Stock certificate with a very important signature. Issued for 5 shares, numbers 21,406 to 21,410. Signed by Robert Morris as president (pen cancelled) and James Marshall as secretary. Robert Morris, in addition to being a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was called the "financier of the American Revolution." But his involvement with the North American Land Company literally destroyed his life. During the Revolutionary War Morris, an extremely wealthy Philadelphian, kept his friend George Washington and his troops fed, clothed, and armed. After the war Morris tried his hands in other ventures including the largest land trust in American History and is one of the first publicly traded Real Estate companies. To make a long story short, his investments turned bad and the harder he tried to reverse his fortunes the deeper in debt he became. So, in 1798 the financier of the American Revolution and signer of the Declaration of Independence found himself in debtors prison! James Marshall (brother of Chief Justice John Marshall) was his son-in-law and made a valiant but unsuccessful trip to Europe to gain supporters. Bird, Savage & Bird was a London Financial Firm and certainly one of the places James Marshall would have visited.Date: 1795Country (if not USA): State: PennsylvaniaCity: Provenance: Ken Prag Collection