French royal banknote, 100 livres Tournois
Alexander Pope gives Lady Montagu terrible investment advice
Isaac Newton pay order
Sir Isaac Newton (English, 1643–1727)
Pay order addressed to John Grigsby
March 7, 1719
Pen and ink on paper
The famed scientist Sir Isaac Newton was an investor in the South Sea Company. After cashing in on early gains, he reentered the fray at the height of the bubble, but ended up losing heavily in the crash. Written in Newton’s hand while the fortunes of the enterprise were still on the rise, this communiqué authorizes John Grigsby, an accountant for the South Sea Company, to pay stock interest to financial agent John Francis Fauquier. After the bubble burst and chaos ensued, Newton purportedly claimed, “I can calculate the movement of stars, but not the madness of men.”
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