Mighty Big Bank Check

Apart from the RN-B10 imprint (correct me if that's wrong), this 1866 check is pretty non-descript. Except for the amount: $197,600! That represents the buying power of nearly $4 million in today's dollars.

This probably documents a large gold transaction. In 1864, C.S. Sloane & Co. was listed as a member of the New York Gold Exchange. Not much info on Ward & Co. of New York, but I think this was John and William Greene Ward acting as private bankers during the 1860s.

A nice find for under $10!

Cool. I have a cheque from 1988 for 22 cents. It was written to me for some kind of payroll correction, but I wasn't going to drive down town to cash it.

Very nice find, thanks for sharing this.

Great find! And in very nice condition.

I realize this thread has been dormant for a while - however, I think the topic fits what I was curious to share and also ask for those with better awareness. I purchased a lot last year and I was more interested in the revenue paper aspect but after looking closely at a few of the checks - I realized that they were indeed "mighty big checks" especially for the time period.

There are two that were over 200k dated 1873, one for approximately 193k and one for 50k. I will leave a picture of the 200k one here for viewing - and I am aware of the 1873 bank panic - I wondered if they are a product of that "panic" and was curious, does the larger sum make it more appealing to some collectors?

Those are quite impressive! I honestly don't know how many collectors find these appealing. I think if there is some historical tie-in that certainly makes them more interesting. However, the Panic of 1873 didn't really begin in the U.S. until September, so your checks are a little too early. I suspect these are also related to gold transactions, which often meant moving around large sums. New York had a major gold exchange. I wasn't able to find any info on either of the check recipients, but if you could check a directory of gold exchange members from that year, you might find them.