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V28 2025 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 28, Number 43, 2025, Article 17

Here are some lots that caught my eye in the October 29 Auction 107 by Archives International Auctions. Great financial documents. -Editor

Australia (Van Diemen's Land), Tasmania. Derwent Bank, 1836 Issued Cashier's Draft
Australia (Van Diemen's Land), 19 December 1836. Printed cashier's draft of the Derwent Bank, black on off-white with vertical left guilloche panel inscribed "DERWENT BANK." Pre-printed location "Hobart Town" is struck through and corrected in manuscript to "Campbell Town;" filled out to "Mr. H. J. Emmett" for Eight pounds 4/6, payable "or order;" bold cashiers' imprint "CASHIER OF THE DERWENT BANK" at center; contemporary signatures at lower left and right; unobtrusive clerical notations.

An attractive early Tasmanian banking form showing branch use outside Hobart with the imprint corrected in period ink. XF-AU Condition. The payee, Henry James Emmett (1782–1848), was a prominent early official and settler in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). Originally a clerk in the Colonial Secretary's office in Sydney, he was transferred to Hobart in 1814 where he held numerous government posts, including clerk to the Bench of Magistrates and Postmaster General. Despite later financial difficulties, Emmett remained a well-known figure in colonial Tasmania. Documents payable to him, such as this 1836 draft, are sought after for their direct association with one of the island colony's early administrators.

MA. State of Massachusetts-Bay, 1777 Revolutionary War Loan Certificate.
Massachusetts-Bay, July 12, 1777. Loan certificate for £35.17s issued to Elizabeth Edwards for the use and service of the State of Massachusetts-Bay, promising repayment with interest at six percent per annum, due March 1, 1781. Printed in black on laid paper with ornate floral border and Massachusetts state seal at upper left, showing an American Indian with bow and arrow encircled by the motto Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem ("By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty").

Bold manuscript entries fill in the recipient, amount, and date; signed at bottom by Treasurer Henry Gardner, with additional committee signatures including I. Scollay, Ezekiel Price, and P. Boyer. The reverse bears docketing notations regarding consolidation in December 1781, referencing Elizabeth Edwards again.

This historic Revolutionary War fiscal document represents Massachusetts' efforts to finance the war against Great Britain through public loans, directly connecting to the financing of the Revolution. Condition is good with folds, minor edge wear, and some staining, but overall well-preserved with strong manuscript and printed elements.

MA. United States Loan Office Certificate, State of Massachusetts, 1791, I/C Registered Bond Signed
United States Loan Office, Massachusetts, December 17th, 1791, Registered Bond for $633.19 issued to Samuel Dexter Jr. of Charlestown, Esq. The certificate is printed in black with left border design incorporating the federal eagle shield and a large "B" counterfoil, with ornate engraved frame. Manuscript entries fill in the date, amount, and payee, noting interest at six percent per annum beginning January 1st, 1790, in accordance with the Act of August 4, 1790, which authorized Alexander Hamilton's funding plan to consolidate Revolutionary War debts under the new federal government.

Boldly signed by Nathaniel Gorham as Commissioner of Loans for Massachusetts, a significant political figure and signer of the U.S. Constitution. A circular punch cancellation is present at center, with strong manuscript signatures and minimal wear.

These early federal bonds are among the earliest debt instruments issued by the United States following ratification of the Constitution. Massachusetts Loan Office certificates represent the assumption of Revolutionary War debt into the funded national debt system designed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, establishing U.S. credit at home and abroad. The named payee, Samuel Dexter Jr. (1761–1816), would later become a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and serve as both Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

PA. Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, 1795 I/U Stock Certificate Signed by William Bingham.
Pennsylvania, March 16, 1795. 1 share, I/U, No. 623. Signed William Bingham, I/U. VF condition with strong autograph. Printed on vellum paper. William Bingham (March 8, 1752 _ February 7, 1804) was an American statesman from Philadelphia. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and served in the United States Senate from 1795 to 1801.

Bank of the United States, 1837 I/U Stock Certificate signed by Nicholas Biddle.
Philadelphia, PA. 12 Shares, I/U Stock Certificate. Black on thin parchment type of paper, Liberty with eagle, shield and sailing ship, Signed by Nicholas Biddle, Issued to John Harris, Esq, VF condition, S/N 4343. Scarce. Nicholas Biddle (January 8, 1786 Ð February 27, 1844) was an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States (chartered 1816-1836). He also served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He is best known for his role in the Bank War. VF condition. UBSH.

NY. American Submarine Tunnel Company, 1874 I/U Stock Certificate.
New York, NY, 1874, American Submarine Tunnel Company, 5 Shares Stock Certificate (I/U). A Spectacular certificate with reportedly, only 3 known, Printed in black with an ornate border; left panel states "Capital $10,000,000"; large central vignette depicts a proposed underwater tunnel entrance with pedestrians entering beneath a busy harbor of ships, steamboats, and factories; part of the late-19th-century wave of speculative ventures promoting ambitious under-river tunnel schemes during New York's rapid expansion, though this project never materialized and surviving certificates are prized for their connection to period engineering vision and finance; issued to J. H. Washburn and hand-signed by the secretary and president, dated April 10, 1874; the condition ranges from Choice Fine to VF condition or better.

Arizona Territory. The Gold Mining Co., 1888, I/U Stock Certificate Rarity
Arizona Territory, (Inc. in West Virginia with offices in Washington, D.C.), 1888. 1000 Shares, I/U Capital Stock Certificate, Green printing with gold underprint, Mountain view of Arizona at top right corner and map of Arizona as underprint, S/N 599, VF to VF+ condition, Printed by A. Gadney. The Muni Mountain district is located on the slopes of the Grand Wash Cliffs in the Music Mountains. Here a few prospects were located in the mid-1880 s within a limited mineralized area. The Gold Mining Company was the most important of the prospecting groups, working the Ellen Jane and Tommanotto. The work performed by this company appears to be of a prospecting nature. When they were reorganized in 1892, the new venture mined and processed 700 tons of ore at their mill. The mine was worked by lessees through the first part of the twentieth century until 1915 when the Lucknow and Music Mining Co. began further prospecting after tying up all the good properties in the district.

The map and vignettes on this certificate tell all the story. The upper right corner of the certificate has a vignette drawing in gold of the mine site. The underprint of the entire certificate is a map showing the location of the mine and its relationship to neighboring mountains, railroads, stage routes, and mining camps. The Ellen Jane mine was accessed from a stage coach US Mail route that ran northwest of Hackberry, a community southeast of the Ellen Jane. The Ellen Jane and Tommanotto mines are nestled in the Music Mountains below Shipman Peak. The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad line is shown on the map as well, which stretches from south of Mineral Park eastward through Hualapai, Hackberry, and Truxton. The company was unable to produce significant quantities of precious metals to keep afloat.

This extremely rare, extremely fine certificate was used for the cover of Garbani's book because of its unusually attractive and artistic art work. Few certificates in America display this degree of artisanship.

CO. Quartz Hill Gold Mining Company, Colorado Territory, 1865 I/U Stock Certificate
Nevada District, Colorado Territory (Offices in New York), 1865, 100 Shares, black print on white paper with ornate border, $25 denomination at right, vignette at center of miners working underground, additional vignette of miners hoisting ore at left, embossed seal at lower left with red 25-cent U.S. revenue stamp affixed, signed by the company president and secretary, the Quartz Hill Gold Mining Company was formed during Colorado's territorial gold boom, raising $2,500,000 in capital to develop quartz lodes in Gilpin County, Fine VF condition.