Chapter 22

A History of Wall Street made for great reading to fall asleep by. It was almost as boring as the King James Version of the bible. Surely there had to be someplace that could make sense of Bonds, Fallen Angels, Acquisitions, Blue Chip Stocks, Coupons, Voting Shares and ad infinitum.

One thing kept popping up: British Consols. In 1757, the coupon rate on the stock was 3%. The coupon rate remained at 3% until 1888. Paid Quarterly. By 1923 the rate was reduced to 2.5%. It is still 2.5%.

In the middle of June 1815, a pair of scruffy Americans appeared just outside of London. On the 19th of that month, they invested gold bullion valued at a million pounds Sterling in Consols. Rumor that Wellington had lost in Belgium had the British Aristocracy in a complete panic and the value of Government Consols fell to an unbelievably low price. Certain that their government was surely going to fall and the streets run wild with ... GASP ... Frenchmen, they sold, sold, sold to any idiot who would buy them at any price at all. Their Consols value increased by a factor of more than15 when the Waterloo victory was confirmed.

Again, in 1846, a pair of well dressed Americans with diplomatic passports sailed up the Thames on a private yacht the likes of which had never been seen in the United Kingdom ... and it was over one hundred years before its likes were seen again. The gleaming white yacht docked at London Dock. The crowd that gathered were totally awed by the automatic lowering of the sails ... and what the lady described as 'roller furling.' No one seemed to understand that the couple was indeed the sum and total of the crew. There must be others below.

The crowd accumulated a Bobby or two.

The Americans, an obviously married couple, bribed a Bobby to watch their boat, summoned a two wheeled horse drawn hansom cab and were driven to the Office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. There they presented a one million pound banknote and attempted to purchase Consols.

This purchase was a trifle more difficult. But no, no million pound note had been stolen. The Chancellor grudgingly admitted it was totally authentic. The Chancellor still objected. "American Upstarts!" Barristers were consulted. A date was found on the court calendar.

Consulting an agency, they hired men to guard their boat ... much to the relief of the Bobby ... a hundred pounds was six years wages but he had official duties. Using the same agency, the Huntly's paid fifteen hundred pounds Sterling for a one year lease on a nicely furnished and staffed home in Saint James Terrace over looking Regents Park.

Over the next few weeks, the Huntly's were seen everywhere ... never pushy or ... as the Lords voiced it, "coming," they were as much at home with Molly the fish seller as they were at the theater or opera. They were great favorites with the staff. The running footman referred to them as pleasant and generous.

Invitations to Almacks were neither expected or requested ... the chagrin of the upper crust was noticeable. A Million Pounds!! Thirty thousand Pounds a year. The power of that money was enormous. An upstairs maid was 12 pounds a year to be paid at the end of the year. A French Chef was 100 pounds a year. A first class butler? twenty-five. A tweenie, a maid in training, could be had for three pounds/six pence. The Huntly's had a MILLION POUND NOTE. Finally, the court date arrived.

The Crown High Court passed judgement. The Americans were allowed to purchase ... however ... the price had risen. Back to Court, the Crown ruled that the Chancellor of the Exchequer must sell at the price extant on the day of the original attempt to purchase.

How to win friends and influence people.

Complaints were made to the American Embassy ... the Huntly's were recalled to the United States. They were neither dismayed or upset, their yacht disappeared in the night ... thus saving embarrassing moments in Washington. D.C. knew nothing about them.

The interest went untouched until the summer of 1946 when a trio of scruffy Americans presented the Chancellor of the Exchequer with the bona fides that they were the designated heirs of the original purchasers of BOTH million pound Consols purchases. While they were about it, they also presented their adopted daughter and her packet of information as an authenticated descendent of Anne, Queen of England.