Lot # 2116: 1939 Walter Johnson Signed Check - PSA/DNA

Extremely rare large-format bank check dated September 8, 1939, and signed in blue fountain pen by Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson. PSA/DNA has encapsulated the check and certified the signature as "Authentic." The check, drawn on the Germantown Bank of Germantown, Maryland, is made out to "L. E. Johnson" (very likely a relative and interesting also in that this provides a partial second "signature") in the amount of $44.40. The reverse of the check has been endorsed with an ink stamp ("L. E. Johnson"). It wasn’t until the past 15 years that the Johnson family released Walter Johnson checks. Prior to that, his checks were virtually nonexistent in the collecting world. In total, approximately 300 checks survived and have been sold by the Johnson family. Though that number may sound like a lot, it is actually modest compared with the quantities of Ruth and Cobb checks that have been absorbed by the collecting world. Of these 300 Johnson checks, fewer than 15 were large format in style. This is one of those few. The check (8.25 x 3 inches) has a single small, bank spindle hole, a few tiny border tears, a chip in both the upper left and right corner, and normal bank cancellation stampings. In Good condition overall.