Indiana
Manufacturing
Company

Lexington, Scott County
Indiana Territory

Paper money was first issued in the United States during the colonial period.  During this era, issuers were primarily the colonies, the Continental Congress, and later until the mid-1780s, the States.  After the Revolution and until the Civil War, a large body of paper money was issued privately by banks, merchants, railroads, municipalities, and other entities to supplement scarce coins minted by the United States government.  This type of money is called obsolete paper money.

Little is known today about the Indiana Manufacturing Company of Lexington, Indiana.  But it did issue paper money in 1815 while Indiana was still a Territory.  The notes are labeled "Indiana Territory" making them scarce reminders of a part of life in Indiana's pioneer times.  While scarce, they can be located by collectors. 

The Indiana Manufacturing Company issued four denominations, shown below, all dated 1815.  They are among Indiana's earliest paper money.  The printer was Murray, Draper, Fairman, & Co., of Philadelphia.

The information below is from Wendell Wolka's Indiana Obsolete Notes and Scrip,  The Society of Paper Money Collectors, 1978.   Click the note image for a high resolution version.
 

1 Dollar

The president was Andrew Ross and the cashier I. W. Donalds (or possibly James W. Donald according to an alternate source).  As was common for obsolete paper money, each note was hand signed.  These notes were also hand dated.

3 Dollars

Denominations we consider odd were once common.  The printer's imprint is at the bottom center of each note.  The notes are uniface, typical of this kind of paper money.  Size is about 7 by 3 inches.

5 Dollars

The vignettes are of high quality for such early notes.  Steel plate engraving entered its most accomplished period in the 1850s.

10 Dollars

Because there were so many largely unregulated entities issuing paper money, and because coins were hard to get, fraudulent issues were common.  Apparently these were questionable.  Some of the company's founders ended up in jail!