National Bank of Commerce Inkwell

This rare souvenir building replica of a Kansas City, Missouri bank is made of lead and finely detailed. One of these inkwells, despite having a small hole on one side, sold on eBay for $826. The top has the words, "National Bank of Commerce, June 1908, Kansas City Mo." The top flips up to reveal a glass insert for ink. It measures 3 1/4" tall x 23 9/16" wide x 2" deep. The real Commerce Bank traces its beginnings to 1865 when Francis Reid Long came to Kansas City with $10,000 capital to start the Kansas City Savings Association. By 1890, the bank, then named the National Bank of Commerce, was the largest bank west of Chicago. IN 1908, George A. Fuller, Co. designed a new Head Quarters made of concrete, granite, brick, asphalt and terra cotta. Today, Commerce Bank, also known as the Commerce Trust Company Building, is a Missouri-based company with headquarters in Kansas City and St. Louis, operates in five states: Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado. Commerce Bank has always been an innovator. In 1928, the Company began the first 24-hour transit department in the country. This helped speed up the transit of checks between banks. The 1984, the bank introduced 'Special Connections,' the first card in the market to have the combined features of a credit card and ATM card, was introduced.