1902 $20 Oklahoma City bill

[Praedura]

Recent item on ebay:
1902 $20 Oklahoma City State Capital | eBay

Not quite a nostalgia item, since no one here was alive when the bill was circulating. Still, an interesting historical item.

[BlackmoreRulz]

Can't be 1902, it gives the statehood date 1907 on the front of the bill

[RadicalModerate]

Yet . . . somehow . . . under the serial number . . . it says Series of 1902!
(another mystery wrapped in an enigma brought to you by Hugh McCulloch!)

. . . and whut the heck is that growing out of the back of that strange apparition with the wardrobe malfunction on the reverse side of this banknote?!)

[ThomPaine]

Yet . . . somehow . . . under the serial number . . . it says Series of 1902!
(another mystery wrapped in an enigma brought to you by Hugh McCulloch!)

. . . and whut the heck is that growing out of the back of that strange apparition with the wardrobe malfunction on the reverse side of this banknote?!)

Well, it is Oklahoma, so my assumption is a second right wing (arm)...

[Plutonic Panda]

well, it is oklahoma, so my assumption is a second right wing (arm)...

ha

[Mel]

Yet . . . somehow . . . under the serial number . . . it says Series of 1902!
(another mystery wrapped in an enigma brought to you by Hugh McCulloch!)

. . . and whut the heck is that growing out of the back of that strange apparition with the wardrobe malfunction on the reverse side of this banknote?!)

I think I know what it is but you probably can't quote the movie "Flesh Gordon" on here.

[Snowman]

Can't be 1902, it gives the statehood date 1907 on the front of the bill

It sounds like it may be 1902 was when they were approved/commissioned, since they were printed for hundreds of sites across the country it probably took time to get the engravings designed and made for to every bank.

1902 blue seals were first printed at the end of 1908 and were issued until 1929 when the small size national currency era began.

[RadicalModerate]

The "contract" on the front of the banknote says: "Will pay to the bearer on demand Twenty Dollars" . . .

Does this mean that if you handed a teller--presumably a teller at The Security National Bank of Oklahoma City--this piece of paper he (or she, although that would be an unlikely scenario) would hand you a nice, new, crisp version of the paper you just handed him (or her)? I can't quite make out the "fine print" on the reverse side but I don't think that "silver" or "gold" are mentioned . . . Even though the fellow pictured on the note (who died several years before this controversy erupted) was a big supporter of returning to the Gold Standard. Maybe they also had versions of the note printed with gold rather than green ink.

[Praedura]

. . . and whut the heck is that growing out of the back of that strange apparition with the wardrobe malfunction on the reverse side of this banknote?!

I have no idea, LOL!

I think it might be a two-headed serpent wrapped around her upper torso. But, alas, the symbolism is lost on me.

[Praedura]

The "contract" on the front of the banknote says: "Will pay to the bearer on demand Twenty Dollars" . . .

Does this mean....

I presume that it means that the bank would exchange the bill for $20 in equivalent gold and/or silver coins upon demand.

[RadicalModerate]

I have no idea, LOL!

I think it might be a two-headed serpent wrapped around her upper torso. But, alas, the symbolism is lost on me.

The Like Button seems to be out of order . . . (or maybe it just doesn't operate during "bankers hours"). I tried to click it on the OP and another time but . . . no cigar.

Here is another feature of this proto-American Express Travellers Cheque: Notice that there is a spot for the Cashier to sign and a spot for the President to sign? I think these fell out of favor when the President got tired of being awakened at odd hours, in the White House, on Eastern Standard time to sign huge piles of these things that were dropped off at his doorstep by Pony Express carriage drivers. (Of course . . . it could refer to the bank president . . . hmmmmm).

Suggested Reading (again): "The Mark Inside" by Amy Reading.

[OKCisOK4me]

. . . and whut the heck is that growing out of the back of that strange apparition with the wardrobe malfunction on the reverse side of this banknote?!)

If you look at her left arm, in the armpit area, there is a bulk of dress material wrapped on her arm. I think the rest of it is blowing in the wind behind her--proof positive that OKC is a windy city ;-)

[ThomPaine]

Well crap. According to the note, it can't be used to pay interest on the public debt, so that idea is out...

[Larry OKC]

maybe not the interest, but what about the principal?