American Express Co. - Specimen Travelers Cheque/Check

Specimen. One Hundred Dollar Travelers Cheque.

American Express Company (Amex), headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in New York City’s Financial District, is a multinational financial services corporation. Founded in 1850, it’s one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Its iconic logo, adopted in 1958, features a gladiator or centurion, prominently displayed on traveler’s cheques, charge cards, and credit cards.

During the 1980s, Amex expanded its presence in the brokerage industry. It acquired Shearson Lehman Hutton in increments and later divested these holdings into Smith Barney Shearson (owned by Primerica) and a revived Lehman Brothers. However, by 2008, neither the Shearson nor the Lehman names remained.

American Express’s roots can be traced back to 1850 when it was established as an express mail business in Buffalo, New York. The company was founded as a joint-stock corporation through the merger of three express companies: Wells & Company (owned by Henry Wells), Livingston, Fargo & Company (owned by William G. Fargo), and Wells, Butterfield & Company (the successor to Butterfield, Wasson & Company, which had been founded earlier in 1850). In 1852, Wells and Fargo further expanded their operations by establishing Wells Fargo & Co. when Butterfield and other directors objected to American Express’s proposal to extend its operations to California.