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Auction: SW1012 - Bonds & Shares Certificates of the World
Lot: 374

New York City. 7% Bond über $500. New York, 2. August 1869. Nr. 362. Along the fold, the paper was separated, now repaired. This Bond is one of the best document from the center of the biggest scandal that ever rocked the City of New York - the infamous Tweed Ring in the second part of the 19th century. William Magear Tweed (1823-1878) was the "boss" of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th century New York City and State. He managed to build a power base in his ward and emerged as the focal point of patronage decisions, giving him immense power. He gathered a small group of men who controlled all key power points: the courts, the legislature, the treasury and the ballot box. The ring drained New York City resources a total $200 million. The inner circle of the Tweed Ring were Mayor A. Oakey Hall (1826-1898), known as "Elegant Oakey" and said to be a front of serenity and respectability, City comptroller Richard B. "Slippery Dick" Connolly (1810-1880), city chamberlain Peter Barr "Bismarck" Sweeny, and William M. Tweed himself, president of the Board of Supervisors. At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railroad, the Tenth National Bank, and the New-York Printing Company, as well as proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel. The ring was discovered only by the investigative journalism of the New York Times and its prominent cartoonist Thomas Nast. Samuel J. Tilden, a noted attorney and later a presidential candidate, managed to win a conviction of Tweed, who was sentenced to a 12-year prison term. He was released after serving only one year, but was quickly arrested on another corruption charge. He escaped, fled to Cuba and eventually Spain; he was extradited back to the United States in 1876 and died later in a New York City jail. Abraham Oakey Hall served as Mayor of New York from 1869 to 1872. He was tried three times and finally acquitted of all charges on the third trial. Connolly was arrested and six weeks later released on bail. He went abroad, never to return to the United States. He died in Marseille, France, while being a fugitive from justice. Signed A. Oakey Hall as Mayor and Richard B. Conolly as Comptroller. Good.

Estimate
SFr400 to SFr800