The Check Collector: January-March 2006, No. 77

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by  American Society of Check Collectors

THE CHECK COLLECTOR
January - March 2006 The Journal of Number 77
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CHECK COLLECTORS, INC.
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
Editor: Robert D. Hohertz
PO Box 808 Contents
Northfield, MN 55057-0808
4 Virginia & Truckee Railroad - Leifer
Advertising Manager: All advertising should be 6 Mistakes - Woods
channeled through the Treasurer, Dick Naven. Dick's 9 Find in the Marketplace - Rabin
address is on the following page. 10 Bankers, Comedian & a Flight Pioneer - Poleske
12 Revenue Stamped Paper Exhibit - Hohertz
20 Search Engine Problems - Sowards
The Check Collector (ISSN 1066-3061) is published 20 Find in the Marketplace - Pickering
quarterly by the American Society of Check Collectors, 473 21 Baseball Checks - Adams
East Elm, Sycamore, IL 60178-1934. Subscription only by 22 Letter to the Editor - Poleske
membership, dues $13 per year in the US ($17 per year in 23 Letter to the Editor - Adams
Canada and Mexico, $23 elsewhere). Periodicals postage 25 Announcements
paid at Northfield, MN 55057 and additional mailing offices. 25 Secretary's Report
POSTMASTER: send address changes to:The Check 26 Member Exchange
Collector, 473 East Elm, Sycamore, IL 60178-1934. All rights
reserved.
To our members: VISIT OUR WEB PAGE
http://asccinfo.com
Write something for The Check Collector'. We need articles
about checks, check-related subjects, and fiscal documents.
We retype all material. Illustrations require an original or a
good, clear, black and white copy, preferably as large as can
be obtained Original checks sent in are copied and returned
carefully. Any questions, ask the Editor!
To our advertisers:
Deadline for advertising copy to run in the April - June issue
of The Check Collector is May 15.
The Check Collector is an effective means of reaching the
check collecting hobby, and our membership of collectors
and dealers of checks and related financial documents. It
contains feature articles about checks and check collecting
and news about the hobby.
A check of the Carson & Colorado Railroad, begun by the
Advertising orders must be paid in advance and shall be same officials as the Virginia & Truckee, featured in our lead
restricted to checks and related fiscal documents, publica¬ article.
tions, accessories, and supplies. The ASCC accepts adver¬
tising in good faith, reserving the right to edit copy. Copy for Articles also touch on check writing woes of a century ago, a
ads must be camera-ready or the Editor will set it as best he comedian, an aviator, and baseball.
can.
ASCC assumes no financial responsibility for typographical
errors in advertising. However, it will reprint that portion of
an advertisement in which a typographical error appeared
upon prompt notification of such error.
All advertisements and payments should be submitted to the
Advertising rates are as follows:
Treasurer.
One quarter page $25.00/issue
Business card size $15.00/issue
$10 discount for four issues paid at once.
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 2
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CHECK COLLECTORS, INC.
A non-profit organization organized under Section 501-(c)-(3)
President: Departments: Dues:
Robert D. Hohertz Attorney: US: $13 per year
PO Box 808 Hennann Ivester Canada, Mexico: $17 per year
Northfield, MN 55057-0808 5 Leslie Circle Elsewhere: $23 per year
rdh @ northfieldmail.com Little rock, AR 72205-2529
Security Printers Guide:
Vice-President: Check Pool: $5 in looseleaf form - order from
Michael S. Turrini Phillip G. Ryman William G. Kanowsky, address
POBox4104 859 Park Circle above.
Vallejo, CA 94590 Harrisonburg, VA 22802
[email protected] Electronic form from Lyman Hensley
Secretary: free via e-mail or send diskette and
Lyman Hensley Editor, The Check Collector. return postage. Address above.
473 East Elm Robert D. Hohertz - see above
Sycamore, IL 60178-1934
[email protected] Librarian:
Charles V. Kemp
Treasurer: PO Box 71892
Dick Naven Madison Hts, MI 48071
6802 S.W. 33rd PI.
Portland, OR 97219 Membership Directory:
[email protected] Lyman Hensley - see above
Security Printers:
Directors: William G. Kanowsky
Lyman Hensley (2008) 1533 Savannah Dr.
Robert D. Hohertz (2008) Evansville, IN 47714
M. S. Kazanjian (2008)
Coleman Leifer (2007) Slide Program:
Dick Naven (2007) Larry Adams
Lee E. Poleske (2008) 812 1/2 Story St.
Phillip G. Ryman (2007) Boone, IA 50036
Robert A. Spence (Emeritus)
Michael S. Turrini (2007)
Membership Interests
1. Checks, general 5. Checks, Great Britian 21. Autographs
2. Checks, USA 6. Checks, Canada 22. Railroads, Steamboats, Mining
3. US Government Checks 7. Checks, World 23. Banking History
4. Miscellaneous Fiscals: 8. Travelers Checks & Money Orders 24. Security Printing & Printers
Bank Drafts 9. Specimen Checks 25. Check Protectors & Cancel
Bills of Exchange 10. Ration Checks Devices
Certificates of Deposit 11. Refund/Rebate Checks 26. Wells Fargo History
Promissory Notes 12. Other 30. Stock & Bond Certificates
Warrants 14. Counter & Modem Checks 31. Revenue Stamped Documents
Receipts 20. Vignettes 32. Emergency Scrip
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 3
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
The Virginia and Truckee Railroad
by Coleman Leifer
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The Virginia and Truckee certificate illustrated with this article is. except for a few autographed items, the most desirable
American collectible railroad stock certificate. The image is courtesy of a prominent western scripophilist who prefers to
remain anonymous.
The certificate, issued on June 21.1869. is signed by William Sharon, one of the founders of the line. Sharon was originally
a California banker who was prominent in the development of mines in the Virginia City and Gold Hill areas of Nevada. It has
the appropriate U.S. Internal Revenue and Nevada state revenue stamps.
The railroad was chartered in 1869 and completed in 1870 from Virginia City to
Carson City (about twenty miles) in 1870. Originally, it was not connected to any
other railroad but serviced the mines and smelters in the area. In 1873, the line was
extended 50 miles north to Lakes Crossing (now Reno) to connect with the Central
Pacific Railroad.
The railroad had its ups and downs as the older mines were depleted and new
mines were discovered. The officials involved with the V&T were also involved in
starting other railroads in western Nevada as new ore discoveries were made.
These include the Carson and Colorado which ran to the Bodie area in California
and the Tonopah Railroad to Tonopah, Nevada.
By the early 1900 s. mining in the area was gradually coming to an end. In 1906 the
V&T was extended southward from Carson City to Minden to tap a rapidly growing
agricultural area. But with better highways and the increased used of tracks traffic
on the line gradually declined. In an effort keep the line afloat some of the rolling
stock was sold to movie studios to be used in Western films. In 1941, the line to
Virginia City was torn up and in 1950 the entire line was abandoned.
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 4
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
In the 1970’s a 2-mile tourist railroad was opened from Virginia City to Gold Hill using the original right-of-way. In 2005,
the tourist line was being extended 20 miles to Carson City. One of the hoops the builders of the Carson City extension
had to jump through was an environmental impact statement, something the original builders didn’t have to bother with.
Some of the V&T locomotives and other equipment can be found in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento
and in the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City.
An 1875 check of the V&T Railroad. It is printed in blue, and the imprinted revenue is type D-1.
This check is signed by Henry M. Yerington, who was Vice-President and Superintendent of the line for about forty years.
It is a dividend payment issued to William Sharon, the line’s President, for $15,183. The imprinted revenue is type G-l.
Sources:
http://www.vcnevada.com (from The History of the Crookedest Short Line in America, the Virginia and Truckee Railroad,
by Don Bush, Copyright 1992)
http://www.nsrm-friends.org (Nevada State Railroad Museum).
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 5
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
MISTAKES IN BANKING
BY SAMUEL WOODS
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BANK CLERKS
INSTANCES, TAKEN FROM COURT RECORDS, OF COSTLY ERRORS IN CONNECTION WITH CHECKS, NOTES, AND
CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT - TRAPS INTO WHICH ANY ONE WHO HAS A BANK ACCOUNT MAY FALL.
This article was originally published in the November, 1905 edition of Munsey's Magazine. Two pages containing the
material shown were purchased on eBay one hundred years later, and are presented here for your reading pleasure.
M
any a man or woman has lost heavily by not knowing
the ABC of the banking business. One wrong word, But it is not the unique and novel swindle that is most
or figure, or letter - the right thing in the wrong way or the dangerous, either to a bank or an individual. It is the simple,
wrong place, the scratch of an eraser or the alteration of a ordinary mistake or the time-worn trick that makes continuous
word - any one of these things, in the making or cashing of a trouble.
check, is liable to become as expensive as a racing automobile. Apparently, every new generation contains a number of
The paying teller of a bank, like a Mississippi pilot, must dishonest people who lay the same traps, and a number of
keep his eyes open for new dangers as well as old ones. The careless people who fall into these traps in the same old way.
THF. SAME CHECK WITH THE AMOUNT RAISED - THE BANK PAID IT. AND THE COURTS DECIDED THAT THE ELECTRIC
COMPANY, NOT THE BANK, SHOULD LOSE THE EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS, ON ACCOUNT OF "GROSS CARLESSNESS" IN
DRAWING THE CHECK.
CHECK-RAISING MADE EASY.
cleverest crooks in the country are pitting their brains against
his. After he has learned the proper guard for all the well- One of the first lessons, for instance, that a depositor
known tricks and forgeries, it is still possible that an entirely should learn before he is qualified to own a check-book, is to
new combination may leave him minus cash and plus commence writing the amount as near as possible to the
experience. extreme left of the check. Those who forget this are often
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 6
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
A BUSINESS MAN LEFT THIS CHECK WITH HIS BOOKKEEPER, DATED APRIL 18, TO MEET A NOTE DUE THAT DAY. THE
BOOKKEEPER ERASED THE FIRST FIGURE OF THE DATE, CASHED THE CHECK ON APRIL 8, AND ABSCONDED. THE BANK HAD
TO REFUND THE MONEY.
reminded of it in a costly way. Some one “ raises “ their check morning, as soon as the doors were opened, draw out the
by writing another figure in front of the proper amount. “Five entire amount, count it, and then deposit it again at the
hundred” might be “raised” to “twenty-five hundred” in this receiving teller’s window. We christened her “ the bank
way even by an unskilled forger. examiner.”
At one bank of which I was cashier there was an old lady
who gave us more annoyance than all the rest of our ALTERED WORDS AND FIGURES IN CHECKS.
depositors put together. She had invented an odd rule never
to write a check for more than one hundred dollars. If she Much loss and litigation has been caused by alterations
owed three thousand, she would send a little bundle of thirty in the wording of notes or checks. The altered check is the
checks in payment. And in spite of all our warnings, she bane of the paying teller’s profession. Sometimes a change is
persisted in writing the amount in the exact center of the made so cleverly that a hawk’s eye might not detect the forgery.
check. “All you have to do,” she would retort sharply, “is to A “1” may be developed into a “9,” or a “6” into an “8.”
remember that I never draw a check for more than one hundred The First National Bank of San Francisco lost twenty-
dollars.” eight hundred dollars in 1903 because its cashier failed to
The highest court has recently decided that a bank cannot notice a change that had been made in the date of a check. A
be held responsible when it pays a “raised” check, if the business man had a note for twenty-eight hundred dollars
maker of the check failed to write it out correctly in the first coming due on April 18, and as he was called out of the city at
place. The treasurer of the Bath Electric Company, of Bath, the beginning of the month, he wrote a check for that amount,
Maine, had written a check for one hundred dollars, which dating it the 18th, and left it with his bookkeeper. The
was raised to eighty-one hundred dollars and cashed. The bookkeeper waited until April 8, then scratched out the figure
court held that the company, and not the bank, should lose “1” from the date, cashed the check, and absconded. The
the eight thousand dollars because of the treasurer’s “gross court compelled the bank to refund the money, holding that
carelessness” in drawing up the check. the paying teller should have noticed the erasure.
We had another lady depositor whose account gave us A bank in Beaumont, Texas, involved itself in a costly and
more trouble than profit. Her balance was usually a small one, wrangling lawsuit because its cashier accepted a check on
but it was her habit to come to the bank every Monday which the name of the bank had been altered. This case was
A CHECK THAT FIGURED IN A PECULIAR DISPUTE - IT WAS ORIGINALLY DRAWN ON THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK, BUT TO
PREVENT ITS PAYMENT MORRISS TRANSFERRED HIS ACCOUNT TO THE BEAUMONT NATIONAL. TURNER CHANGED THE
CHECK ACCORDINGLY, AND CASHED IT; AND WHEN MORRISS SUED THE BANK HE LOST.
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 7
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
WHEN THIS CHECK, PAYABLE TO SAMUEL B. BURTON AND D.E. BURTON, WAS INDORSED AND PRESENTED BY SAMUEL B.
BURTON, IT WAS PAID IN FULL. THE BANK SUBSEQUENTLY HAD TO PAY THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO D.E. BURTON.
so unusual that for weeks it transformed the town into a TRAPS FOR PAYING TELLERS.
debating society. H. J. Morriss had bought two hundred
dollars’ worth of oil stock from H. M. Turner, and paid for it Another short-cut to bankruptcy is to cash checks that
with a check on the First National Bank. An hour afterward he are not properly indorsed. Even a check that is made payable
changed his mind about his purchase, and to prevent Turner to bearer should be indorsed by the payee, so that the check
from cashing the check he drew all bis money out of the First may become a complete voucher for the money that has been
National. Learning that Morriss had transferred his account paid. When two names appear in the body of the check, it
to the Beaumont National Bank, Turner scratched out the must be indorsed by both, otherwise the person whose name
word “First” on his check and wrote “ Beaumont.” The has not been signed may collect his half from the bank.
Beaumont Bank paid the check, whereupon it was sued by This last point was recently decided in Nashville,
Morriss. On the first trial of the case Morriss won, but the Tennessee, in the case of D. E. Burton versus the Merchants
Court of Appeals decided in favor of the bank. & Farmers National Bank. The bank had cashed a six-
In Newark, New Jersey, a bank president not long ago paid thousand-dollar check which had been made payable to
three hundred dollars to learn that a note is worthless if any Samuel B. and D.E. Burton, although it was endorsed by
alteration has been made in its date. A borrower presented a Samuel B. Burton only. For this mistake it was obliged to pay
note for renewal. It was drawn for four months, but the three thousand dollars to the wronged half-owner of the
president said: “I will renew it for two months only.” As he check.
spoke, he drew his pen through the word “ four” and wrote “ The habit of writing the word “wife” on a certificate of
two” above it. The note was not paid, either after two months deposit, instead of the woman’s name, has caused all manner
or after four months. The bank sued. In defense, the of legal complications. A bank in St. James, Minnesota,
borrower’s lawyer pointed out that the document had been cashed a two-thousand dollar certificate of deposit for a
altered, since it was signed, by the president of the bank; and widow who was not mentioned in the paper by name, but
the court decided in favor of the borrower. merely designated under the title of wife. The executor of her
husband’s estate brought suit against the bank and compelled
it to pay the certificate a second time, as it rightfully belonged
to the estate, and was not properly indorsed when signed by
the widow.
THE USE OF THE WORD "WIFE" IN THIS CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT CAUSED A PECULIAR COMPLICATION. MRS McHENRY
INDORSED IT AND PRESENTED IT A FEW DAYS AFTER HER HUSBAND'S DEATH, AND THE BANK PAID IT - IMPROPERLY AS
THE COURTS RULED, SHE BEING HIS WIDOW. NOT HIS WIFE.
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC.
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
In matters of finance, unfortunately, it is always necessary a highly profitable bargain for the farmer, who is invited to act
to be on guard against strangers. Especially will a banker be as agent for the sale of plants, seeds, or machinery, with a
suspicious of unknown men who rush into his bank about small commission payable to the man who secures him the
five minutes before closing time and want their business agency when a certain amount of sales have been secured.
hurried through. Generally, when a man says “Be quick!” to a The farmer signs his name to a document like that on this
banker the banker says to himself “Go slow!” page. The swindler goes off with the tract, cuts it into two
Perhaps the most dangerous fraud perpetrated upon pieces, and one piece proves to be a perfectly worded note
farmers is a form of contract which can be turned into a against the farmer. He cashes the note at the local bank and
promissory note. On the face of it, the contract appears to be travels on for new prey.
Omaha, Nebr., June 11, 1904.
One year after date, I promise to pay to Francis Wilson or bearer Fifteen Dollars when I sell by
order Five Hundred and Seventy-five Dollars (575.00) worth of seeds and plants
for value received, with interest at seven per cent.; Said Fifteen Dollars when due is
payable at Omaha, Nebr.
Signed,
John Matlack, Agent for Francis Wilson.
AN INGENIOUS SWINDLE BY WHICH MANY FARMERS HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED - BY CUTTING IT AT THE DOTTED LINE,
WHICH OF COURSE DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE ORIGINAL, AN APPARENTLY HARMLESS DOCUMENT IS TRANSFORMED INTO
A NOTE.
The original article may have gone on beyond this point, but only two pages were present in the eBay lot. I hope this did
not give anyone any ideas..
A Find in the Marketplace - and a Question
I only collect manuscript/handwritten checks (talk about being specialized!) and while most of them are routine, many tell an
interesting story about what they were for, what goods or services were provided, and the like.
This one, purchased on eBay as part of a group of 25 manuscript checks from the Farmers and Mechanics Bank of Georgetown,
D.C. in the 1850's, caught my eye for a different reason. It has an unusual reference to the payment of "five hundred dollars
"Virginia'." I have not seen this before, and wonder if any members can explain what it meant.
Best Regards,
Sheldon T. Rabin
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 9
Number 77 THE CHECK COLLECTOR January-March 2006
Bankers, a Comedian and a Flight Pioneer
by Lee E. Poleske
What is the connection between these two celebrity checks? One signed by a famous comedian and the other by one of the
Wright brothers? A look at the bank name on the Wright check gives a good clue.
The Winters National Bank & Trust Company of Dayton, Ohio had its start in 1814 as the Dayton Manufacturing Company.
The company never made anything, it was a banking business. In 1833 the name was changed to Dayton Bank. Ten years
later Valentine Winters was employed as a clerk in the bank. In that same year a depression brought about the failure of many
banks in Ohio. As a result of the anti-bank sentiment created by the failures, the state legislature passed a bill that made
banking impossible in Ohio and the Dayton Bank had to surrender its charter. Two years later, changes were made in the
banking laws and the Dayton Bank was reopened under its new owners, Jonathan Harshman and his son-in-law Valentine
Winters.
In 1852 the Dayton bank was sold to the New Exchange Bank. Harshman and Winters became partners with R. R. Dickey and
James R Young. Valentine and his son Jonathan bought out the other partners in 1857 and changed the name to V. Winters &
Son. They made it through the 1873 panic and in 1881 joined the National Banking system as the Winters National Bank.
Valentine died in 1890; his son Jonathan succeeded him as president. The bank continued in the family until 1924 when a deep
recession forced the Winters family to sell the bank to Charles F. Kettering, the inventor of the electric starter for automobiles.
Kettering added a trust department and changed the name of the bank to Winters Bank & Trust Company. The bank survived
the great depression and continued to do business until 1983 when it was acquired by Banc One Corporation.
The most famous customers of the Winters Bank were Wilbur and Orville Wright. There was also an association between
Charles F. Kettering and Orville Wright. Kettering and Edward A. Deeds formed the Dayton-Wright company in 1917 to
manufacture airplanes. Orville Wright was hired as a technical advisor. In 1920 the company was sold to General Motors who
closed it soon afterwards.
A Winters National Bank & Trust Company check signed by Orville Wright (1871-1948). He and his brother Wilbur (1867-
1912) made the world's first controlled and sustained flight at Kitty Hawk. North Carolina on December 17, 1903.
Valentine Winter’s son Jonathan had a son Jonathan Harshman Winters, who married Alice Kilgore and their son Jonathan
Winters, the famous comedian, was bom November 11. 1925. Jonathan Harshman was an alcoholic and he and Alice were
divorced when Jonathan was seven. He and his mother moved to Springfield, Ohio, where she did a radio interview show and
became a local celebrity.
THE CHECK COLLECTOR is a quarterly publication of the ASCC. 10