Bank of the Manhattan Co. - American Bank Note Company Specimen Check

Specimen Cashiers Check printed by American Bank Note Company. The Manhattan Company was a New York bank and holding company established on September 1, 1799. The company merged with Chase National Bank in 1955 to form the Chase Manhattan Bank. It is the oldest of the predecessor institutions that eventually formed the current JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Manhattan Company was formed in 1799 with the ostensible purpose of providing clean water to Lower Manhattan. However, the main interest of the company was not in the supply of water, but rather in becoming a part of the banking industry in New York. At that time, the banking industry was monopolized by Alexander Hamilton's Bank of New York and the New York branch of the First Bank of the United States. "To circumvent the opposition of Hamilton to the establishment of a bank," and following an epidemic of yellow fever in the city, Aaron Burr founded the company and successfully gained banking privileges through a clause in its charter granted to it by the state that allowed it to use surplus capital for banking transactions. The company raised $2 million, used one hundred thousand dollars for building a water supply system, and used the rest to start the bank. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Company

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