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EXTREMELY RARE $1000 1795 TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES No. 1331. PMG Certified.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - Canada Start Price:10,000.00 CAD Estimated At:20,000.00 CAD
EXTREMELY RARE $1000 1795 TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES No. 1331. PMG Certified.
SOLD
14,000.00CAD+ buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2014 Jun 28 @ 17:48UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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This spectacular 1795 $1000 treasury certificate is one of the most interesting pieces of American financial history ever to be offered by public auction. It has been certified by PMG for authenticity, and is in extremely Fine condition. Dated 20th of July, 1795, the certificate bears interest indefinitely at a rate of 5.5%, and appears to remain unredeemed. If compounded over the 219 years since it was issued, this would now total a redemption value of a staggering $123,676,914.

While it is unlikely the Department of the Treasury would redeem this certificate today, it remains an amazing artifact of an important period of American history. In 1795, President George Washington was working towards building a strong and well-financed national government. As Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton was the architect of a new financial system, establishing a national bank, issuing currency, and raising revenue.

In 1795, this Treasury Certificate was one of the first sources of revenue for the young country, and may be seen as the predecessor of the modern “T-Bill”. $1000 in 1795 was an enormous amount of money, and certificates of this value would have been purchased only by the wealthy and elite of the era. The certificate measures approximately 7.25 inches by 13 inches and includes an embossed official seal of Robert Henry Dunkin, Notary Public for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It also bears the hand written name of Joseph Nourse, the first Register of the Treasury of the United States. The certificate was issued to “Arthur Cramond & Co. of London”, and this would have been the company’s copy of the registered loan to the United States Treasury.

Research on the original certificate owner is as fascinating as the certificate itself. Arthur Cramond & Co. of London was a merchant firm operating in England that filed for bankruptcy in 1797, two years after the certificate was issued. While Arthur Cramond remained in London, his brother William Cramond was a powerful American merchant, property surveyor and land speculator, acquiring huge tracts of land in Pennsylvania, and building for himself the first gothic-style mansion in Philadelphia (which remains today). Unfortunately, William Cramond likely didn’t enjoy his stunning new home for long, as he was bankrupt by 1806.

The amazing survival of this early financial document likely stems from Cramond’s failure to provide the certificate to creditors upon bankruptcy. Today, it survives as a testament to the development of the United States financial system, and is likely the oldest known certificate from the treasury of the United States.

$1000. 1795. United States . An exceptional example of the oldest known
certificate from the Treasury of the United States. PMG certified for authenticity.
(Extremely Fine condition).