The New York Central Railroad Company

Very interesting. Hopefully we will find the answer shortly.

It appears to be the coupon page from a bond the NYCRR issued. They usually have another page with the main bond note as well. I see them selling from $25-200 depending on condition, and series. The NYCRR issued quite a few of these in different years as they struggled to maintain cash flow. I know they were issued in 1913 and 1921 though they may have issued others as well.

A little history on the NYCRR:

In 1864, Cornelius Vanderbilt acquired the New York and Harlem Railroad. He next acquired the rundown Hudson River Railroad, which Cornelius wanted to consolidate with the Harlem. Vanderbilt acquired the Central Railroad in 1867, merged it with the Hudson River Railroad by legislative act, and leased the Harlem to the new company. He spent large sums of money improving the lines' efficiency and then increased the capital stock by $42 million (which was a stockwatering operation of magnitude) and paid large dividends. In the first five years, he is said to have cleared $25 million.

Vanderbilt finally hit a snag in 1867 when he attempted to gain control of the Erie Railroad, then in the hands of his old adversary, Daniel Drew. Again Vanderbilt bought all the stock offered for sale, but this time Drew threw 100,000 shares of fraudulent stock certificates on the market, which Vanderbilt continued to buy. Drew and his cohorts fled to Jersey City to avoid prosecution and bribed the New Jersey legislature to legalize the stock issue. Vanderbilt, tottering on the brink of failure, lost millions on the coup but fought back. Although the illegal stock was finally authorized by the legislature, Vanderbilt lost between $1-$2 million and forgot the Erie. Upon the insistence of Vanderbilt's son William, he extended his line to Chicago by acquiring the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroads, the Canadian Southern, and the Michigan Central thereby creating one of the greatest American systems of transportation.

Vanderbilt's influence on national finance was stabilizing. When the panic of 1873 was at its worst, he announced that the New York Central was paying out millions of dividends as usual, and let contracts for the building of the Grand Central Terminal in New York City, with four tracks leading from it, giving employment to thousands of men. He saw to it, however, that the city paid half the cost of the viaduct and open-cut approaches to the station. By 1875, his New York Central Railroad controlled the lucrative route between New York and Chicago.
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Another interesting fact is the NYCRR is an original member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company was added February 16, 1885.

There is a shop that laminates a strip of 4 of these and sells them as bookmarks for around $10.
A found q few stores that sell NYCRR stocks and bonds, none had this particular sheet in stock currently but I know they are not that rare. Being a transportation related item there is more collector interest Scripophilists, railroad emphemera collectors, etc.

Yes, this is a page of bond coupons. By themselves they have little value. Many coupon bonds were issued for 30 to 50 years (or more) and had two interest coupons per year, so that meant 2-3 pages of coupons attached. Gold bonds were indeed paid in gold, up until 1933 when the U.S. went off the gold standard. Beyond that point, interest payments were made in whatever form the issuer chose.

Excellent!

Nice examples all.