Old Check Collectors Share Your Checks!

Here,s my contribution

 

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Back in the 1950s when we lived in Ridgecrest, CA and my dad worked at China Lake Naval Air Station, we spent a lot of time exploring parts of the desert. One of the places we went to was Randsburg ghost town, which back then was not a "tourist" attraction as it is now. It was totally deserted. I vaguely remember going into a building that had an open safe and us saving the documents that were in that safe, which wasn't much. But here are a few checks we found along with some other documents for J.D. Voss, who was apparently mining areas around there. I have not been able to find much about him online and I wonder if he really ever did have viable mines in the Kern County area.

 

The last of the documents, including the front page of an old almanac.

 

That is some is some awesome stuff !!

 

This nice little check arrived today; gotta love the repeating number

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The Dayton Spice Mills Company

Corner of First and Foundry Streets


Among the best known concerns in Ohio, devoted to the manufacture of pure and unadulterated spices, baking powder, etc., is the Dayton Spice Mills Company, whose goods are noted from Ohio to the Missouri river and beyond for their absolute puiry, freshness and low prices, and customers have the satisfaction of knowing that nothing inferior or adulterated will be foisted upon them by this house. This has been the principle upon which the business has been conducted from its inception, and the management has never deviated from this path.

The Dayton Spice Mills Company was established in 1885 and the premises they occupy are comprised in a three-story brick building, 34 x 196 feet in dimensions. The equipment of the establishment includes roasters and grinding machinery of the most modern mechanical construction which are operated by a 75 horse power engine. As the company are content with a reasonable profit, customers may depend that they can not obtain goods of equal value at lower prices anywhere. The specialties of the house are Jersey Coffee, Jersey Baking Powder, a pure, wholesome and unquestionably valuable article, and Jersey Spices, warranted strictly are represented, and the business of the house is entirely wholesale.

We may with justice urge all prudent dealers, who desire to put before their customers pure and reliable goods- goods of the classes mentioned and at prices as low as oft-times are exacted for inferior goods- to entrust their favors to this house, as every article is of a character in keeping with the reputation of this well known and highly esteemed establishment.
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history link for your enjoyment: http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/1651459.htm

 

My earliest MPC Check:



My latest MPC Check:

 

Those are intriguing! I've never seen MPC checks before. How would they pay increments below 5 cents, I wonder.

 

One cent coins.

 

Came upon this while cruising about eBay. Love the train vignette; plus has my brother's birthday and birth state.(few years later of course )
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This nice little item just "showed" up at our coin club meeting:
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History link: http://www.ricurrency.com/bank-name/rhode-island-hospital-trust/

 

I picked this up a long time ago because I lived in the Albany NY area and was familiar with the local history. Killian K Van Rensselaer had quite a life. He was secretary to General Phillip Schuyler and a US Senator. Among other things. In addition, his grandson, Charles Van Rensselaer, was the 1st officer aboard the S S Central America when it was lost in the hurricane of 1857.

 

As with most of my collectibles my reason for picking this one up was because it is from Albany NY. The check was printed for use by Mechanics and Farmers Savings Bank, however, the signer crossed out "Mechanics and Farmers" and wrote in "National" to go with the "Savings Bank". The signer was Albert Vander Veer. Albert was born in Root, NY in 1841 and May 1862, he enlisted in the United States Medical Corps, one of the original One Hundred Medical Cadets called to service by the Surgeon General of the United States army. He had a great career with Albany Medical College after mustering out of the Army in 1865. Notation on the check states that the funds are for furnishing the new Albany Hospital.

 

I got this one in a lot recently. I like it for the little lute player, but it also shows something I've not seen before. It is not made out for a dollar amount, rather for "amt. of all dividends due on stock of Central Ohio RR Co." I wasn't aware you could legitimately write a check this way, but it appears to have cleared.

 

The Revenue imprint was done as a separate printing to the overall check design and was done after the initial check was printed, its location does vary on the finished product, its means nothing, unless it is real off center

 

In case you didn't know, hundreds of varieties of this "revenue stamped paper" are listed in the U.S. Specialized Scott Stamp Catalog, available in most libraries.

 

Oh yes, I know that, I am a contributor to their listings, the piece pictured above has been again added to the Scott Catalog after decades of it being removed. A lot of the listings for Revenue Stamped Paper are vague at best, pricing is irrelevant, considering some varieties are very scarce to very rare, but Scott fails to take that into account

 

It seems odd that they would cancel the 2 cent blue stamped revenue, since you can't really remove/reuse it. Is this unusual? I don't recall seeing other instances of cancelled revenue stamped paper.

 

Wasn't the "cancellation" accomplished by punching the bank's name, or a transaction number, in small holes across the check?

 

Correct -- I wasn't very specific. Usually a check itself is cancelled by punch holes or other means, not the printed revenue.