1377

American Express Company Issued to & Signed by Butterfield, Wells, & Fargo [197506]

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Stock & Bond - Transportation Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 3,000.00 USD
American Express Company Issued to & Signed by Butterfield, Wells, & Fargo [197506]
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An express collector's DREAM certificate! Civil War era. Choice with three key autographs; the founders of the company! No. 1191, issued for 4 shares to John Butterfield in 1864. Signed by Henry Wells as president, William Fargo as secretary, and Alex. Holland as treasurer. Signed by Butterfield on reverse. Pen cancelled, but not through signatures. Safety & Dispatch vignette. Folds, soiling. 8.25 x 12" Wells, Fargo, and Butterfield are the 3 founders of American Express. Wells & Fargo also founded Wells, Fargo, & Company. The express business was busy during the first years of the Civil War. American Express had a near monopoly on parts of New York, and in early 1863 was paying the Hudson River Railroad nearly $100,000 per year to run freight. At about 12% of the total freight revenue, it was too expensive, and the owners of the rail kept changing rates and conditions. What exactly took place between the two companies in an effort by American Express to lower and stabilize the rates, is not fully known, but American Express seems to have cut a deal with the Hudson River RR, and possibly Cornelius Vanderbilt, who got control of the rail line in 1864, right after he got control of the New York & Harlem RR on the other side of the Hudson River. It could be argued that American Express made a play to use the New York & Harlem RR, now under control of Vanderbilt, which would have caused a loss of the $100,000 per year in much needed revenue to the Hudson River RR. The Hudson River RR “came around”, but Vanderbilt bought them the next year anyway in a successful effort to control freight and passenger lines on both sides of the Hudson River. Additionally, American Express bought the National Bankers Express Co. with stock in a bit of a “blackmail” play. This period is when American Express increased their capital stock to 6,000 shares and issued new certificates. Near the end of the Civil War, American Express increased capital to 10,000 shares on Feb. 11, 1865. Be sure to read Fred Holabird's essay on the history of these companies and the various stock types that were issued: https://www.holabirdamericana.com/s/American-Express-and-Wells-Fargo-ajhp.pdf
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Date: 1864
Country (if not USA):
State: New York
City: New York
Provenance: Ken Prag Collection