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D.O. Mills Collection, Bank of California, historic [173943]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:350.00 USD Estimated At:700.00 - 1,000.00 USD
D.O. Mills Collection, Bank of California, historic    [173943]
SOLD
350.00USD+ (87.50) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Dec 08 @ 11:34UTC-8 : PST/AKDT

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Superb collection relating to D.O. Mills and the first banking house in California. Includes: 1) 3x company check No. 186 (June 29th, 1859), 221 (August 2, 1859), and 279 (October 2, 1859), green on white, all signed by Hardy Kennedy. Printed by John C Beale, 73 Wall St. N.Y. 2) 2x company checks, one not numbered and dated February 4, 1860, and one with illegible number and dated December 6, 1859. Black on white, both signed by Hardy Kennedy. Printed by Printed by John C Beale, 73 Wall St. N.Y. 3) 2x company checks, not numbered, one dated April 26, 1861, the other June 7, 1865. Red on white. April 26, 1861 check signed by Hardy Kennedy. June 7, 1865 check has D.O. Mills lined out and Bank of California handwritten in, with 2-cent revenue stamp and vignette of woman wearing wreath holding American shield, signed by (illegible). 3)D.O. Mills & Co 2nd Exchange Sacramento No. 16454, California, January 9, 1861. Black on white, 'second' under-printed, two beautiful vignettes of ships, a beautiful sailing ship and a steam paddle wheeler ship, printed by Bald Cousland & Co, N.Y. and Philadelphia. Signed by D.O. Mills & Co. This is an early Sacramento Gold Rush iten, second of exchange promissory note. 4) D.O. Mills & Co 2nd Exchange Sacramento No. 21247(?), California, March 2, 1864 Black on white, 'second' under-printed, two beautiful vignettes of ships, a beautiful sailing ship and a steam paddle wheeler ship. Signed by D.O. Mills & Co. This is another early Sacramento Gold Rush item, second of exchange promissory note. Blue 2-cent revenue, and rare California revenue red 40-cent revenue stamps (left), printed by Bald Cousland & Co, N.Y. and Philadelphia. 5) D.O. Mills & Co. 2nd Exchange Sacramento, California Bank dated March 2, 1872, No. 4311, Three vignettes, one of sailing ships, another of a steamer and one of a dog. Black on white, Has payable "in currency" stamped twice. Signed by D.O. Mills. 6) D.O. Mills & Co. Second bill of exchange Sacramento, California Bank dated April 26, 1870, No. 2614, Three vignettes, one of sailing ships, another of a steamer and one of a dog. Red on white, has payable "in currency" stamp, has brown 2-cent GW IR revenue stamp and rare, green California State revenue $1.50 stamp. Signed by D.O. Mills. From eh.net: One of the earliest, and largest, banks in California in the 1850s was started by D.O. Mills, a young New York bank employee who came to California to mine gold. Soon tiring of mining, he opened a mercantile establishment in Sacramento. Mills began storing gold for the miners, and later began buying gold and issuing notes that circulated as money. Within a few years he changed the sign on his building from “store” to “bank.” The Bank of D.O. Mills survived into the 1920s. Merchants started many early western banks in just this manner, since the lack of regulation or enforcement meant that potential depositors needed the security of a trusted, widely respected individual. A previous business often was the route to this trust. Although the character of the individuals in control was of foremost importance, housing the bank in a solid structure also reassured customers. Because depositors worried about “wildcat banks” which accepted deposits, then relocated far away to discourage withdrawals, it was hard to gather deposits without proof of stability. So the bank was often the most solid structure in town. Although there are a few spectacular instances of bankers leaving town with deposits, the system generally worked extremely well with minimal regulation. From oac.cdlib.org: Darius Ogden Mills (1825-1910, founded the first banking house in California (Gold Bank of D. O. Mills & Co.) around 1849. A branch bank was opened in Columbia, Tuolumne County, California in 1850, which was transferred to other banking interests in 1859. In 1872 the bank became the National Gold Bank of D. O. Mills & Company. It remained under this title until October 29, 1925, when it was merged with the California National Bank of Sacramento. California Franklin Collection