Books and Manuscripts

Three Per Cent Loan of 1898
Washington, D.C., August 1, 1898. Beautifully engraved Treasury Department $20 three per cent loan of 1898 bond certificate, #38883, printed in red, black, and green; with all 80 engraved 15 cents interest coupons attached at bottom; signed by Register of the Treasury J(udson) W(hitlocke). Lyons at bottom. Lightly worn; very small perforation holes in top left. Hessler X188

A rare 1898 $20 bond, issued to help fund the Spanish-American War. The 3 per cent loan of 1908-1918, popularly termed the Spanish American War loan, was issued in June, 1898. Subscriptions were invited for $200,000,000 and in response, 320,226 subscriptions were received, amounting to more than $1,500,000,000, of which $198,792,660 were allotted. This lower denomination bond was an affordable option for the public, and appealed to an individual's patriotism. According to the Joe I. Herbstman Collection of American Finance, there are less than twenty known examples of this denomination.

A handsome example of this rare bond.