A recent Replacement note find by a friend at the Higgins Museum located in Okoboji, IA on Fall River, MA Series 1902 $50 Date Back SN 247/A147633 pp C prompted this work.  Stars of course were NOT used on national bank notes.  You have to find notes produced with old paging machine numbering technology to identify these large size national bank note replacements.  For some examples see my signature set: 

My goal was to narrow down on the production date for this, and any Series of 1902 $50 DB and then I added Plain Back and Red Seals for good measure.  The real motivation was because the numbering showed the typical old font used for numerals from paging machines that dated pre-1903—except for the A.  The A was a short legged (I call stubby) modern A.  Mixing of modern font with old font numbering wheels occurs, particularly for 4s.  Mixed font replacements are known as hybrids and for 4s, the earliest known was ~1915.  When was this hybrid note produced?  For $5s, $10s, and $20s, you can use the Treasury SN and data from Huntoon to narrow down to the production year.  Like data for $50-$100s wasn’t available due to the much lower quantities of high denomination notes produced. 

The assumption I started with is that the notes with Nap|Thomp or Nap|Burke plates, first produced in years of most interest, with low bank SNs are from the 1st production run, so the Treasury SN production use ought to be shortly after the plate date on those notes.  I searched Heritage’s archives by Fr. # for $50s and $100s and recorded plate date and SNs. This to me was much easier and quicker than looking through ledgers from Comptroller of the Currency for deliveries of notes.  Basically I found consistent data for my method and expanded as much as possible to get a good coverage of what year a given Treasury SN was produced from 1908-1925.  Table 1 has the $50-$100 Series of 1902 DB and PB data and Table 2 has the data for high denomination Series of 1902 Red Seals.   Using the table below I think Fall River's Treasury SN A147633 was from production in 1912 which is the earliest known hybrid Replacement (known to me). Fall River's DBs were replacing red seals, so the quantity not as great as if replacing series of 1882 notes. Nevertheless, quite likely this note is from the first production run, quite possibly only of 250 sheets, for Fall River and near the June 26, 1912 certification date for the CDEC plate and proof.  SN 247 is a survivor; how it ended up at the Higgins is likely a great story.  I could confirm delivery date of the Fall River note with a trip to the National Archives and someday I hope to do so.

Table 1.  50-50-50-100 Series of 1902 DB and PB Treasury SN approx. date of production.

SN       Plate date   Bank (Charter)        Bank SN

A1       Nov 2, 1910            1744            1* [Burlington, IA Merchants NB]

A1125    Nov 20, 1910           4507           25  [La Junta, CO FNB]

A3926    Jan. 8, 1911           1799           52  [Albia, IA FNB]

A28651   Aug. 26, 1911          4676          321 [New Castle, PA  CNB 3x$50-$100 SN 834 in same run]

A30743  Aug. 27, 1911           1881          233 [Dixon, IL The Dixon NB]

A33766  ?Sep-Oct 1911           1889          156 [Rock Island, IL The Rock Island NB]

A45384   Oct. 11, 1911          4653          254 [Longmont, CO The Farmers NB]

A79213 %  Sep. 16, 1911          1896           82 [Sycamore, IL The Sycamore NB] %Same SN entered as BB

A113464  May 21, 1912           4742          216

A193021  Jan 15, 1913           2093          143

A204260  Mar. 14, 1913          2098          422

A221630  Mar 31, 1913          10360          482

A251524  Aug 8, 1913             906          490++ 

A243914  Sept. 1, 1913          2128          401

A258068  Dec. 23, 1913          2132           64

A275968  July 11, 1914          2158          280

A380962  Aug. 24, 1914          2176          324 [series of 1902 50s and 100s only]

A654733  Sept. 7, 1914          2189          155

A704904  Oct. 20, 1914          2205           10 [SN 309 in same run]

A726412  May 15, 1915           2300          158 [SN 240 in same run]

A729571  June 4, 1915           5002          417 [SN 619 in same run]

A733557  Aug 5, 1915            1080            1 [Huntoon, estimate 1st PB]

A735802  Sept. 8, 1915         10778          316 [Chatham and Phenix NYC $100; SN 1918 in same run]

A736955 Oct 9, 1915            10793            9 [San Antonio, TX $100]

A738528  Jan. 21, 1916          5033          142 [Mayfield, KY $100]

A741868  Apr 7, 1916            5038          102 [50s and 100s only]

A755894  Jan. 16, 1917          2349          264

A768941  June 25, 1917         11037            1 [Kansas City, MO $100; SN 1074 in same run]

A777143  ~Feb. 15, 1918          2377            9

A790441  Dec. 9, 1918           5161          131

A792176  ~Feb. 20, 1919         2412           26

A798118  May 31, 1919           2428           28

A850793   Feb. 2, 1920          11596          151

A852295  May 10, 1920           5491           33

A859698  Apr. 11, 1920          5303          126

A860269  June 26, 1920          5498           77

A863457  Feb. 19, 1920          2456           45++       

A864601  July 25, 1920          5525           46

A864547  Aug. 6, 1920           5547           95

A869361  Jan 18, 1921           5716          219 [SN 39 in census]

A874772  Mar. 15, 1921          2511          370

A916633  Jun. 18, 1921          5716          536 [Oklahoma City $50]

A919784  Sept. 12, 1921         2566          292 [SN 522 in same run]

A921600  Sept. 17, 1921         2576           28

A932092  Nov. 1, 1921           2584          190 [SN 588 in same run]

A938277  Dec. 14, 1921          2604          103

A942618  Feb. 4, 1922           2637           74 [SN 200 in same run]

A963517  Mar. 26, 1922          6186          523 so called 4th charter

B67214  Dec. 15, 1923          12475          380 [Galveston, TX Fr. 685]

B67241  Dec. 15, 1923          12475          541 [Galveston, TX Fr. 685]

B67375  Dec. 15, 1923          12475          541 [Galveston, TX Fr. 707]

B67820  Dec. 15, 1923          12475          986 [Galveston, TX Fr. 707]

B132649 Apr. 24, 1925          12707          525 [Dallas, TX Fr. 707]

B141584  issued Aug 25, 1925    8409          340*

B141504  issued Aug 25, 1925   11603          390**

*Huntoon, first/last DB issued by CoC w/treasuy SN amd **Huntoon, last PB issued by CoC w/treasury SN

Table 2.  50-100 Series of 1902 red seals Treasury SN approx. date of production.

SN       Plate date   Bank (Ch. #) Bank Sn

A1      Sep 9, 1902   2670           1  [Huntoon; Chicago FNB]

A1424   May 3, 1902*  2719           69 [Geneva, OH]

A26642  Feb 25, 1903   283          746

A27526  Feb 25, 1903   170         2630

A41762  May 20, 1903  2999            1 [Bridgeton, NJ]

A92661  Jun 8, 1904   3206         1240 [Minneapolis, MN]

A94975  ~Aug 1904     7384            1 [Sargent, NE REPLACEMENT]

A132625 Mar 11?, 1905 1016         1380 [Denver, CO]

A146972 Mar. 22, 1905 7709            1 [Petersburg, VA $50]

A113992 Jan 24, 1905   819           43  [Bloomington, IL]

A178288 June 13, 1905 1365          784 [Elgin, IL]

A190228 Nov 14, 1905  3413          259 [Richmond, IN]

A242708 Dec. 4, 1905  8026            1 [Rochester, NY]

A253945 Mar. 10, 1906 3471            8 [Boise City, ID]

A312302 Jan 16, 1907  3632           49 [Stroudsburg, PA Fr. 666R REPLACEMENT!]

A351269 Aug 9, 1907   3777          138 [Abilene, KS]

A424681 Oct 20, 1908  6484           847 [Huntoon; San Juan, Porto Rico]

*Appears Chicago's order was placed first ahead of others