Old Check From 1843

By: Handini

Back in November I was at a numismatic convention (coin show) and found this interesting check from 1843. It was from the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road Company which was formed in 1833 (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Company).

Since this check is from a company and not a bank then any money they issued would not be listed in Haxby. If they issued any currency then one would likely find it in Hoober. Since it is not listed in Hoober, this company probably did not issue any currency. Nevertheless, this is still an interesting item for obsolete collectors.

$45 check Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road Company (1843)

Image Contribution: Handini

Another interesting thing to note is the signature on the lower left. It appears that Elvis signed the note. So apparently he can be traced to living in Philadelphia as early as the 1836 where he worked for the Manual Labor Bank until he got a job as the Treasurer of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road Company. Regardless of whether or not Elvis did indeed sign this note (j/k), this is the company by which Reading Railroad on the classic board game Monopoly is named after (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Company). However, since it is not an obsolete note but rather a check I would hesitate to refer to it as Monopoly money.