Two-Sided West Virginia Auditor's Warrant 1882

This is the first time I've seen something like this: a two-sided check! Technically, I think it's a check and a warrant. Maybe someone here can help figure out the accounting on this. It looks like the funds ($10) were paid to the recipient, Hugh Daly, by the state auditor using a warrant, which was then drawn from the State Depository at Wheeling using the Treasurer's Check printed on the flip side. Both sides have the same serial number.

In any case, it's an attractive ABNC engraved piece with twice the bang for my buck.

In 1872 West Virginia, auditor's warrants and checks were part of a two-step payment system used for state financial control and accountability.

The auditor's warrant was essentially an authorization to pay, not the payment itself. It served as expenditure control, with the state auditor verifying that funds had been legally appropriated by the legislature for the specified purpose, that the payment to the specified person was legitimate and properly documented, and that sufficient funds existed in the designated appropriation. The warrant also created an accounting record that the state owed this money, and caused accountants to make book entries, reducing the available balance in that appropriation account. Additionally, it gave the state treasurer the legal authority to make the payment from the general fund.

The process worked in two steps. First, the auditor issued the warrant after approving the claim, essentially declaring that the state owed this money and should pay it. The payee, the payee's contract sponsor, or another interested government official would have prepared or requested the warrant. That person then took the warrant to the treasurer. The treasurer then drew a check against the general state fund, which was the state's main bank account, based on the warrant's authorization.

This separation of duties was a key internal control mechanism. The auditor, as a legislative branch officer, verified legitimacy and tracked appropriations, while the treasurer, as an executive branch officer, actually held and disbursed the money. This meant that no single official could both authorize and make payments, which prevented fraud.

The warrant you have is historically significant as evidence of this nineteenth-century governmental accounting practice, showing the financial controls West Virginia used during the Reconstruction era.

Terrific explanation! Thanks so much for laying out the process. Now the double-sided financial instrument makes much more sense. It's actually quite practical -- I'm surprised more state governments didn't do this.