Scripophily is truly a world interest. It makes a reason to travel to meetings and bourses

Scripophily Collecting Ideas

Over the years, we have been asked what are some of the ways to collect Scripophily. Although there are so many reasons and ways people collect Scripophily, here is a list of some ideas and themes. We will be updating this on our website a regular basis.

Autographs - Issued to or signed by as officers by famous people

Vignettes - The vignette is the image on the certificate. You can collect vignettes, by themes, type of product, same Image different company etc.

Printers - Some of the major Printers include the American Banknote Company, E.A. Wright, Franklin Lee, Goes, Western Banknote Company, De La Rue, etc

Industries - Banks, Computers, Communications, Motion Pictures, Oil, Utilities, Airlines, etc

Company's acquired by other companies - i.e. Paypal, TWA now part of American Airlines, Peet Manufacturing ( Formally of Colgate - Palmolive - Peet ), etc.

Geography - Country, States, Province, Continent,

Countries no longer around ie Ottoman Empire, Prussia,

Family related as officers or company includes family name

Modern Companies currently in existence

Dates - Eras, Birthdays, Years, Decades, major events, etc

Scandals - Enron, Equity Funding, Keely Motor Company, Bre-X Minerals Ltd, Investors Overseas Services, etc

Major Bankruptcy’s - Continental Illinois Corporation, French Panama Canal, Kmart Corporation, Penn Central, etc.

Companies owned by politicians or their families - i.e Buckeye Steel where Samuel Prescott Bush ( President Bush's Great Grandfather ) was president

Dot Com’s - in 2000 the Internet bubble burst. Stock prices plunged, investors lost confidence, and web based businesses started closing down by the minute. Many paper millionaires lost everything including their jobs. Click based employees went back to their old Brick based jobs with wild stories of wasted money, lavish parties and ridiculous business plans.

Obsolete industries like Plankroads, Telegraphs, Steel Companies in the United States, Silent Movies, etc.

Mining companies - Type of company like Gold, Silver, Copper, Uranium, or by eras, regions, Mining Districts, etc.

Certificate Number - Some collectors like getting the first certificate issued of a company. Others look for certain serial numbers that have special meaning to them ie 777, 11, 13, etc

Company’s with common names - i.e. Acme, Diversified, General,

Type of cancellations - Stamp, Cut, Pin Hole, Written by Hand, Punch, etc

Uncancelled certificates - These are certificates that have been issued but have never been redeemed. The reasons for lack of cancellation markings can range anywhere from the company going out of business to the certificate being lost and later replaced.

Specimens - Specimen Certificates are actual certificates that have never been issued. They were usually kept by the printers in their permanent archives as their only example of a particular certificate. Sometimes you will see a hand stamp on the certificate that says "Do not remove from file".

Specimens were also used to show prospective clients different types of certificate designs that were available. Specimen certificates are usually much scarcer than issued certificates. In fact, many times they are the only way to get a certificate for a particular company because the issued certificates were redeemed and destroyed. In a few instances, Specimen certificates we made for a company but were never used because a different design was chosen by the company.

These certificates are normally stamped "Specimen" or they have small holes spelling the word specimen. Most of the time they don't have a serial number, or they have a serial number of 00000. This is an exciting sector of the hobby that grown in popularity over the past several years.

Unissued Certificates - This are certificates that were printed but never filled in or only partially completed, but never issued to a shareholder or bondholder.

Original Dow Average – Collect companies that are part of the Dow Averages.

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Why collect scripophily?

We cannot do better than quote the reasons for collecting given by some of our members.

"I have always been a railroad fan, especially steam locos. I collect all kinds of railroadiana, and stocks are among the most pictorial."

"I get a thrill from holding papers that have been handled by great financiers and world figures such as John D Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Nathan M Rothschild, Walt Disney, even Goethe and King Charles I."

"Scripophily is new compared with collectibles like stamps, coins and banknotes. This means I can research angles that no-one has looked at before, and I feel I am becoming a recognised expert in my specialty."

"I adore the artistry and colour of some of the picture-size Belgian, French, Spanish, Portuguese shares. Plenty of art nouveau. Even some Mucha."

"My home town was built on coal. I am making a collection of coal mine shares and other industries from my region."

"I love to handle the evidence of the hopes of rebels and romantics from different times and continents - Gregor MacGregor's Honduran adventure, plans for airplanes that would never fly, Kossuth's Hungary, the Spanish Carlists amongst them."

"My Civil War collection would not be complete without at least a representative group of bonds of the Confederacy."

"As a paper money collector, I like to find banking, railroad and State stocks and bonds with the same vignettes and names as I have on my notes."

"Scripophily is truly a world interest. It makes a reason to travel to meetings and bourses. And I exchange news by phone, fax and email with interesting and charming people from all over."

"I enjoy the hunt. Besides, this is early days for scripophily, so I am not likely to be caught on the peak of a fashion. And how else can I buy a million dollars of stocks?"

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Scripophily Collecting Financial Instruments

The London Financial Times held a contest during the mid-1970's to coin a word for the collecting of cancelled financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, and debentures. Scripophily combines 2 words, scrip and the Greek word philus, which means to love. The word scrip has been long used for different types of financial instruments.

During the late 1960's and early 1970's antiquarian book dealers were the major source for old cancelled stocks, bonds, and debentures. When they bid on the libraries and papers of the estates of the better-off in a community, cancelled financial instruments were usually found in the collections.

Worldwide Hobby

Scripophily is a worldwide hobby and estimates on the number of collectors run from a low of 50,000 to a high of 150,000.

Serious collecting in the U.S. started with a few wealthy collectors right after the Civil War who included these financial instruments along with books and the paper money issued by the southern government.

Fifty years ago you went to used book stores to purchase cancelled stocks and bonds. In today's world you can find them at garage sales, flea markets, used book stores, and dealers like us who specialize and sell all types of financial instruments, such as old U.S. and world coins, U.S. and World Banknotes, Civil War script and bonds, ornate and interesting checks. All of these items fall under the wide umbrella of financial instruments. All types of financial instruments are the grease that keeps the business world moving.

They say that America's business is business and we find that about half of our customers both locally, nationally, and over the Web are business people. Many are in the top echelon of the business world, many are in middle management.

What Value is in Collecting Stocks, Bonds & Debentures?

Value is always in the eyes of the beholder, some collect signatures of the rich and famous, others prefer time periods or industry groups, while others collect vignettes or the company who printed them like the American Bank Note Company.

One area that is universally collected is transportation stocks, bonds and debentures. Railroads, automotive, ships and aviation are highly collected.

About one third of the collectors are into Business High Art and collect art deco and engraved vignettes. For those of you who fit into this category pay special attention to the vignettes printed on the stocks and bonds put out by the American Bank Note Company, some of these vignettes are 150 years old and have all the charm of yesteryear.

We have a collector who only collects financial instruments that have Mercury on them, another who only collects stocks or bonds with angels on them, another who only collects a portrayed individual or group of individuals who started the company.

Collectors come from all walks of life and stock & bond collecting is as diversified as the people who collect them.

Finding Out More About Old Stocks & Bonds

Most all of the stocks, bonds, or debentures listed in this site will tell you the state they were incorporated at. With the name of the company and the state they were incorporated in, you can if interested, find out more about the company. If the company still exists you can write them for further information.

Many companies had their business histories published. Many of these companies still have these old business histories in the basement or storage. Ask them if they still have any or any other written articles available. In most cases they will be happy to respond. Who knows, they may even have some cancelled stocks or bonds they will send along with the other information.

The Super Mall-Association, an Internet Resource Directory has a Listing Mall called States Online. Most states will list their securities divisions, many of which are online and you can contact them.

Others maybe listed on the Web. Search AltaVista, Excite, or the Super Mall-Association for the state.

In closing, let me tell you this is one of the most fascinating areas of collecting I have ever been in and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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Collecting Stocks and Bonds: A Collector's Story

Antique stock fever! Since I was born too late to prospect for gold in the 1850's & 1860's, and since I live in New York City, I am satisfying my collecting urges by searching for old stocks and bonds of the United States. Mines of the West are my specialty though there are many areas in which to collect. Growing interest in collecting old certificates, or "scripophily", makes it useful to examine how certificates are evaluated.

The most important thing is that you enjoy the hunt. Sometimes luck is good, sometimes not. The "droughts" can be long.

Stocks and bonds are very different financial instruments and are issued by corporations for different reasons. A stock indicates part ownership of the company. Prior to 1872 the stock could represent a fixed number of tunnel "feet to the share", or (as is the case nowadays) the stock could represent a percentage of the company. A bond represents debt of the company, and the terms of repayment (such as date due and percentage payout) are usually specified on the bond. Few old mining bonds appear on the market.

There are a number of factors to be considered in deciding how to form your collection and what to trade or sell. These ideas should be thoroughly understood since they apply to all types of stock or bond certificates, even though this guide was written with mining stocks in mind.

It is important to become familiar with rarity and prices in the market. Dealers' catalogs should be examined. Auction catalogs are useful although you have to take auction fever into account when evaluating winning bids. Of late, on-line stores are useful sources. Prices range from fifty cents for recent issues to over $100,000 for the most important autographs on certificate. $20 to $300 will suffice for most purchases.

Reference books will help you learn about your collection. "Mineral Resources West of the Rocky Mountains," by J. Ross Browne, 1868, is an excellent source of early mining district and mine descriptions. Also useful are the Fisher "Manuals of Valuable and Worthless Securities" and Scudder's "Manual of Extinct or Obsolete Companies". In addition, you can write for information to the Secretary of State where the stock was issued.

Naturally, greater rarity enhances value. Mining certificates tend to be found in much smaller quantities than railroad certificates since the many railroads issued copious amounts of stocks and bonds, many went bust, and some railroad archives have preserved ALL their certificates for a hundred years or more. It is possible to collect every mine offered within certain categories, as explained below. Unfortunately, it is usually not known how many of a certificate survive, so "flooding" of the market in any certificate is always possible, and what appears rare may not be. It is important to know your sources: the railroad archives may preserve thousands of the same piece, while an estate may have only one.

Some people collect only gold and silver, while some prefer coal, copper and other minerals. All may be worth collecting.

Metal mines were located in all western states, but certificates are found most often from Nevada, California, Colorado, and Arizona. Some collectors want everything from a particular geographic area. Early mining certificates from certain states are very uncommon.

Like gold itself, mining stocks may be decorative. The Illinois Gold and Silver Mining Company certificate was issued in the Smoky Valley District of Lander County, Nevada Territory, on September 19, 1863. The printers (Waters Brothers of San Francisco) did a fine job in the vignette (picture) of a hard-rock mining scene. Some collectors restrict themselves to vignetted pieces, though this approach may overlook historical value. Certificates may be handwritten, typeset, lithographed, engraved or a combination of these processes may have been used.

Interesting company names are desirable. Mines often featured important personalities of the time. The Old Hickory of Nevada Territory picturing Andrew Jackson is a fine example.

One of the most important distinctions in certificates is the date of issue. Some collectors want only territorial dates (which of course vary from state to state). Since statehood often reflected an increase in population and industry in an area, this is a logical cutoff. There are important exceptions to this rule. The Sutro Tunnel certificate was issued after Nevada became a state on Oct. 31, 1864. The significance of the tunnel in draining excess water from the mines of the fabulous Comstock Lode plus the rare signature of Adolf Sutro on stock certificate make this piece a classic.

Autographs from important persons greatly affect value. The Cody-Dyer Arizona Mining & Milling Co. near Oracle, AZ was important in the financial ruin of Buffalo Bill. No doubt the signed defunct stock is worth more today than the live stock ever was. Certificates signed by the Silver King, Horace A.W. Tabor (known for the rich Matchless Silver Mine near Leadville, Colorado and his wife, Baby Doe) are rare and highly desirable. The value of this ugly stock is in its history and in the autograph.

Issued certificates are considered more collectible than unissued, since the former are examples not only of printing but also of history. This is the opposite of stamp collecting where mint stamps are generally more valuable than used ones. If you’re after decoration, then for a few dollars (often under $35) you can buy some marvelous unissued examples.

Condition of a certificate is very important, though to me an interesting damaged example is better than none at all. Some collectors will not buy a damaged certificate under any circumstance. One of my favorites is the Cleopatra Gold and Silver Mining Company of Virginia City, NV, 1863, which pictures the Queen herself. Repairs should be undertaken with caution. If you don't know what to do, DON'T DO ANYTHING.

An important reason for collecting is the adventure along the way. I haven't forgotten the dealer with half-empty hip flask in Goldfield, Nevada who chased this "city slicker" back to his car when I told him his stocks were nice but not rare. Or being invited inside Aspen Mountain into the Park Tunnel after I'd found some of their certificates. Or flying worldwide to attend auctions and do deals. Or spotting four great certificates from 1840 in a dealer's five-dollar box.

The increasing "collector pressure" may lead the uninitiated to think all certificates have great value. It’s very important to study the market or at least work with a knowledgeable dealer you can trust. As in the Old West there are also the occasional "promoters" to watch out for. Knowledge of the material is the key.

Once you have acquired old stocks or bonds, the question arises of what to do with duplicates or those that don't fit in your collection. You may wish to hold everything and hope for appreciation in value, with the risk that more of the same certificate will surface and drive value down. You can sell via auction, wholesale to dealers, or become a part-time dealer. That's probably how most dealers have started their careers.

There are many Sources of old stocks and bonds. I have made purchases at flea markets, ephemera shows, estate sales, antique shows, museums, historical societies, collector meetings, business liquidations, auctions, banks, and garbage dumps. I started collecting on the day in 1979 when I pulled certificates out of a dumpster where a millionaire had discarded thousands of dollars worth of fabulous old Aspen memorabilia.

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