IMPROVEMENTS IN BANKERS' CHEQUES OR DRAFTS, ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER CHEQUES, TALLIES, TICKETS, AND LABELS
Year: 1875

page_text: ¿LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Cooper, of Kingsley Street, Battersea, in
the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BANKERS' CHEQUES OR DRAFTS, ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER CHEQUES, TALLIES,
TICKETS, AND LABELS."
Sealed the 27th July 1875, and dated the 27th February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Cooper at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th February 1875.
I, ALFRED COOPER, of Kingsley Street, Battersea, in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BANKERS' CHEQUES OR DRAFTS, ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER
CHEQUES, TALLIES, TICKETS, AND LABELS," to be as follows :-
My Invention relates principally to such cheques as are employed in
that system of banking wherein a person depositing a certain sum of
money receives in exchange a number of cheques, each of which is
marked with a certain maximum amount for which it can be drawn, the
aggregate value of the maximum amounts marked on all the cheques

page_text: being equal to the amount deposited at the bank. This system has the
disadvantage that if the maximum amounts marked on each of the
cheques is small the holder may frequently have to make a single
payment of a larger sum than such maximum amount, and he will
therefore in such case be subject to the inconvenience of having to fill
in two or more cheques to effect a single payment.
My present Invention has for its object to obviate this inconvenience,
and consists of a method whereby, while a single such cheque may be
made to represent any amount up to the total sum paid into the bank by
the depositor, yet the whole of the cheques issued to him cannot be filled
in for a larger aggregate amount than such total sum paid in. For this
purpose, according to one arrangement, I mark each cheque of the
series issued to the depositor with a definite money value in one corner
or other part thereof, the aggregate value of the amount so marked
on all the cheques being equal to the sum deposited. If now the
depositor requires to make one of the cheques represent a sum ex-
ceeding the amount marked thereon he detaches the corner or corners
impressed with the money value from one or more of the other cheques,
and attaches the same to the first-named cheque, whereby this will be
made to represent its original value, plus that of the other cheque or
cheques from which the corners have been detached, while these will be
cancelled and rendered unavailable by reason of the said corners or parts
bearing their money value being removed therefrom. For convenience
I prefer to perforate the said corners or parts of the cheques in the
manner of postage stamps, and also to coat them at the back with
adhesive matter, so that they may be readily detached and affixed on to
the cheque to be used.
If desired each cheque may have two or more separate money values
impressed or marked thereon in place of only one, so that one or more
parts of the cheque bearing such impressed values may be detached for
the purpose of being used on another cheque, as above described.
According to another arrangement I provide a series of cheques that
may or may not have a money value marked thereon, and together with
these is furnished a foil having a series of money values marked thereon
in the manner of stamps or coupons, so that if the depositor desires to
fill in a cheque for a greater amount than the value marked thereon he
detaches one or more coupons or stamps from the foil, and attaches it or

page_text: them to the cheque, as before described. In cases where the cheques
have no value marked thereon the desired value is imparted thereto by
affixing one or more of the coupons or value stamps.
In all the above arrangements the aggregate amount of the values
marked on the cheques (if any) and of those marked on the foil will be
equal to the sum of money deposited.
According to another method I form two cheques in one slip, and
between them I provide divisions or coupons bearing two or more
separate money values impressed thereon, so that the one cheque may
be detached with the whole of the coupons adhering thereto so as to
represent the whole value marked thereon, in which case the other
cheque having no coupons would be cancelled, or only a certain number
of the coupons may be detached with the one cheque, leaving the other
coupons to be used with the second cheque; or instead of only having
two cheques attached together with stamps or coupons common to both
any other number of cheques may be formed into one sheet, and so
grouped with stamps or coupons common to all that any one cheque
may be detached with any number of the said stamps or coupons attached
thereto.
My above described Invention is also applicable to other cheques,
tallies, and the like; thus, for instance, for a certain quantity of goods
delivered by one person to another a book of cheques or tallies is pre-
pared having a number of coupons or stamps marked with numbers in
the total corresponding with the number of articles delivered. Then on
a person issuing a certain number of the articles he delivers with them
a cheque indicating the said number, but if the said number be greater
than that marked on any one cheque the cheque may be varied by
transferring and affixing the stamp or coupon from one or more of the
other cheques thereto, so that the number of articles issued shall never
be more and may be less than the number which the said cheque with
the affixed stamp or stamps is capable of representing.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Cooper in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 26th August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
COOPER, of Kingsley Street, Battersea, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Cooper, Her special
license that I, the said Alfred Cooper, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Cooper, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BANKERS' CHEQUES OR DRAFTS, ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER CHEQUES, TALLIES,
TICKETS, AND LABELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Alfred Cooper, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Cooper, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say:-
My. Invention relates principally to such cheques as are employed in
that system of banking wherein a person depositing a certain sum of
money receives in exchange a number of cheques, each of which is a

page_text: marked with a certain maximum amount for which it can be drawn, the
aggregate value of the maximum amounts marked on all the cheques
being equal to the amount deposited at the bank. This system has the
disadvantage that if the maximum amounts marked on each of the
cheques is small the holder may frequently have to make a single
payment of a larger sum than such maximum amount, and he will
therefore in such case be subject to the inconvenience of having to fill in
two or more cheques to effect a single payment.
My present Invention has for its object to obviate this inconvenience,
and consists of a method whereby, while a single such cheque may be
made to represent any amount up to the total sum paid into the bank
by the depositor, yet the whole of the cheques issued to him cannot be
filled in for a larger aggregate amount than such total sum paid in. For
this purpose, according to one arrangement, I mark each cheque of a
series issued to the depositor with a definite money value or value limit
in one corner or other part thereof, the aggregate value of the amount so
marked on all the cheques being equal to the sum deposited. If now
the depositor requires to make one of the cheques represent a sum
exceeding the amount marked thereon he detaches the corner or corners,
part or parts impressed with the money value from one or more of the
other cheques, and attaches the same to the first-named cheque, whereby
this will be made to represent its original value, plus that of the other
cheque or cheques from which the corners have been detached, while
those will be cancelled and rendered unavailable by reason of the said
corners or parts bearing their money value being removed therefrom.
For convenience I prefer to perforate the said corners or parts of the
cheques in the manner of postage stamps, and also to coat them at the
back with adhesive matter, so that they may be readily detached and
affixed on to the cheque to be used.
If desired each cheque may have two or more separate money values
impressed or marked thereon in place of only one, so that one or more
parts of the cheque bearing such impressed values may be detached for
the purpose of being used on another cheque, as above described.
According to another arrangement I provide a series of cheques that
may or may not have a money value marked thereon, and together with
these is furnished a foil having a series of money values marked thereon
in the manner of stamps or coupons, so that if the depositor desires to

page_text: fill in a cheque for a greater amount than the value marked thereon ne
detaches one or more coupons or stamps from the foil, and attaches it or
them to the cheque, as before described. In cases where the cheques
have no value marked thereon the desired value is imparted thereto by
affixing one or more of the coupons or value stamps.
In all the above arrangements the aggregate amount of the values
marked on the cheques (if any) and of those marked on the foil will be
equal to the sum of money deposited.
According to another method I form two cheques in one slip, and
between them I provide divisions or coupons bearing two or more
separate money values impressed thereon, so that the one cheque may
be detached with the whole of the coupons adhering thereto, so as to
represent the whole value marked thereon, in which case the other
cheque having no coupons would be cancelled, or only a certain number
of the coupons may be detached with the one cheque, leaving the other
coupons to be used with the second cheque; or instead of only having
two cheques attached together with stamps or coupons common to both,
any other number of cheques may be formed into one sheet, and so
grouped with stamps or coupons common to all that any one cheque
may be detached with any number of the said stamps or coupons attached
thereto.
My above described Invention is also applicable to other cheques,
tallies, and the like; thus, for instance, for a certain quantity of goods
delivered by one person to another a book of cheques or tallies is pre-
pared having a number of coupons or stamps marked with numbers in
the total corresponding with the number of articles delivered. Then on
a person issuing a certain number of the articles he delivers with them a
cheque indicating the said number, but if the said number be greater
than that marked on any one cheque the cheque may be varied by
transferring and affixing the stamp or coupon from one or more of the
other cheques thereto, so that the number of articles issued shall never
be more and may be less than the number which the said cheque with
the affixed stamp or stamps is capable of representing.
The method herein described is also applicable to railway tickets, to
admission tickets, and to various other kinds of tickets and marks, &c.,
which may be issued with limit stamps or value marks of a detachable
nature, and being purchased singly or in a series or book or sheet may

page_text: afterwards be combined at pleasure, as before described. In case of
railway tickets each ticket may be marked for a certain journey or
journeys, or for a certain number of miles or days, &c., &c., and may
afterwards at pleasure be reduced or cancelled by detaching a part or all
of the limit of value stamps or marks, or increased in value by adding
thereto a part or all of the limit or value stamps detached from the
other tickets, and the like with admission tickets, telegraph forms,
a
Fig. 1 represents a cheque A made according to one modification of
my before described Invention, with a detachable corner B, on which is
marked either by perforations, as shewn, or otherwise, a certain money
value, such as one pound sterling, this being the limit of the amount for
which the cheque can be drawn. A number of such cheques are issued
to a depositor of an aggregate value equal to the amount he has paid
into the bank. If now the depositor requires to fill in a cheque for a
sum exceeding one pound, say for instance, the sum of three pounds
twelve shillings and sixpence, he detaches the stamped corners from
three other cheques, as at A', A³, A³, Fig. 2, thereby rendering these
cheques valueless, and attaches these stamps to the cheque A, as shewn,
thus making four pounds the maximum value for which this cheque can
be filled in. The stamped corner of each cheque is by preference marked
with a number corresponding to that of the cheque itself, as indicated,
so that it may readily be seen which cheques the detached value stamps
belong to, and they may also bear the name of the bank, as shewn.
Fig. 3 shews a cheque in which there are two detachable value stamps,
each for one pound, so that by detaching one of these from the cheque
its maximum value, which was originally two pounds, is reduced to one
pound, while by affixing the detached stamp on to a similar cheque the
value of this will be increased to three pounds, or if both stamps are
detached the one cheque will be rendered valueless, and the value of the
other will be increased to four pounds.
Fig. 4 shews another modification, in which two cheques A, A', have
three value stamps B, B³, B³, of the aggregate value of two pounds ten
shillings common to both, so that if it be desired to fill in the cheque A¹
to the value of one pound ten shillings the stamps B¹, B³, are detached

page_text: with it from A, leaving this of the value of one pound, or all three
stamps may be detached with A', making this of the maximum value of
two pounds ten shillings, the cheque A being rendered valueless.
Fig. 5 shews a group of eight cheques arranged according to the just
described modification on one sheet, with value stamps of the aggregate
value of ten pounds common to all, so that any one of the cheques may
be filled in for any amount up to ten pounds by detaching with it a
corresponding number of the value stamps. Thus, the cheque A being
filled in for four pounds ten shillings, the value stamps for the corres-
ponding amount would be separated together with it, as indicated by the
blue line. It will be understood that in this case, instead of leaving
the stamps removed from the lower cheques attached to the cheque A,
as shewn by the blue line, they may be separated and fixed on to the
body of the cheque, so as to obviate the possibility of their becoming
detached by accident, and lost.
Fig. 6 shews a modification in which a number of cheques are grouped
round central value stamps, so that one cheque may be separated from
the group with one or more of the value stamps attached to it, as
indicated by the blue line, the stamps belonging to the other cheques
being, if preferred, fixed on the face of the detached cheque, as shewn.
It will be readily understood that various other modifications of my
Invention may be adopted, those above described with reference to the
accompanying Drawings merely serving to illustrate the manner in which
my Invention may be carried out.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I claim,-
First. The use of cheques, tallies, tickets, or labels having one or more
detachable portions marked with a money or other value, so that by
removing one or more such portions from a cheque it is rendered either
of less value or valueless, and the affixing the detached portion or portions
to another cheque rendering the value of the latter greater to a corres-
ponding extent, substantially as herein described.
Second. The use of a series of cheques, tallies, tickets, or labels
arranged in combination with a foil marked with a series of stamps
representing money or other values, so that by detaching one or more of a
the stamps from the foil, and affixing it or them to one of the cheques,

page_text: this is made to represent a corresponding value, substantially as herein
described.
Third. The use of cheques, tallies, tickets, or labels arranged in couples
or in a series with one or more limit stamps or marks representing
money or other values common to both or all, so that one cheque may
be detached with only part of or all the stamps or marks adhering
thereto, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Cooper, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
ALFRED COOPER. (L.S.)