Bank, State Historic Site, Shawneetown Illinois, 11-2014
Text From Wickipedia, this is not my writing below.
The Shawneetown Bank State Historic Site is a historic bank building located in the U.S. state of Illinois. A Greek Revival structure built in 1839-1841 in Old Shawneetown, Illinois, the former Bank of Illinois is currently owned by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
When the Bank of Illinois opened its doors in 1841, banks had the right to print and issue their own paper money. A piece of bank-issued paper money was called a "bank note." The money was supposed to be backed by gold and silver specie, and the Bank of Illinois was built with a large bank vault to contain the precious metals. If a person presented a bank note at a bank for payment, the bank was supposed to offer specie in exchange.
Pre-Civil War banks often had trouble meeting the specie requirement. The Bank of Illinois at Old Shawneetown suspended its operations in 1842, only one year after opening its new bank building. Although Old Shawneetown was a thriving Ohio River port at the time, the bank building remained empty until 1854, when the State Bank of Illinois opened operations in the handsome structure.
Bank, State Historic Site, Shawneetown Illinois, 11-2014
Text From Wickipedia, this is not my writing below.
The Shawneetown Bank State Historic Site is a historic bank building located in the U.S. state of Illinois. A Greek Revival structure built in 1839-1841 in Old Shawneetown, Illinois, the former Bank of Illinois is currently owned by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
When the Bank of Illinois opened its doors in 1841, banks had the right to print and issue their own paper money. A piece of bank-issued paper money was called a "bank note." The money was supposed to be backed by gold and silver specie, and the Bank of Illinois was built with a large bank vault to contain the precious metals. If a person presented a bank note at a bank for payment, the bank was supposed to offer specie in exchange.
Pre-Civil War banks often had trouble meeting the specie requirement. The Bank of Illinois at Old Shawneetown suspended its operations in 1842, only one year after opening its new bank building. Although Old Shawneetown was a thriving Ohio River port at the time, the bank building remained empty until 1854, when the State Bank of Illinois opened operations in the handsome structure.