Description:

Drew Daniel

Daniel Drew Signs $1,000,000 Manhattan Company Check!

 

An unnumbered Manhattan Company check issued by American businessman Daniel Drew (1797-1879) to himself, and signed by him as "D Drew" at lower right. New York, dated October 28, 1868. Bearing a 2 cent revenue stamp at upper left. Cancelled, spindled, and lightly laid down on a card, else very good. The check measures 7.75" x 3" while the overall size is 8" x 3.375".

 

Drew began his business career as a cattle drover. He applied the sharp business practices he learned trading cattle to future business enterprises in steamboats, railroads, and the stock market. Drew was famed for his "bear raids"--stock market speculations where he took the "short" side of the market, betting that stocks would fall rather than rise. Drew's business associates included fellow financiers James Fisk, Jr., Jay Gould, and Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt.

 

Why would Daniel Drew write himself a check for $1,000,000? How did investors like him apply pressure to make stock prices rise or fall? One method was "locking up" money. In Drew's words, "locking up" entailed: "the object … is to make money scarce - to make stocks fall, because people couldn't get the money to carry them." (Bouck White, The Book of Daniel Drew, 1910). "Locking up" enabled financiers to manipulate the market.

 

In October 1868, when this check was written, money was already scarce. Relations between Drew and erstwhile allies Fisk and Gould had soured, and Drew thought he could press an advantage by taking the short side of the market in Erie Railroad stocks. Fisk and Gould upped the ante. When Drew and his associates withdrew large sums of cash from the already strapped banks, loan officers began denying requests from speculators trying to borrow money in order to meet urgent margin requests. This put an immediate stop to much of the speculative buying in Erie Railroad Stocks, and it forced heavily-margined speculators to sell.

 

This $1,000,000 check represents an extraordinary era of financial history, in which wild speculation and market manipulation led to eventual sweeping reforms in the securities industry. A major addition to any great collection, and probably unique!

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000