Checks and Drafts with Gast Facsimiles

The following checks and drafts contain Gast facsimile imprints with state seals in the design. These, plus the Petersburg, Virginia draft illustrated in the original article, are all that I presently have. I would appreciate knowing of any others.


One of users of Gast facs in Canton, Dakota Territory was the First National Bank. Its drafts were directed to two different secondary banks.

The other user of Gast facs in Canton was The Dakota Loan and Trust Company, who previously had been using similar ones printed by John Morris Company of Chicago. Morris used a state seal facsimile as well, and it is likely that Gast asserted its copyright claim and took over printing for the account. If anyone has more information on this, please contact me through the ASCC.

A Gast facsimile on a check of the Keokuk Savings Bank. This may have been the account that Kimber Wald was referring to in Iowa – he didn’t say.


The J.R. Watkins Land Mortgage Company of Lawrence, Kansas used virtually the same design for their drafts for quite some time. After the check taxes were repealed they had Gast Facs substituted for RN-G imprints. Sometime between 1890 and 1898 they must have moved at least some of their operations to Dallas, but either kept an office in Lawrence or moved back. Some used in Dallas may still be found.

An elaborate check of Dr. W.H. Roach of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. It has seen better days.

A beautifully-vignetted but shabby draft from Brownsville, Missouri.


The top Barnesville, Ohio check is from Ron Lesher’s exhibit of the Civil War two-cent RN’s. The bottom one has a different dateline.

And a shabby check from Stoneboro, Pennsylvania.

A nice item from San Antonio, Texas.

A check from Burkeville, Virginia.

An unused check from Virginia with a Gast fac.

Revisiting the list of state seals recorded by Kimber Wald in the Congress Book, 1983 on Gast facsimiles, it is impossible to tell if he included those on the specimen checks or on actual accounts only. Since all of the specimen check states are included, I believe that he did use the specimens. If so, this leaves the New York item as currently unknown.