Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad 1838 Stock/Bond Certificate-SC/KY B

Description

This is a stunning, exceptionally early bond from the 'State of South Carolina, The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road.' It was issued in 1838 for 250 Pounds Sterling and has three vignettes.
Printed by Draper, Toppan, Longacre & Co., Philadelphia & New York. It measures about 12.75" x 7.25" not including the coupons on the bottom.  It is generally clean with the exception of some wear along the top edge that you can see in the image.  Here, the paper is folded back tightly. This is the earliest-known railroad bond.
An excerpt from a piece by Stephen L. Goldsmith and Douglas Ball:
The State of South Carolina was one of the first to realize the economic benefits that could be gained by aiding the construction of railroads, and the State loaned 0,000 to the fledgling South Carolina Canal & Railroad Company (chartered in 1827) to build a 136-mile road from Charleston to Hamburg, which was completed in 1833. It was then the longest line in America. In 1835, hoping to further improve the transportation of cotton from the Deep South northward, a new railroad was chartered, the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston. In 1838, to encourage the expansion of the road to the state capital, Columbia, the State of South Carolina agreed to guarantee the issue of 200,000 Pounds of 5% Sterling Railroad Bonds for every 0,000 worth of shares sold. The bonds, due in 1866, were to be sold in Europe through the Agency of the Bank of the United States. These are the first known state guaranteed railroad bonds. Because of the steadily worsening condition of the Bank of the United States, a second group of bonds was issued through a different agency, of the House of Mess. Palmer, Mackillop, Dent & Co. of London. In his capacity as State Comptroller, William E. Hayne signed the back of each bond. His father, Robert Young Hayne, signed as president of the railroad. Robert Young Hayne (1791-1839) was U. S. Senator from South Carolina (1823-1832) and Governor of South Carolina (1832-1834). He was noted for his brilliant debate with Daniel Webster over the Nullification Doctrine in the Tariff Controversy of 1832.
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