||Lecompton, KS - State Bank $1 Nov. 1, 1856 KS-55 G2a Whitfield 333. Remainder. PCGS About New 50. W. L. Ormsby engraved a few series of notes during the Kansas Territorial period, mostly from Leavenworth. The State Bank notes are much scarcer than those, and visually striking like most Ormsby notes. As anti-raising devices for each denomination, the cherub was used as a counter, with one cherub per $1 of denomination (2 cherubs on the $2, and so on). The series also used the Ormsby color backs. Within the frame of ornate shield corners and filigree, the cherub at bottom center is flanked by two large circular 1/ONE dies. The back has a single orange "target" radiating from the center. Lecompton, founded in 1854, was named for Samuel D. Lecompte, the first Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. In 1855, the town became the capital of the Kansas Territory. Lecompton was home to many pro-slavery advocates; Kansas was a hotbed of debate on the abolition issue. Eventually, the anti-slavery forces gained control of the legislature in the elections of 1857, disavowed "Lecompton Constitution" and repealed the pro-slavery territorial statutes. The victorious Free Soil Party took Kansas into the Union in 1861 and the capital was moved to Topeka, leaving Lecompton a comparative footnote today. This note is gorgeous on both sides, and it is part of an interesting series. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
Realized $1,645.00. Newman VI (Heritage Auctions, 4/2015), lot 19069. Description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.