"The New England Bank, Fairmount, Maine" October 1st 1857 $10 Remainder, Very Choice About Uncirculated, Hammer Cancelled.

An extraordinarily nice example of a beautifully designed and executed note printed by the quality banknote printing house of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson of New York and a great example of the wild days of wildcat banking and counterfeiters.

Not only was "The New England Bank" nonexistant, so was "Fairmount, Maine". The lack of basic due diligence by the highly regarded banknote printers allowed fraudsters to order and purchase about $500,000 in phony $10 and $20 banknotes. They were subsequently frequently altered by criminals to represent other banks, especially those in Boston. This Gem-like example has survived essentially as printed, save for a hammer cancel and a light, even horizontal bend along the bottom of the note that appears to have happend when the note was still part of the sheet. It has wonderfully strong inking of the richly detailed vignette.