Jay Bank 1923 New Fixed

Materials:

Cotton linters or cotton rag (for high-quality paper)
Water
A blender or similar device to pulp the material
A mold and deckle (you can make a simple frame with a mesh screen)
A sponge or spray bottle
A pressing device (like heavy books, a brayer, or a pressing device made for paper making)
A iron
Optional: natural dyes, seeds, leaves, or other inclusions for design

Historical Significance: The End of an Era

The "Jay Bank 1923" incident serves as a historical bookmark. It symbolizes the collision of the "Old World" outlaw justice with the modernizing legal systems of the 20th century.

Technological Shift: By 1923, banks were beginning to modernize, but this robbery exposed how vulnerable rural institutions still were.
Law and Order: The swift capture and sentencing of Jay New demonstrated that the romanticized era of the "road agent"—where robbers could ride off into the sunset—was over. The law now had cars, telephones, and organized posses.

4. Press the Paper

Carefully lift the mold and deckle, allowing excess water to drain. Then, gently turn the mold over onto a sponge or a similar absorbent surface.
Carefully peel away the mold, leaving the newly formed paper.
Use a sponge to blot excess water.

Grading Scale for 1923 Jay Bank Notes:

An Uncirculated (New) 1923 Jay Bank note is a trophy piece. Because Jay was a small agricultural town, most notes were used until they disintegrated. Survivors in "New" condition likely came from a single hoard found in a bank vault or an estate collection. jay bank 1923 new

Why the "New" Condition Commands a Premium

When you search "Jay Bank 1923 New," you are not just buying a piece of paper. You are buying a frozen moment in time. Imagine a crisp, uncirculated $10 bill from 1923—the year Time Magazine was first published, the year of the Great Kanto earthquake, the year ice cream cones became popular at state fairs.

That $10 note in 1923 could buy a nice pair of leather boots or a week’s worth of groceries. Today, in "New" condition, it is a museum-grade artifact. The "New" grade guarantees that no farmer ever folded it to pay for a plow, no child ever crumpled it in a candy store, and no banker ever rubber-banded it. Materials:

🔍 Clarifying the Topic

“Jay Bank” is almost certainly a typo or mishearing of Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
1923 is significant:
- The novel’s main events occur in 1922, but Gatsby’s backstory (including his transformation from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby) unfolds around 1917–1919.
- However, 1923 appears in some new editions, annotated versions, or adaptations that recontextualize the timeline or include historical footnotes.
“New” likely refers to a recent publication, film, stage adaptation, or critical re-evaluation of The Great Gatsby with a focus on the early 1920s.

1. Prepare the Pulp

Cotton Linters/Rag: Tear the cotton linters or rag into small pieces and soak them in water for several hours or overnight.
Blending: Blend the soaked material in a blender with enough water to create a mushy consistency. The amount of water will depend on the blender and the quantity of material.

How to Authenticate a "Jay Bank 1923 New"

With high value comes high risk of counterfeiting (though rare for obsolete banknotes) or, more commonly, misrepresentation. Here is a quick authentication checklist:

Paper Texture: Genuine 1923 notes have a rag-paper feel—slightly soft, with visible red and blue silk fibers embedded. The "New" note should feel crisp, not floppy.
Overprint: The red seal and charter number (#13073) should be sharply printed, with no dot-matrix or pixelation.
Signatures: Authentic notes have printed signatures of the Register of the Treasury and Treasurer of the U.S. For Series 1923, look for Speelman (Register) and White (Treasurer).
Serial Number: The serial number font should be distinctively old-style Gothic. A "New" note will have clear, bold serial numbers without fading.

Warning: If you see a "1923 New" note on eBay for $99, it is almost certainly a reproduction or a heavily trimmed, washed note. A genuine Uncirculated Jay Bank note will not be cheap. Cotton linters or cotton rag (for high-quality paper)

Rarity and Auction Records

So how rare is the Jay Bank 1923 New? According to the National Bank Note Census (Track & Price):

Only 8 notes from The First National Bank of Jay, Oklahoma, have been reported in existence across all grades.
Of those, only 2 are graded as Uncirculated (New) by PMG (Paper Money Guaranty) or PCGS Currency.
The last public auction of a "New" Jay 1923 $10 note occurred in 2021 at Heritage Auctions. It sold for $4,920 including buyer's premium.

A "New" note from Jay, Maine (Charter #10260), is even rarer—only 1 Uncirculated example is known, which would likely fetch over $10,000.