1907 Chicago Clearing House Association $1 Check

Framed Panic of 1907 Chicago Clearing House Association $1 Check

This antique certificate was issued by the Chicago Clearing House Association during the Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis. This check would be worth $32.68 toady, as measured by inflating the amount by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Alternatively, it has a "relative value" of $68.86 in the year 2022 as inflated by the Value of the Consumer Bundle (an alternate means of measuring inflation).

In mid-October of that year the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak during a time of economic recession. There were numerous runs on banks and on trust companies. The 1907 panic eventually spread throughout the nation when many state and local banks and businesses entered bankruptcy. Before the Federal Reserve was created, Clearing Houses would handle the interactions between banks, and would step in to issue "certificates" during panics. These checks were used as a substitute currency among the member banks for settlement purposes. Although they represented a violation of federal law against privately issued currencies, these certificates, as a contemporary observer noted, “performed so valuable a service… in moving the crops and keeping business machinery in motion, that the government… wisely forbore to prosecute.”

CONDITION: Good. Has water damage, but is uncancelled. Comes in an antique wooden frame. Actual pictures shown, please view the photos and judge for yourself. Sold AS-IS.

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