E1300 - Write Me A Cheque

High-rolling merchant Nicholas Vanacker wrote out a cheque for a hefty £400 on 16th February, 1659 - one of the earliest modern cheques still preserved today.

For goldsmiths-to-the-aristocracy Morris and Clayton, the innovation wasn’t just about ease; it was a strategic move to reduce risk and maximize profit, even though the process involved clerks physically visiting other banks to balance accounts. Eventually, in the 1770s, bankers got smart and started meeting at the Five Bells pub in Lombard Street to settle transactions over a pint—probably the most British way to handle financial exchanges…

In th...