1902 Fifty Dollar Blue Seal National Bank Note | The Nixon National Bank of Reno in Nevada, Charter number 8424.
Obverse: Portrait of of John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury from 1877-1881 and Secretary of State from 1897-1898.
Reverse: Allegorical man and woman “Mechanics and Navigation” engraved by G.F.C. Smillie after Ostrander Smith’s design.
Signatures: (as depicted) John Burke, Treasurer of the United States and Houston Benge Teehee, Register of the Treasury.
Inscriptions: National Currency - Secured By United States Bonds or Other Securities - United States of America Will Pay To The Bearer On Demand Fifty Dollars - Register of the Treasury - Treasurer of The United States - Cashier - President - Series of 1902 - This note is receivable at par in all parts of the United States in payment of all taxes and excises and all other dues to the United States except duties on imports and also for all salaries and other debts and demands owing by The United States to individuals corporations and associations within the United States except interest on the public debt.
The Nixon National Bank Of Reno also printed 2,400 sheets of $50 1902 blue seal national bank notes. There is no trick to knowing which 1902 blue seals will be common and rare. Often times the number printed won’t tell you much information. The value still comes down to condition and demand. That is a surprise to most people. In fact, most 1902 $50 bills we see are worth between $750 and $1,250. The rarer ones can be worth more than $5,000. However, there isn’t much middle ground.
John Sherman (May 10, 1823 – October 22, 1900) was an American Republican representative and senator from Ohio during the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. He also served as both Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State and was the principal author of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Sherman ran for the Republican presidential nomination three times, coming closest in 1888, but never winning. His brothers included General William Tecumseh Sherman of Civil War fame, Charles Taylor Sherman, a federal judge in Ohio, and Iowa banker Hoyt Sherman.
Born in Lancaster, Ohio, Sherman later moved to Mansfield, Ohio, where he began a law career before entering politics. Initially a Whig, Sherman was among those anti-slavery activists who formed what became the Republican Party. He served three terms in the House of Representatives. As a member of the House, Sherman traveled to Kansas to investigate the unrest between pro- and anti-slavery partisans there. He rose in party leadership and was nearly elected Speaker in 1859. Sherman was elevated to the Senate in 1861. As a senator, he was a leader in financial matters, helping to redesign the United States' monetary system to meet the needs of a nation torn apart by civil war. After the war, he worked to produce legislation that would restore the nation's credit abroad and produce a stable, gold-backed currency at home.
Serving as Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes, Sherman continued his efforts for financial stability and solvency, overseeing an end to wartime inflationary measures and a return to gold-backed money. He returned to the Senate after his term expired, serving there for a further sixteen years. During that time he continued his work on financial legislation, as well as writing and debating laws on immigration, business competition law, and the regulation of interstate commerce. In 1897, President William McKinley appointed Sherman Secretary of State. Failing health and declining faculties made him unable to handle the burdens of the job, and he retired in 1898 at the start of the Spanish–American War. Sherman died at his home in Washington, D.C. in 1900.
United States 50 Dollar Bills