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1854 $10 Adrian, MI - The Erie and Kalamazoo Rail Road Bank G-38 obsolete Currency Grades f, fine

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:25.00 - 100.00 USD
1854 $10 Adrian, MI - The Erie and Kalamazoo Rail Road Bank G-38 obsolete Currency Grades f, fine
1854 $10 Adrian, MI - The Erie and Kalamazoo Rail Road Bank G-38 obsolete Currency Grades f, fine. This railroad paper money was circulated by The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank. It was chartered in March 1835 by the Michigan Legislative Council. It was established during the free banking era - when lots of scandals and cheats were setting up banks, issuing notes and certificates of deposit, but never redeeming them. These banks were known as wildcat banks. The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad was started when the railroad first began its expanse across the inland United States, supplanting business for the canal boats in the 1830s and 1840s. The railroad’s objective was to extend from Lake Erie to the Kalamazoo River, which is how it got its name The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad. The E&Z was commissioned in 1832, started construction in 1835 and by late 1836 had its first - and what became its only - portion finished of thirty three miles of rails. It ran from Port Lawrence (modern day Toledo), Ohio to Adrian, Michigan. At first, horses were used to pull cars. Quickly, however the decision was made to use a steam powered engine which arrived in Port Lawrence in June of 1837. The two engines acquired for the E&Z were named the “Toledo” and the “Adrian.” The finances for this venture proved a great muddle of difficulty. The construction had started without much money and quickly put the railroad in debt. A bank, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank, was created to finance the railroad but it did not have much capital and therefore did not support the railroad but dragged it down. The bank closed in 1839. In May 1849 the railroad was “leased in perpetuity” to the Michigan Southern Railroad Company which in 1869 became a part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, which in turn became a part of the New York Central lines. The bank was bought and reopened in 1853 but then closed in 1854 for good.