This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
The notorious Jack Ruby has fascinated JFK conspiracy buffs for the last 38 years. These four checks signed by Ruby in the early 1950s will add to the air of mystery around the man who gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Three of the checks, drawn on funds from the Mercantile Bank of Dallas in amounts from $15 to $80, were made out in Ruby's hand to the Universal, Paramount and Tower movie companies as payment for their movies being shown in Ruby's Ervay Theater. More intriguing is Ruby's check dated November 2, 1950 and issued to the "Collector of Internal Revenue" for $162.23. At the top left of the check is a logo for the Silver Spur nightclub, the first of many Ruby owned in Dallas. Ruby's liquor license here was often suspended – once because several of his checks were dishonored. All the checks are in excellent condition, with crisp, clear handwriting and cancellation perforations. Ruby's signatures ("Jack Ruby" on the 1953 checks, "Jack H. Ruby" on the 1954 check) are all near-perfect 10s.