New Orleans, LA - Canal Bank - $10 Obsolete Banknote

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The Canal Bank -- $10 Obsolate Banknote Description Reference Information Haxby Number Issued Printer/Engraver Condition Estimate LA-105-G26a N/A National Bank Note Company Gem Crisp Uncirculated Description: New Orleans , LA - Canal Bank $10 - This colorful, unissued, example has a wonderful eagle vignette and decorative counters. This note has been in my family for more than 40-years and has been extremely well cared for. It appears to be flawless and is very well centered with balanced margins. A reddish orange and black color combination adds vibrancy to the note and the quality print remains crystal clear-- Choice Crisp Uncirculated. Background: The Canal Bank’s roots can be traced back to 1831 and their long history makes for some interesting reading. The Louisiana Purchase had been consummated only 28 years earlier, and the renowned Battle of New Orleans (1815) had recently been fought. On March 5, 1831, the New Orleans Canal and Banking Company was founded as a means of securing capital for the construction of a canal--banks during that era could only receive a charter from the Louisiana State Legislature if they agreed to fund specific improvements. Maunsel White and Beverly Chew, the founders of the new bank, agreed to build a canal that would allow waterborne commerce from the Gulf of Mexico to reach New Orleans' port facilities. The six-year construction and financing of the New Basin Canal became a monumental task. Because slave labor from the plantations was too costly, Irishmen escaping from the potato famine were hired to do most of the digging. Each receiving just $20 per month plus an allotment of liquor, they built the canal using shovels and wheelbarrows. Over 8,000 died from disease and sunstroke before it was completed in 1838. Although the total cost of the canal was a whopping $1.2 million, the bank earned $405,563 during its first year of operation from tolls paid by the shippers that used the waterway. Ownership of the canal was eventually transferred to the state of Louisiana. After establishing itself in the New Orleans financial community, the Canal Bank (as it was named in 1895) flourished during the middle and late 1800s. It opened branches in four neighboring communities in 1839 and became a leading financial institution in burgeoning southern Louisiana. The bank's progress was especially impressive considering the hardships it endured during that century. In 1845, for example, its headquarters building burned to the ground. Many of its debtors were killed off by repeated yellow fever epidemics that plagued the region, particularly during the early 1850s. Finally, the Civil War and Reconstruction threatened to extinguish the bank in the late 1800s. Also rising to prominence in the Louisiana banking industry during the 1800s was Citizens Bank, which was chartered in 1833 and dominated the Louisiana banking scene during most the century. Although Citizens was larger than Canal Bank throughout most of the 19th century--Citizens and Canal had assets worth $6.8 million and $4 million, respectively, in 1861--Citizen's capital base had shrunk to only $1.4 million by the end of the 1920 recession. Canal, on the other hand, had grown to become the 31st largest bank in the world by 1920. To house its thriving operation, in fact, Canal added an eleventh floor to its "skyscraper" in the early 1920s. Canal also continued to acquire other banks in the 1920s, as it had throughout much of the late 1800s. In a landmark merger of the time, Canal Bank and Citizens Bank converged in 1924, substantially boosting the resultant Canal Bank and Trust's assets. Canal merged again in 1928, with Marine Bank and Trust Co. By the end of the 1920s, following nearly a century of acquisitions, mergers, and customer growth, it appeared as though Canal was poised for continued expansion and dominance of the regional banking industry. The stock market crash of 1929, however, changed that expectation. As many weaker banks quickly failed, Canal scrambled during the early 1930s to survive ... read more

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