2269

San Francisco,CA - 1855 - Nevada Assayers Office Letter to the San Francisco Mint :

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 200.00 USD
San Francisco,CA - 1855 - Nevada Assayers Office Letter to the San Francisco Mint :
First of Transfer Check from the Unites States Treasury Department Mint at West Point, New York to the Mint at San Francisco, CA. This was issued for the transfer of $5000 dollars on November 17, 1855. It is paid to the order of the Assistant Treasurer at San Francisco, is numbered 540 and has two detailed vignettes. The first vignette is in the upper right corner and is a detailed rendition of an early United States Capitol Building. In this depiction there are several horse drawn carriages, men and women in Victorian era gowns and suits. A small rotunda is apparent in the vignette. The Capitol rotunda construction did not commence until 1856, the year after this First of Transfer check was issued. The artist appears to have illustrated his predication for what the completed rotunda will look like. The second vignette is a portrait of George Washington much like the one on the current $1-bill. It is integrated within a black ornate patterned background which runs the width of the check on the left side. The check measures 8 ¾” x 4 ½”, is composed of red and black lettering and small black border. There are several stand-out signatures on the obverse. In the lower right hand corner are the signatures of the-then serving Secretary of the Treasury James Guthrie and Treasurer of the United States: Sam Casey. Both Casey and Guthrie served under President Franklin Pierce; Casey also served through the Presidency of James Buchanan. Written vertically across the center in red ink are the words “Second Paid January 31, 1856.” A red water mark reading First of the Treasury is horizontal across the middle of the obverse. The reverse has written “pay to the order of Flint, Peabody & Co.” Flint, Peabody & Co was a cargo merchant company based out of San Francisco in the 1800’s who worked in association with T. Magoun & Son Shipping and Merchant carrier. T. Magoun & Son helped establish the State Street-area of Boston as one of the east coast’s most influential financial districts.
The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854 and served to ease the demand for currency that had bloomed as a result of the gold rush in California. Succinctly, a mint opened in Carson City in 1870 to help ease the Comstock Lode demand in Nevada.