H. & E. Phinney Bank Check, Cooperstown, 1839

A bank check (No. 4402) drawn on the Otsego County Bank of Cooperstown, dated March 16, 1839, and signed in period ink by H. & E. Phinney, made out to Laurens School in the amount of $282.77. The Phinney name carries real weight in Cooperstown history: Elihu Phinney and his sons ran one of the area's most prominent printing and publishing operations in the early 19th century, and the family's roots in the town place this check squarely in the same era, and the same small community, associated with the Abner Doubleday origin story of baseball. The check bears a period bank cancellation stamp on the front and is PSA/DNA certified authentic (cert 85812482). Measuring roughly 6 x 2.5 inches, it shows a vertical fold and light border wear consistent with age, otherwise in excellent condition. A quiet but tangible link to Cooperstown's pre-baseball civic and commercial life, from the very town that would become the game's mythologized birthplace.