Philadelphia, PA
1880
Original price was: $25.00.$15.00Current price is: $15.00.
This is one extraordinary check. First… Black on white, tinted paper. Violet pen notes “Special” along left edge. Check made out for $1.20 for “Stamps” in a very neat hand.
Then there’s the printing of the check, starting with a grayish overall tint that indicates “Tint for Bank Checks and Drafts” at the top. At bottom, the tint includes two Continental Bank Note Company imprints, and notes “Registered in the United States Patent Office 1878.” A preliminary search of patent office records did not reveal any patents attributable to the tint design or CBNC itself.
Lastly, the imprint of W.F. Murphy’s Sons appears in black. All this indicates that it took 3 steps to print this check: first the tint, then the D1 imprint, and finally, the black printing.
Flat as can be, bright and fresh. Healed spindle cut not immediately apparent. Small paper loss from X-cut at in the vicinity of “Bearer,” but this pales in light of the overall visual impact and design details of this amazing check.