Calvin Coolidge's Final Check Written as President of the United States (Buying His Train Home)

On March 4, 1929, Calvin Coolidge signed his last check as the 30th President of the United States. Drawn on the Commercial National Bank in Washington D.C. for $29.02 and made payable to E.G. Buckland, this document represents the final financial act of a presidency. According to research by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum in Northampton, Massachusetts, E.G. Buckland was the chairman of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad — the very railroad line that ran from Washington to Northampton. The library is actively researching whether this payment was connected to Coolidge's travel arrangements home that same day, making this potentially the check that paid for the last leg of his journey out of the White House.

The provenance of this piece is exceptional on two levels. First, the check is mounted alongside a letter from Coolidge's own son, John Coolidge, dated April 25, 1984, confirming that "this check was drawn the day Pres. & Mrs. Coolidge left Washington for their home in Northampton, Mass. at the end of his term as President of the U.S." Second, direct correspondence with the Head of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library identifies the payee and his railroad connection, adding a layer of historical context that almost no private collector has been able to document. Coolidge chose not to seek re-election, left Washington quietly as was his nature, and died less than four years later. He never returned to public life. This check, $29.02 payable to the chairman of the railroad that may have carried him home, is as close as a single document can get to the final moment of his presidency. It measures 6" x 2.75", mounted with the John Coolidge letter to an overall 10" x 8", and is authenticated by John Reznikoff, recognized by both PSA and JSA.