Issued to and Signed by August Belmont

Description

1880, New York and Oregon. 10 ¾” x 7” stock certificate for 100 shares of the Oregon and Transcontinental Company. Green-Black. Engraved panoramic view of Indians overlooking a riverside town with passing steam locomotives. Issued to and signed on verso by August Belmont (1816-1890). Financier; Diplomat. At the age of fourteen, Belmont began working at the office of the Rothschilds in Frankfurt, Germany. His skill for finance won him numerous promotions within the company until in 1837, during the financial panic, he formed his own company in New York with his only tangible asset being that of his agency in the U.S. for the Rothschilds. Within a few years, Belmont was one of the leading bankers in the nation. The Oregon and Transcontinental was organized by Henry Villard as a holding company for a vast empire of Nortwestern railway and improvement interests to better integrate them into a harmonized system of railways. The certificate is punch and stamp cancelled. Belmont's signature on verso remains uncancelled and bold. A few pinholes. Fine.