Beautifully engraved Certificate from the United States Mortgage Company issued in 1873. This historic document was printed by the National Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of two women shaking hands over the Union Shield. This item is hand signed by the company's officers and is over 127 years old. As the westward movement gained momentum after the Civil War, the demand for farm mortgage credit grew rapidly. At the same time, the supply of lendable funds in the East and especially in Europe, although continuing to grow, turned away from U.S. government securities and American railroad bonds. The time seemed ripe for Eastern capitalists to expand their non-bank financial services to include intermediation between lenders and borrowers. The United States Mortgage Company tried to serve in this capacity.