Archives International Auctions Sale 56 U.S., Chinese & Worldwide Banknotes, Coins, Scripophily and Security Printing Ephemera November 21, 2019

Archives International Auctions - Sale 56 125 November 21,2019 Archives International Auctions www.archivesinternational.com 876 876 U.S.Checks, Drafts, Receipts andMiscellaneous Fiscal Documents ca.1850-1930’s. Over 100+ Fiscal documents and checks, Interesting assortment that deserves further study. VG to Unc. Sold “AS IS”, no returns accepted. ������������ Est. $50-100 Ephemera - Historical New York 877 877 American Bethel Society Proof Donation Certificate. ND(1840- 50’s). Proof Donation Certificate. Buffalo, New York. Large certificate featuring two vignettes, top with view of city, bottom with harbor and sailing ships, part intaglio and part litho, printed by Danforth, Spencer & Hufty. ����������������������������� Est. $150-250 Washington, DC 878 878 F.B.I. 1937 List of RansomBill Serial Numbers Used in the Famous Charles Ross Kidnapping Case. Washington, D.C., October 8, 1937. A 14- page document with a cover letter by John Edgar Hoover, FBI Director at the time, and bearing his facsimile signature. The letter states that the $10 and $20 currency notes described in the list were paid in a kidnapping case, and the recipient is requested to check against the list in case any may have been received by the recipient’s institution (presumably, such letter was circulated among various financial institutions such as banks). Very Fine and unusual. One evening in late September 1937, Charles S. Ross, the wealthy president of a greeting card company, was driving towards Chicago when he was pulled over and kidnapped at gunpoint by a pair of criminals. The ensuing investigation quickly became one of the largest for the young FBI. It did not end well for Ross, who was murdered on October 10 (along with one of the criminals) after a fight broke out between the two kidnappers. It didn’t end well for the mastermind of the plot, either. John Henry Seadlund (pictured above), who had a long history of run-ins with the law, crisscrossed the country after obtaining $50,000 in ransom money but was ultimately tracked to Los Angeles using serial numbers from the bills. Agents posed as cashiers at a local racetrack where the ransom money had been used and arrested Ross on January 10, 1938 after he tried to place a bet with one of the bills. Seadlund confessed to the kidnapping and murders and was later executed. For almost four months each clue was looked at to identify and locate the individual responsible for the crime. The wide ramifications of the investigative activities of the FBI reached beyond the territorial limits of the continental United States. Thus was conducted one of the most widespread and intensive manhunts ever engaged in by the FBI, utilizing the most modern means of scientific crime detection. The pursuit of the FBI was maintained until Seadlund was located and apprehended as the result of a carefully planned trap set into operation by special agents under the direct personal supervision of J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, at the Santa Anita Race Track near Los Angeles, California on January 14, 1938. ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Est. $325-450 Ephemera - Miscellaneous Fiscal Documents Georgia and Many Other States 879 879 Obsolete Banknotes, Reprints and Curiosities, ca.1860-1970’s Lot of 7 Items. Includes 2 $1, City Council of Augusta, Georgia Obsolete scrip Notes, VG-Fine; Reprint Intaglio proofs by ABN of Obsolete Banknotes and Miscellaneous items. Sold “AS IS”, no returns accepted.����������������������������������������������������������������� Est. $50-100