Beschreibung:

LOAN OFFICE CERTIFICATE]. CARROLL, Charles, of Carrollton (1737-1832), Signer (Maryland). Partly printed document, a United State Loan Office Certificate, signed ("Charles Carroll") on verso (also endorsed by Charles Carroll Jr. and several others) and signed on front by Thomas Howard Commissioner of Loans, Maryland, 15 October 1792. 1 page, oblong (5¼ x 9 in.), irregularly trimmed on left margin not affecting central certificate, circular cancellation (15/16 in. diameter) at right, accomplished in manuscript . An attractively designed security printed in several decorative types, delicate border of printer's flowers, at left an oval woodcut of the United States seal (designed by Charles Thomson this constitutes one of the device's earliest uses on a monetary instrument). "STOCK IN AMERICA" OWNED BY THE OLDEST SURVIVING SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE THE FIRST SECURITY TRADED ON THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. The Revolutionary War debt of the nation, Hamilton famously stated, was "the price of liberty." This elegant certificate quite literally constitutes "Stock in America." Authorized by Congress on 4 August 1790, these were the critical elements in Alexander Hamilton's plan to consolidate state and national debt--totaling some 64 million dollars--leftover from the Revolution. The present 3 Funded Debt certificate is extremely rare; most were probably destroyed when they were exchanged. The 6 certificates would appear to be considerably more numerous. Anderson, The Price of Liberty , p.103; Hessler, Illustrated History of U.S. Loans , p.52-53. THIS CERTIFICATE IS AN ESPECIALLY HISTORIC EXAMPLE, having been issued in October 1792, exactly six months after the NYSE opened (May 17, 1792) to Charles Carroll, Maryland patriot, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and reputedly the wealthiest individual in the nation. On the verso are endorsements dated "Baltimore, October 1832, recording the partial conversion of the nearly 40-year old stock; this transfer took place less than a month before Carroll's death on 14 November 1832. Since the deaths of Adams and Jefferson in 1826, Carroll was the last surviving Singer of the Declaration of Independence. This type of security was the first to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.