RR Auction Joseph Smith Signed $10 Bank Note

American religious leader (1805–1844) who founded the Latter Day Saint movement. Very rare and ornate Kirtland Safety Society $10 bank note, 6.75 x 3, February 10, 1837, issued to P. Williams, signed at the bottom, “J. Smith, Jr.,” as cashier and also signed by Sidney Rigdon as the company’s president. In fine condition, with handwritten portions of note very light, but still mostly legible (the signatures themselves remain quite bold) and some mild dampstaining to left side. 

Organized as a joint stock company on January 2, 1837, the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company was set up to serve the financial needs of Joseph Smith’s growing Mormon community in Kirtland, Ohio. With no formal banking charter and insufficient assets to back their notes, the KSS quickly failed and was dissolved by November of 1837. Sparking intense distrust of Smith and the LDS leaders, believed to be enriching their own lives at the expense of their community, hundreds of bankrupted Mormons left the church as Smith faced lawsuits for ‘running an illegal bank.’ This incredibly rare bank note, issued a month after the KSS’s establishment, holds not only the signature of the LDS founder Joseph Smith, but also that of his close partner and KSS president Sidney Rigdon, who was held equally responsible when the bank failed. We have only offered two Smith items over the past 20 years; the most recent realized over $10,000, and the additional signature of Sidney Rigdon was not present as it is here. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.

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