Virtually nonexistent First National Bank of Monroe bank check, 7.75 x 2.75, filled out and signed by Custer, “G. A. Custer,” payable to R. E. Coleman for $135.00, October 31, 1873. Cancellation cut to center, well away from signature, several light vertical folds, a couple passing through single letters of signature, light wrinkling, and some mild show-through from endorsements on reverse, otherwise fine condition.
This check, drawn from the First National Bank of Monroe, is the only surviving Custer check known to exist. The 7th US Calvary commander spent much of his youth at the Monroe, Michigan home of his sister and married local belle Elizabeth Bacon; following their 1864 wedding, the couple set up housekeeping there.
Shortly before issuing this check, Custer had returned from Fort Abraham Lincoln. While in the Dakota Territory, he led the 7th US Calvary in the Yellowstone Expedition to protect surveyors of the Northern Pacific Railroad. During this mission, he fought two actions with Sitting Bull's Sioux. The following year, in 1874, Custer's Black Hills Expedition discovered gold. The rush to the hills, created the town of Deadwood, part of the Great Sioux Reservation, inflamed the Sioux and led to the fateful (for Custer) Sioux War of 1876. This is a remarkable and unique opportunity for rare check collectors and Old West enthusiasts alike. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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