A magnificent piece of late 19th-century Western Americana banking and law enforcement ephemera.This original $300 Certificate of Deposit (Serial No. 8117) was issued by the historic Bullion and Exchange Bank of Carson City, Nevada—an institution famous for acting as a clearinghouse during the Comstock Lode mining boom and operating an office directly inside the Carson City U.S. Mint facility.**HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE & PROVENANCE:**
This is not a standard bank certificate; it represents official public county funds or legal execution capital.- **The Depositor:**
The certificate is handwritten and issued to "Wm. Kinney, Sheriff" (William Kinney), the prominent and colorful Sheriff and Assessor of Ormsby County (Carson City) during the mid-to-late 1890s.Notably, Sheriff Kinney was the active law enforcement officer who maintained order in the capital during the historic Corbett-Fitzsimmons heavyweight championship fight of 1897.- **The Endorsement:** The document features a beautifully handwritten transfer line on the front: "payable to the order of Ed Rube, Co. Treasurer." The reverse side is boldly endorsed by Edward Rube ("E. Rube, Co. Treasurer"), logging the official receipt of the cleared public funds back into the county treasury.**DATE & CANCEL:**
The document features a pre-printed "189__" date line. It features a crisp, distinct blue circular bank teller stamp marking the document "PAID" on June 3rd, officially retiring the piece into the bank vaults.**CONDITION:**
Excellent historic condition for a 130-year-old salvaged document. Features a beautiful, complete, scalloped left-hand counterfoil edge from where it was cleanly cut out of the bank's ledger book. Shows standard light folding creases and minor age-toning/handling wear consistent with age, missing corners, or structural damage.
••Please note: there is s small tear in the middle of the certificate, which most likely occurred long ago. Its been in this same exact frame for a very long time.Crisp ink signatures throughout. (Please see high-resolution photos for exact condition details).Historical Context
The Bank: Originally incorporated as the Carson City Savings Bank in 1875, it changed its name to The Bullion and Exchange Bank in 1882 to better reflect its growing role as a clearinghouse for gold bullion, silver coins, and mining stock during Nevada's famous mining booms. It was eventually absorbed and restructured into the State Bank and Trust Company in 1903 before failing in 1907.Connection to the Mint:
The bank was heavily entwined with local mining and development. Because of its close connections, it actually operated an office directly inside the historic Carson City U.S. Mint facilityDetails of the Document
Type: Certificate of Deposit (CD).Key Text: You can read the elegant, stylized cursive printing of "The Bullion and Exchange Bank" running down the center, along with the labeled stamp on the top header marking it as a "Certificate [of] Deposit".Significance: Pieces like this are considered desirable Western scripophily and ephemera collectibles. Collectors highly prize documents from this bank due to its direct association with Carson City's wild Comstock Lode mining era and the U.S. Mint.The depositor was William "Wm." Kinney, the Sheriff of Ormsby County (Carson City).A deposit of $300 during the late 19th century was a substantial amount of money. For context, $300 in the 1890s is equivalent to roughly $10,000 to $11,000 today when adjusting for inflation.Because this was a Certificate of Deposit from The Bullion and Exchange Bank, that $300 was a fixed-term savings investment. Instead of everyday spending, the depositor left this large sum with the bank to earn a guaranteed interest rate backed by the booming, gold-and-silver-fueled economy of Carson CityA Notable Piece of History:
Sheriff Kinney was a colorful Wild West figure. Most famously, he was the active Sheriff in charge of law enforcement in Carson City during the legendary Corbett-Fitzsimmons heavyweight championship fight of 1897, which drew thousands of spectators, high rollers, and "undesirables" to the Nevada capital. History notes that Sheriff Kinney ruthlessly rounded up troublemakers, threw them in stone-walled cells, and marched them to the city limits to protect the town.Official Capacity: Because the document explicitly adds his official title ("Sheriff"), this $300 deposit was almost certainly not his personal pocket money. In the 1890s, county sheriffs simultaneously served as the tax assessor and collector. This Certificate of Deposit likely represents official county funds, a legal settlement execution, or a bailment bond held securely at The Bullion and Exchange Bank during an active legal dispute.OPEN to OFFERS!
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