| Bank of the State of South Carolina |
| Page 1 of many |
Chartered December 19, 1812.
This bank was established and owned by the State of South Carolina. None of the other southern states had such a
bank. This explains why there were no "state issue" notes from South Carolina during the Civil War. This bank issued all
of the notes for the State of South Carolina and it was the only bank that was allowed to issue notes in denominations less
than 5 dollars, although there are some rare exceptions.
The bank was declared bankrupt after the Civil War, but in 1870 the US Supreme Court ruled that the bank could not go
into bankruptcy since the state was not bankrupt and the bank was a wholly owned institution of the state. The State of
SC was forced to redeem the outstanding notes at face value in 1870 after the Supreme Court decision. Occasionally
you may find a note that has a "proved" stamp on it with the date of 1870, indicating that the note was turned in for
redemption. These redeemed notes may have been given out as souvenirs after being stamped. There are also
indications that there was significant fraud when the notes were redeemed in 1870. Some notes may have been redeemed
multiple times, although only stamped once.
The bank had branches in Abbeville (1861-1865), Camden (1822-1865), Charleston (1812-1865), Columbia
(1813-1865) and Georgetown (1818-1833). Each branch had a president and cashier during each year of the branches
existence. To learn more about this bank, I recommend reading "The Bank of the State of South Carolina - A General
and Political History" by J. Mauldin Lesesne.
This bank issued approximately 145 varieties of notes, more than any other bank in South Carolina. I have divided the
notes into "fractional" pages, with notes less than $1, and "large size" pages with notes from $1 to $100.
This bank was established and owned by the State of South Carolina. None of the other southern states had such a
bank. This explains why there were no "state issue" notes from South Carolina during the Civil War. This bank issued all
of the notes for the State of South Carolina and it was the only bank that was allowed to issue notes in denominations less
than 5 dollars, although there are some rare exceptions.
The bank was declared bankrupt after the Civil War, but in 1870 the US Supreme Court ruled that the bank could not go
into bankruptcy since the state was not bankrupt and the bank was a wholly owned institution of the state. The State of
SC was forced to redeem the outstanding notes at face value in 1870 after the Supreme Court decision. Occasionally
you may find a note that has a "proved" stamp on it with the date of 1870, indicating that the note was turned in for
redemption. These redeemed notes may have been given out as souvenirs after being stamped. There are also
indications that there was significant fraud when the notes were redeemed in 1870. Some notes may have been redeemed
multiple times, although only stamped once.
The bank had branches in Abbeville (1861-1865), Camden (1822-1865), Charleston (1812-1865), Columbia
(1813-1865) and Georgetown (1818-1833). Each branch had a president and cashier during each year of the branches
existence. To learn more about this bank, I recommend reading "The Bank of the State of South Carolina - A General
and Political History" by J. Mauldin Lesesne.
This bank issued approximately 145 varieties of notes, more than any other bank in South Carolina. I have divided the
notes into "fractional" pages, with notes less than $1, and "large size" pages with notes from $1 to $100.
