Seven Shares of the Waltham National Bank
A punch-cancelled stock certificate for seven shares of the Waltham National Bank, made out to the bank's own president, Charles A. Moulton, and stamped by the bank's cashier.
TranscriptionThe certificate
[Upper left, blue] 1021 [Upper right, handwritten] S 7 [Upper right, handwritten] 7 shs. The Waltham National Bank [Vignette: eagle perched on shield and flags] This Certifies that Charles A. Moulton is the proprietor of Seven Shares of the Capital Stock of The Waltham National Bank of Waltham, Mass, which is transferable only on the Books of the Bank by him or his Attorney on surrender of this Certificate. [Vignette, lower left: figure of a Native American with bow] Waltham MAR - 3 1913 19 J. F. Howland [punch-cancelled] Cashier Chas. A. Moulton President American Bank Note Co. N.Y. & Boston [Embossed seal, lower left]
The story on the paper
The Waltham National Bank was the Watch City's bank of record from the Civil War into the twentieth century, occupying a granite building in Waltham's commercial center. This certificate, printed by the American Bank Note Company of New York and Boston, certifies seven shares of its capital stock held by Charles A. Moulton, who also signs at the bottom as the bank's president. Holding your own bank's shares was a tidy arrangement.
The holes punched through the cashier's signature are the cancellation: once the shares were transferred on the bank's books, the certificate was voided by punch and pen. The vignettes, an eagle on a shield at top and a figure of a Native American at lower left, are standard national bank iconography of the era.
The red stamp dates the certificate March 3, 1913, five days before Woodrow Wilson's first inauguration and months before the Federal Reserve Act would begin remaking American banking.
The people named in it
Charles A. Moulton
President of the Waltham National Bank and holder of the seven shares this certificate records.
- Type
- Stock certificate
- Date
- March 3, 1913
- Place
- Waltham, Massachusetts