1877 Allison Interest Coupon

This was new to me so I posted it over on our sister Coin forum. I got some feedback which identified it as an interest coupon from a US government bond. I assume that it has no real value since it is not attached to the bond itself? I wonder what the bond was for...Does anyone have any additional insight in this item?
Don

I don't know anything about this one specifically but pre WWI US bonds are generally quite rare (i.e., sell in the thousands) - this would be an exception to the normal rule that coupons have no value since many people will never own an actual bond and in some cases no example of the bond may actually be known. There may be a reference work out there somewhere on 19th century US government securities which would be useful here...

That coupon is interesting because it was part of a "consol" bond -- a bond with no maturity date. It entitled the bearer to collect interest in perpetuity, but the government had the right to call (redeem) the bond. I knew of the British consol bonds, but didn't realize the US had issued them.

The best, and probably only, reference for this type of material is "An Illustrated History of U.S. Loans" by Gene Hessler. I was able to trace your coupon to the Four Percent console bonds first issued in 1878. Unfortunately there is no image of the $50 bond in the book, though there is an picture of your coupon. Fortunately, I was able to find one on Wikipedia.

The book gives the registered $50 bond a rarity of R7, meaning an estimated 4 to 12 of these remain in existence. So coupons are a lot easier to find -- and unlike most commercial bond coupons, they do carry some value.

Thank you all very much for the feedback, knowledge is a wonderful gift to bestow upon others. It is truly appreciated!
Don