 1895 – 1935 (Detroit and New York: Polk Bankers Encyclopedia Co.).
• James A. Haxby, United States Obsolete Bank Notes 1782-1866 (4 volumes) (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1988).
• Paper Money Journal, 1962-present (Published by the Society of Paper Money Collectors, spmc.org). Many articles over the years about the history of National & Obsolete Banks and Bankers. An archive of all back issues with search capabilities is online for SPMC members at spmc.org.
• FDIC, Bank Find History website.
• Kentucky Historical Society website.