Jay Cooke Autographs
Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowledged as the first major investment banker in the United States and creator of the first wire house firm.
Cooke was born at Sandusky, Ohio, the son of Eleutheros Cooke and Martha Carswell Cooke. Eleutheros Cooke was a pioneer Ohio lawyer and Whig, a member of the Ohio General Assembly, and a member of Congress from Ohio from 1831 to 1833.
In 1838, Cooke went to Philadelphia, where he entered the banking house of E. W. Clark & Co. as a clerk, and became a partner in 1842. He left this firm in 1858. On January 1, 1861, just months before the start of the American Civil War, Cooke opened the private banking house of Jay Cooke & Company in Philadelphia. Soon after the war began, the state of Pennsylvania borrowed $3 million \n($104,990,000 today) to fund its war efforts.
Read more about Jay Cooke on Wikipedia
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Traded items with a signature of Jay Cooke
The most expensive item with a signature of Jay Cooke (Jay Cooke signs RARE Northern Pacific 1870 Railroad Bond - signature - Framed) was sold in March 2017 for $1,695.00 while the cheapest item (1875 New York Check Signed Pitt Cooke Brother of Jay Cooke) found a new owner for $3.00 in August 2019. The month with the most items sold (2) was February 2014 with an average selling price of $237.48 for an autographed item of Jay Cooke. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in March 2017 with $1,695.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $3.00 was August 2019. In average, an autographed item from Jay Cooke is worth $200.00.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Jay Cooke were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | $150,000 bank check signed by Jay Cooke, Financier of the Civil War | $200.00 |  |
| 1863 check signed by Civil War Union chief financier Jay Cooke | $125.00 | |
| 1863 check signed by Financier of the Civil War Jay Cooke | $125.00 | |
| 1865 bank check signed by Jay Cooke, bond agent & Financier of the Civil War | $100.00 | |
| 1875 New York Check Signed Pitt Cooke Brother of Jay Cooke | $3.00 | |
| Jay Cooke - 1873 Check - Financier of the Civil War - FANTASTIC signed Check | $1,375.00 | |
| JAY COOKE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/05/1902 | $1,222.42 | |
| JAY COOKE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/27/1900 | $1,222.42 | |
| JAY COOKE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 07/01/1902 | $1,222.42 | |
| JAY COOKE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 11/10/1880 | $1,222.42 | |
| JAY COOKE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/19/1901 | $1,522.42 | |
| JAY COOKE - Autograph Ltr Signed Lot 205 | $200.00 | |
| JAY COOKE - CHECK SIGNED 03/30/1868 | $1,222.42 | |
| Jay Cooke signs RARE Northern Pacific 1870 Railroad Bond - signature - Framed | $1,695.00 | |
| Northern Pacific Railroad Co. Issued to and signed by Jay Cooke at back - 1876 a | $756.25 | |
