PA $5 SMETHPORT The McKean County Bank Pennsylvania May 1, 1858 Haxby PA-625 G6a

SMETHPORT PennsylvaniaThe McKean County Bank $5 May 1, 1858 Haxby PA-625 G6aThe McKean County Bank of Smethport was a short‑lived antebellum institution, organized during Pennsylvania’s Free Banking era in the late 1850s. Serving a sparsely populated region dominated by lumbering and early oil exploration, the bank supplied much‑needed local currency and credit where specie was scarce and financial infrastructure limited. Notes such as this five‑dollar issue were intended to circulate locally, supporting trade and payrolls in a rapidly developing frontier economy.Like many lightly capitalized rural banks, the McKean County Bank did not survive long. Economic disruption following the Panic of 1857 placed intense pressure on small institutions, and the bank appears to have ceased operations within only a few years of opening. Surviving notes are tangible remnants of this brief and volatile chapter in Pennsylvania banking history.Beautiful note!click here: Pat's coins - currency - & more! | eBay Stores