scripophily guide is a wonderful resource for those interested in gaining a great deal of basic and helpful information on the wonderful hobby of stock and bond collecting

The Scripophily Guide

We're pleased to have sponsored and now offer the The Scripophily Guide, published by the International Bond and Share Society. This 32 page guide is a wonderful resource for those interested in gaining a great deal of basic and helpful information on the wonderful hobby of stock and bond collecting. This guide will provide information on many of the most frequently asked questions and basic concerns of the new collector of Scripophily. We highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in the field.

"…Howard Shakespeare has written this Scripophily Guide for collectors. Not investors. Not dealers. Collectors! Whether young or old, rich or not-so-rich, collectors share a common enthusiasm. If they stick with their chosen field long enough, they evolve into experts. The lucky ones keep their enthusiasm for many years and can share their expertise with other enthusiasts in many countries. That enthusiasm - the true enjoyment - is the real benefit of collecting."

"Compared with stamp and coin collecting, scripophily is still new. Just a few people collected as early as the 1930s, but they were few indeed until two doctoral research theses were published in Germany in 1976. Their research showed a fascinating variety of Imperial Russian and Chinese bonds available for collecting. By the late 1970's, large numbers of collectors had discovered bonds and shares, and began developing the activity. It was named 'scripophily' - pronounced scrip-awfully - in a contest organized by the London Times in 1978….In the 21st century scripophily continues to enjoy growth worldwide. Many collectors have moved over from coins and paper money. For them, rare bonds and shares are still affordable."

"Most collectors soon see the wisdom of choosing a theme to collect. The range of themes is almost endless since bonds and shares reflect almost every aspect of economic history. Many collectors favor obvious themes such as railroads, autos or mining, but these offer a very wide range of material and some further specialization is needed. In the case of railroads, collectors often choose their own country or region. Autos are often collected by country or date. Mining collectors choose either their country/region or a type of mining - gold, diamonds, coal, etc. The smaller fields - oil, tobacco, tramways, textiles, engineering, electricity, water, coffee, tea and a hundred others - are small enough for a collector to build a worldwide collection…A cheaper option is to limit oneself by country and dates as well as theme. An example of such a limitation is "New England railroads pre-1900."

"Some collectors want autographs of famous persons on certificates - often found on US shares and sometimes on European pieces also, and including businessmen such as Wells and Fargo, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan and the Rothschilds…"

"New collectors often ask how one knows what is a fair price for a certificate. Most collectors are content to be in the low end of this range, say $10 to $500 or $1,000. As with everything else, prices are determined by supply and demand. So what influences supply and demand? Most would list the following: Beauty, Age, Rarity, Topical interest, Issued versus Unissued, Historical Significance, Autographs"

"New collectors often comment on the elaborate borders on bonds and shares. Some are individually engraved, but the majority are printed by a process, invented in the USA in the middle of the 19th century, in part to frustrate forgers. This used a geometrical lathe, creating an almost limitless variety of possible border designs, and making duplication almost impossible without the substantial investment available to the security printers"

"There is no doubt that companies used their certificates to present an impression of the company; a striking piece, well printed on high-quality paper gave a much better impression than something obviously much cheaper." Continue to learn more about scripophily, please visit Scott Winslow.

Introduction to Scripophily

Scripophily is the hobby of collecting, scrip, such as securities, documents and ephemera issued by firms and governments in the past. The vast majority of scrip is in the form of old stocks and bonds issued by defunct companies (and even defunct government regimes). Usually these securities have no value as financial claims, though they may have considerable value for their artistic merit or historical interest. I enjoy collecting scrip for two reasons:

Artwork: many securities feature highly intricate artwork, truly masterpieces of engravers? skill. The use of color, size, detail, vignettes (or pictures), and general embellishment often lend signals about what the issuer was (or hoped to be). Usually these securities are simply nice to look at.

Historical interest. The securities often tell a story about mismanagement, sharp market reverses, failed technology, etc. They can be excellent teaching devices and are at least reminders about the way things can go wrong. Any history buff will enjoy scrip for the ties to the past.

Relatively little has been published about the collection of scrip; but for a place to start, see Keith Hollender's Scripophily: Collecting Bonds and Stock Certificates Facts on File, 1983, (ISBN 0-87196-625-5).

There are numerous dealers in scrip who send out richly illustrated catalogues?I highly recommend ordering a couple of catalogues simply to see what is in the market. See the list of websites for collectors for the coordinates of dealers. Items range from $10 at the low end to several thousand dollars at the high end. Here are four considerations to guide your collecting of scrip:

1. Know who you are. Are you a manic collector/investor, or are you a casual buyer? I like to look at my collection, so I simply stop buying when I run out of wall space to display items. Very serious collectors tie up thousands of dollars in scrip, and need to keep their most valuable items safe and out of the light of day that's not my cup of tea, though I can understand the appeal of this kind of collecting.
2. Find a theme. It makes sense to build a collection that has some coherence. Mining shares, banks, transportation companies, auto manufacturers, are all examples of themes of coherence. We have all strayed from our themes from time to time, but mine is major financial fiascos (see the list of my favorites.)
3. Do you like looking at it? This may matter less to serious investors and collectors, who choose more to build a collection than to admire it. But if you are in my league, then color, artwork, and the little picture (or ?vignette?) will matter greatly.
4. Does it have an interesting story? Unknown companies issued the vast bulk of available scrip. With some digging in State Corporation Offices we might learn a little about these firms. But in general, they will remain ciphers. Those that have interesting stories behind them might be a good place to start collecting because it gives you a basis for describing your acquisitions.
5. Does it have a famous signature? You can buy securities bearing some really famous names from business history: J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, most of the railroad ?robber barons,? and so on. Since autograph collectors pursue these special securities, you should expect to have to pay a real premium for paper bearing a famous signature.
6. What is its physical quality? Look for tears, mold, and fading. While some of this is unavoidable, try to acquire only good physical specimens. Some day you (or your heirs) will liquidate your collection; it will be easier to sell if the paper is in good condition. Good dealers will rate the scrip on the basis of quality and significance; these ratings are one place to start in judging whether you might want to buy a particular item.

Continue to learn more about scripophily, please visit Informs.