Lawrence, KS
1898
$45.00
How to explain a stamped bank draft with a facsimile RN imprint? First, the simpler details: black on tan watermarked laid paper. The vignette depicts a wagon train, riverboat, and a small farm with the motto “ad astra per aspera” — to the stars through adversity/hardship.
This instrument originated from Dallas, Texas. The payor bank, as originally printed on the check, was the National Bank of Commerce, Dallas. At some point the location was changed to Lawrence, KS — indicated with a purple handstamp — and the payor bank was changed to a branch in New York.
Then we come to the facsimile Type G imprint. Such imprints are only found on checks & drafts printed after October, 1883, when the bank check tax was repealed. The imprint was purely a visual device, added by some account holders to their checks to maintain a sense of familiarity with Type G imprinted checks that had been in use since 1875.
The dateline provides the clue for explaining the presence of the adhesive stamp. Starting July 1, 1898, the 2¢ bank check tax was reinstated to raise revenue for the Spanish-American war. So as of Oct. 6, 1898, the date of this draft, a 2¢ revenue stamp was required — an R155 provisional “I.R.” overprint of a postage stamp.
Small piece missing from the lower RH corner of the stamp. Draft has a typical cut cancel. Clipped corner upper left and a few negligible small faults.