The bond features a diagrammatic, overhead view of a roulette table, crowned at the summit by a photo-collaged portrait of Duchamp by Man Ray. Ownership in the company would be established by the purchase of a bond, a legal document that Duchamp himself carefully designed and issued. In order to raise the funds required to finance a more ambitiously conceived operation, he planned to issue stocks in his new company - thirty shares at an assigned value of 500 francs each - repayable to investors at the rate of 20 interest over the course of a three-year period. It appears that he first tried to work out the details of this system with the help of his friend and Dada co-conspirator Francis Picabia.ĭuchamp decided to expand upon its principles and profits by simply increasing the amounts of money wagered. In 1924 Duchamp devised a system of wagering in roulette, whereby his experiments with the laws of chance might be profitably applied to the gambling tables of Monte Carlo. Below is part of the lot description from Christies' NovemNew York auction (Sale 2355, Lot 9). The item wasn't pictured, so I was curious. So I was interested to learn in last week's Coin World about the sale of a "bond" created by artist Marcel Duchamp. Regular readers know I have an interest in the intersection of numismatics and art, such as the work of "money artist" J.S.G.
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