South Africa Scripophily

by Mario Boone

South Africa is not only one of the most beautiful countries in the world, it is probably also one of the most fascinating, with a history that goes back as far as mankind. The first permanent European settlers were Dutch. Under the orders of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), Jan van Riebeeck founded in 1652 the first white settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. It was the beginning of a long colonization process by which Dutch, German and French colonists (so-called Boers) went deeper and deeper into the unexplored African inland, often leading to bloody conflicts with the native inhabitants, the Khoisan and Bantu tribes such as the Xhosa and Zulus. In the beginning of the 19th century, the British took control over the Cape and many Boers went further north to establish their own republics: Transvaal and Orange Free State. However, Great Britain didn’t give in and tried to unite the whole of South Africa under its authority. In 1910, and despite two Boer Wars led by the legendary Paul Kruger, London achieved its goal. In the following years, South Africa increased its autonomy towards Great Britain and went more and more its own and well known way.

For centuries, South Africa had an economy largely based on agriculture and without any major industries. As a result, very few old stocks are known.

The discovery of Diamonds

In 1869, this was all to change. It that year, the discovery on the banks of the Orange River of the Star of Africa, a 83,5 carats rough diamond, became the catalyst for the great diamond rush. While at first ‘wet’ diggings along the banks of the Orange and Vaal rivers were pursued, it was only a matter of months before major finds were made ‘inland’. Six major diamond mines were discovered during the “Great Rush” (1869-1871) : Bultfontein, Koffiefontein, Jagersfontein, Dutoitspan, De Beers and Kimberley (the richest of all). From than on and up till today, no other country would mine more diamonds than South Africa does. In those early days, some 3600 different mining claims were bought by individual persons. Consolidation (economics of scale) made of course much sense and after a change of law in 1876, this was exactly what happened. After a fierce battle for overall control of the diamond fields  between  Barney  Barnato  and  the   legendary Cecil Rhodes, the latter took de facto control over almost the complete South African diamond industry. He amalgamated his holdings into the De Beers Consolidated Mines. By 1929, the German-originated Oppenheimer family took control over De Beers and continues up till today to run what is by far the world’s biggest diamond business.

The discovery of Gold

Even more important than diamonds for the South African economy was the discovery of gold in 1886 when George Harrison found an outcrop of the main reef of gold-bearing conglomerate near Johannesburg. Unlike the earlier Californian and Australian discoveries, this field was not an alluvial deposit where thousands of freelance gold diggers could work, it was the tip of low grade reefs which could be mined only at depth and at great initial capital cost. There was very little capital in South Africa at that moment, so many mining companies were founded and listed on the stock exchange in London. Here again, consolidation took place among the successful companies (i.e. those who had claims where enough gold could be extracted to make a profit) while many others were quickly dissolved because of lack of fortune. While for diamonds, only ‘De Beers’ really stands out, there are seven big gold mine companies who make that South Africa was, and still is, the world’s largest gold producer: Gold Fields of South Africa (founded by Rhodes), Rand Mines (now Randgold), Johannesburg Cons. Investments, General Mining (now Gencor), Union Corporation (now Gencor), Anglo American (founded by Oppenheimer, now AngloGold) and AngloVaal. Up until today, South Africa has produced no less than 35% of all gold ever mined in the world!

Collecting South African stocks & bonds

The historical significance of collecting South African certificates is obvious from the above text. Yet, there is more: several pieces are very attractive, most ones are in English and sometimes with interesting foreign influences. Overall, there are a few hundred different pieces known, though almost all are quite rare because of the low number of stocks issued (most were small companies), yet prices tend to be rather moderate thanks to the fact that Scripophily is not yet very well known in South Africa.

Collecting Ideas

by Bob Kerstein, CEO Scripophily.com

Over the years, I have been asked what are some of the ways to collect Scripophily. Although there are so many reasons why people collect Scripophily, I thought I would start a list of some collecting ideas and themes that I have seen over the years.  We will be updating this on a regular basis. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know by sending me an email:

  1. Autographs – Issued to or signed by as officers by famous people
  1. Vignettes – The vignette is the image on the certificate.  You can collect vignettes, by themes, type of product, same Image different company etc.
  1. Printers – Some of the major Printers include the American Banknote Company, E.A. Wright, Franklin Lee, Goes, Western Banknote Company, De La Rue, etc
  1. Industries – Banks, Computers, Communications, Motion Pictures, Oil, Utilities, Airlines, etc
  1. Company’s acquired by other companies – i.e. Paypal, TWA now part of American Airlines, Peet Manufacturing ( Formally of Colgate – Palmolive – Peet  ), etc.
  1. Geography – Country, State, Province, Continent,
  1. Countries no longer around ie Ottoman Empire, Prussia,
  1. Family related as officers or company includes family name
  1. Modern Companies currently in existence
  2. Dates – Eras, Birthdays, Years, Decades, major events, etc
  1. Scandals – Enron, Equity Funding, Keely Motor Company, Bre-X Minerals Ltd, Investors Overseas Services, etc
  1. Major Bankruptcy’s – Continental Illinois Corporation, French Panama Canal, Kmart Corporation, Penn Central, etc.
  1. Companies owned by politicians or their families – i.e Buckeye Steel where Samuel Prescott Bush ( President Bush’s Great Grandfather ) was president
  1. 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.
  1. Obsolete industries like  Plankroads, Telegraphs, Steel Companies in the United States, Silent Movies,  etc.
  1. Mining companies – Type of company like Gold, Silver, Copper,
    Uranium, or by eras, regions, Mining Districts, etc.
  1. 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
  1. Company’s with common names – i.e. Acme, Diversified, General,
  2. Type of cancellations – Stamp, Cut, Pin Hole, Written by Hand, Punch, etc
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. Unissued Certificates – This are certificates that were printed but never filled in or only partially completed, but never issued to a shareholder or bondholder.
  1. Original Dow Average – Collect companies that are part of the Dow Averages.
    Below is a list of the Original Dow Industrials companies from 1896:
    American Cotton Oil
    American Sugar
    American Tobacco
    Chicago Gas
    Distilling & Cattle Feeding
    General Electric
    Laclede Gas
    National Lead
    North American Company
    Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
    U.S. Leather pfd.
    U.S. Rubber

The Current Dow components include:

3M (materials, electronics)
Alcoa (aluminum)
Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris)
American Express (financial services)
AT&T (telecommunications)
Boeing (aviation and aerospace)
Caterpillar Inc. (heavy equipment)
Citigroup (financial services)
Coca-Cola Co. (beverages)
DuPont (chemicals)
Eastman Kodak (photographic equipment)
Exxon Mobil Corp. (petroleum)
General Electric (electronics, financial services)
General Motors (automobiles)
Hewlett-Packard (computer hardware, printers)
Home Depot (retail, specializing in home improvement)
Honeywell International (electronics)
Intel Corp. (microprocessors)
International Business Machines (hardware, software and services)
International Paper (paper, packaging)
J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. (financial services)
Johnson & Johnson Corporation (pharmaceuticals)
McDonald’s Corporation (fast food franchise)
Merck and Company (pharmaceuticals)
Microsoft Corporation (software)
Procter and Gamble (household supplies, pharmaceuticals)
SBC Communications (telecommunications)
United Technologies (aerospace, defense)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (retail)
Walt Disney Company (entertainment)

  1. State,  Province or County of Incorporation – Ohio, California, British Columbia etc
  1. Government Bonds – By Country, Municipals, War Bonds
  1. Type of Security – Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Gold Bond, Convertible Bond, etc


We are always looking for articles about the hobby.  Please us know if you have any suggestions  Email

Autographs by Terry Cox

Autograph collecting is a hobby separate from stock and bond collecting. It just happens to overlap the stock and bond hobby because many certificates are issued to, or otherwise signed by, major and minor celebrities. Autographs are important both for their historical significance, and for their speculative possibilities.

Do your research

Newcomers often share the misconception that autographs represent excellent opportunities to get rich quick. A warning is in order. You cannot stumble into this specialty and reasonably expect to win. Autograph collecting takes careful research. It takes a clear understanding of the market. Without both, speculation in autographs represents a terrific opportunity to get poor quick.

The autographs that show the greatest demand among advanced collectors are those of major industrialists (Rockefeller, Carnegie), major investors (Hetty Green), legendary railroaders (Commodore Vanderbilt, Jay Gould), and major historical figures (Nathan Bedford Forrest). Signatures of that caliber routinely attract prices in the thousands of dollars.

There are fewer such autographs than there are collectors who want them, so important signatures show steady increases in prices. Price increases routinely beat inflation by several percent per year. At that level of collecting, all attention is focused on the value of autographs. The values of certificates on which they it appear are immaterial.

Down the ladder of importance are signatures of prominent railroaders (Harriman, Huntington, and the Vanderbilt heirs), important industrialists (Morgan, DuPont, and Mellon), politicians (Fillmore), and military figures (Burnside.) Make no mistake. These were important Americans. Still, collectors usually pay less than a thousand dollars each for their signatures. Their popularity is somewhat fickle. They are in a different class than the previous group. Like the previous group, their signatures are worth more than the certificates they grace.

In less demand are the signatures of minor figures. In this group are autographs from people like Cassatt, Clews, Depew, Grow, and Scott. These people were important to their companies. Many were well known in their time. Still, they had limited impact on the nation as a whole. At this level, you can discern the values of autographs separate from the values of certificates. Expect to pay $5 to $100 for autographs from this group plus the cost of the certificates they are on. Buy autographs from this group carefully. Always consider possible resale. When you buy these kinds of autographs, try to buy those with minimal cancellations, legible handwriting, and scarcer certificates.

The most unpredictable group of autographs are those of locally-important figures. These are figures who were important in one city, county, or state, but who may not have been well-known elsewhere. Such autographs can attract huge bids in one auction, and go unsold thereafter. This is the realm of the specialist.

When you are first starting to collect autographs, be very cautious! If you see an autograph for sale, and you do not already know who that person was, that is a gentle hint that you should do more research before you invest. Never buy an autograph until you know whose signature you are buying and why you need to own it.

What exactly is an autograph?

For the purposes of this catalog, an autograph is:

A signature, usually in ink, signed by hand by the person whose name appears.

This definition seems so obvious that I need to define what is NOT an autograph.

A printed or rubber stamped facsimile signature.
A signature signed by a mechanical device (Autopen or Signa-Signer).
A signature signed by someone (a surrogate signer) other than the person named.

Stock certificates commonly offer several autograph possibilities. On the front (recto) of each stock certificate are usually two signatures of company executives. These are usually the company president and a clerk or treasurer. Additionally, there may be counter-signatures or clerks or officers in trust companies or banks. If a stock certificate was legally transferred, the signature of the stockholder will usually appear on the back (verso). Such certificates may also include potentially valuable signatures of witnesses, attorneys, and transfer company officers.

Issued bonds usually show the company president’s signature on the front. They may also include signatures of comptrollers, treasurers, and clerks. Owners’ signatures seldom appear anywhere on bearer bonds. Registered bonds, however, may show owners’ signatures on the back. The backs of many bonds show the signatures of trustees and guarantors.

Issued to, but not signed by…

In this price guide, you will see a few references to certificates that were issued to famous people, but the celebrities never signed them. Normally, such certificates are signed by attorneys. Such certificates are not autographed. However, because they carry famous names, they attract auction bids slightly above ordinary certificates.

Pens used for autographs

Prior to the 1940s, almost all stocks and bonds were signed by hand with some sort of quill pen, steel nib pen, or fountain pen. Inks for those pens were usually a black or bluish black when applied, but most aged to a brown color. As a rule, very old autographs show a brown halo caused by migration of the liquid agent (usually linseed oil) that carried the black pigment (usually lamp black.)

Signatures signed in ball point pen started appearing in the 1950s. Although uncommon, you will occasionally find low quality ‘forgeries’ signed with ball-point pens. The modern ball-point pen was invented in about 1935, although the earliest patent was issued in 1888. The first successful ball point pen was sold in large quantities in 1945. You can be certain that anything signed with a ball-point pen before 1935 is definately a forgery. Any certificate signed in ball point before late 1945 should be highly questionable.

It is sometimes hard to distinguish facsimile signatures from autographs. The surest way to tell the difference is to flip the certificate over. Fountain pen ink normally soaked through the paper while printed facsimile ink did not. Real autographs normally dented the paper, the evidence of which can be seen most easily from the back. Another method is to look closely where one pen stroke crossed another. If the junction of the two strokes is exactly the same shade as the surrounding pen strokes, you’re probably dealing with a facsimile. (Experiment with both fountain pens and ball-point pens to see how they behave.)

Facsimile signatures are common on recent stocks and bonds, but it is hard to pinpoint exactly when they first appeared. The New York Central heavily used pre-printed officers’ autographs in the 1940s, and thereafter. The earliest recorded facsimile signature in the database is currently attributed to a New York Central specimen (NEW-530-Ss-65) from 1914.

There is no easy way to discriminate between Autopen signatures and genuine handwritten signatures. Generally, you need several certificates for comparison. If several signatures are identical in flow and appearance, you have a mechanically-made signature. If the signatures vary considerably, you probably have genuine signatures. (Notable exceptions are the signatures of the U.S. Presidents where several different auto-signing machines may be used concurrently.)

Authenticity

Authenticity is a serious issue with autographs. Fortunately, the engraving on stocks and bonds is usually so complex, and certificates are still so cheap, that counterfeiting of whole documents makes little sense. However, forgers can buy unissued certificates and add fake signatures. They can also remove worthless signatures from issued certificates and substitute forgeries of valuable autographs.

So far, stock and bond autograph forgeries have proven rare. That will probably change as autographs grow increasingly valuable. Protect yourself as much as possible by buying autographs from reputable, established dealers who unequivocally guarantee their products. For valuable signatures, seek expert authentication from one or more third party appraisers.

Finally, read these books:

Questioned Documents
Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts
Salamander: the story of the Mormon forgery murders

Prices for autographed issues

Autograph collecting is a separate hobby that happens to involve stocks and bonds. Autographs of famous people add significantly to values of otherwise common stocks and bonds. Autograph collecting can be highly profitable. Taken as a group, autographs have historically shown excellent price growth. They are popular investments.

Fame and autograph demand

Generally, the richer and more influential the individual, the more collectors demand his or her signature.

Autographs from last century’s millionaires are usually in high demand. Autographs from heirs and offspring are worth much less than their illustrious parents. Signatures from celebrity spouses are usually in less demand except among specialist collectors.

Unless individuals were notorious, rich, or both, autographs of company officers are seldom sought after. Autographs from persons of pure celebrity (movie stars, composers, sports figures) are valued roughly in comparison with their enduring fame. The perceived value of autographs from politicians, military figures, judges, crooks, and other notables roughly track the degree of their national impact.

Presently, the most ‘valuable’ rail-related autograph is that of Andrew Carnegie. It appeared on a Pullman Palace Car stock certificate and sold for over $70,000 in the 1999 Strasburg sale by R.M. Smythe. Other extremely valuable autographs include ‘Commodore’ Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the New York Central Railroad and the Vanderbilt dynasty. His signature is extremely rare on railroad certificates. Signatures from Jay Gould, on items other than MKT stocks, are also extremely valuable.

The pricing of autographs is problematic

The so-called value of autographs depends on one thing – how important buyers think an autograph should be. One buyer may be completely enamored with the ‘get it done’ tenacity of John Casement as he drove the Union Pacific westward across the continent. Another buyer might wonder, ‘So what?’ The value of every autograph is personal.

The values of autographs in the catalog come primarily from prices realized at auctions. In most cases, auction prices represent competition between two or more bidders. Prices in fixed-price catalogs will usually be higher.

Look before you leap

Buy autographs cautiously, especially when you are first starting. Study all aspects of autograph collecting before you invest. Prices will be cyclic. Autograph prices CAN AND DO FALL! Financial returns can be wonderful or pitiful.

Think about resale

Because of potential profits, and losses, autograph collecting is often equated with investing. Consequently, when you collect autographs, you should always keep an eye on potential resale. Never buy an autograph before you assess its future. Ask yourself, as dispassionately as possible, whether you think future collectors will think a particular signature as desirable as you do. Commodore Vanderbilt’s autographs are easy. But what about Henry Clews’?

Uncontrollable events affect values.

Random events affect people’s impressions about the importance of specific autographs. For example, consider the 1869 Selma Marion & Memphis Railroad bond. All were signed by Confederate hero Nathan Bedford Forrest.

In 1989, the bonds routinely sold for $150 to $250. Then came along Public Television’s broadcast Ken Burn’s Civil War series in 1990. Within months, dealers in a wide range of hobbies noticed an unprecedented interest in every kind of collectible related to the Civil War. By 1992, Selma Memphis & Marion bonds were selling for as much as $900. By 1994, auction prices had topped $1,100. They are currently in the $2,500 to $3,000 range.

Outside events can also lower values and salability of autographs. You can see notable examples with signatures of World War I personalities. They were in very high demand during the 1920s and 1930s. After World War II, interest in World War I autographs dropped significantly. Prices are still low considering their age and historical significance.

The Wealthy One Hundred

The Wealthy 100

Some years ago, two business professors published a most interesting book entitled The Wealthy 100, in which they compared and ranked the fortunes of various American businessmen across time.  For example, John D. Rockefeller was worth approximately $1.4 billion when he died in 1937, apparently mere pocket change for the $60 billion wealth of Bill Gates today.  Yet according to the authors, Rockefeller is #1 on the list and Gates is #31.  The writers used an interesting measuring stick that allows them to compare different eras.  It is a simple formula, dividing a person’s wealth by the estimated Gross National Product.  When Rockefeller died, his fortune was estimated as 1/65th of the GNP, whereas Gates’ wealth accounts for only 1/425th of the GNP in 1995 [it has grown considerably in the last 3 years, and is now estimated in 1999 at only 1/135th of the GNP, still far behind Rockefeller’s share].  In today’s dollars, Rockefeller’s personal fortune would be worth an astounding $190 billion, making Gates’ $60 billion slightly more than pocket change for Rockefeller!  To put this into more understandable terms, at times, Rockefeller’s wealth exceeded the annual Federal budget.  I won’t comment on whether this is a commentary on the growth of Federal expenditures or the reduction in the accumulation of wealth.  But I believe it would be impossible for Gates’ net worth to exceed today’s trillion dollar budgets.  Still, it has been recently estimated that Gates is as wealthy as the bottom 100 million Americans combined.

Looking over the list, I think the most interesting aspect of the list is how many of these successful entrepreneurs were immigrants, their sole baggage on the long ocean voyage little more than a large dream.  Andrew Carnegie, John Jacob Astor, Stephen Girard, Alexander Stewart, Frederick Weyerhauser, William Weightman, Claus Spreckels, Anthony Brady, Adolphus Busch, John Kluge, Joseph Pulitzer, Samuel Slater, and August Belmont were not native-born Americans.   In fact, five of the top ten were born in Europe and came here seeking a better life, which they ultimately found.

Also remarkable is the number of people who left their fortunes to charity, and many of them are well known, such as the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the numerous Carnegie Libraries, Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, Girard College, Stanford University, the Frick Educational Commission, the Peabody Educational Fund, Duke University, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, and many other unnamed charities and foundations.

We believe it would be interesting and challenging for scripopholists to try to collect as many of The Wealthy 100 as possible.  So we made it as easy as possible for you.  Below, is a listing of the ninety-nine men and lone woman who made up this list, followed by an assortment of their signed stocks, bonds, letters and documents.

 

Rank Name Born Died Wealth in 1000s Ratio (Wealth:
GNP)
1 John D. Rockefeller 1839 1937 $1,400,000 65
2 Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794 1877 $105,000 87
3 John Jacob Astor 1763 1848 $20,000 107
4 Stephen Girard 1750 1831 $7,500 150
5 Andrew Carnegie 1835 1919 $475,000 166
6 A.T. Stewart 1803 1876 $50,000 178
7 Frederick Weyerhaeuser 1834 1914 $200,000 182
8 Jay Gould 1836 1892 $77,000 185
9 Stephen Van Rensselaer 1764 1839 $10,000 194
10 Marshall Field 1834 1906 $140,000 205
11 Henry Ford 1863 1947 $1,000,000 231
12 Andrew W. Mellon 1855 1937 $350,000 258
13 Richard B. Mellon 1858 1933 $350,000 258
14 Sam M. Walton 1918 1992 $22,000,000 275
15 James G. Fair 1831 1894 $45,000 280
16 William Weightman 1813 1904 $80,000 286
17 Moses Taylor 1806 1882 $40,000 286
18 Russell Sage 1816 1906 $100,000 287
19 John I. Blair 1802 1899 $60,000 289
20 Cyrus Curtis 1850 1933 $174,000 320
21 Edward Henry Harriman 1848 1909 $100,000 322
22 Henry H. Rogers 1840 1909 $100,000 322
23 J. P. Morgan 1837 1913 $119,000 328
24 Col. Oliver Payne 1839 1917 $178,000 337
25 Henry C. Frick 1849 1919 $225,000 351
26 Collis Potter Huntington 1821 1900 $50,000 374
27 Peter A. Widener 1834 1915 $100,000 387
28 James Cair Flood 1826 1888 $30,000 405
29 Nicholas Longworth 1782 1863 $15,000 411
30 Philip Danforth Armour 1832 1901 $50,000 413
31 Bill Gates 1955 $15,000,000 425
32 Mark Hopkins 1813 1878 $20,000 446
33 Edward Clark 1810 1882 $25,000 458
34 Leland Stanford 1824 1893 $30,000 462
35 William Rockefeller 1841 1922 $150,000 493
36 Hetty Green 1834 1916 $100,000 498
37 James J. Hill 1838 1916 $100,000 498
38 Elias Hasket Derby 1739 1799 $800 515
39 Warren Buffett 1930 $12,000,000 532
40 Claus Spreckels 1828 1908 $50,000 554
41 George Peabody 1795 1869 $16,000 556
42 Charles Crocker 1822 1888 $20,000 608
43 William Andrews Clark 1839 1925 $150,000 609
44 George Eastman 1854 1932 $95,000 611
45 Charles Tiffany 1812 1902 $35,000 616
46 Thomas Fortune Ryan 1851 1928 $155,000 633
47 Edward Stephen Harkness 1874 1940 $155,000 643
48 Henry M. Flagler 1830 1913 $60,000 651
49 James Buchanan Duke 1856 1925 $140,000 652
50 Israel Thorndike 1755 1832 $1,800 674
51 William S. O’Brien 1825 1878 $12,000 696
52 Isaac Merritt Singer 1811 1875 $13,000 709
53 George Hearst 1820 1891 $19,000 712
54 John Hancock 1736 1793 $350 714
55 John W. Garrett 1820 1884 $15,000 715
56 John W. Mackay 1831 1902 $30,000 718
57 Julius Rosenwald 1862 1932 $80,000 726
58 George F. Baker 1840 1931 $100,000 758
59 George Washington 1732 1799 $530 777
60 Anthony N. Brady 1834 1913 $50,000 781
61 Adolphus Busch 1839 1919 $50,000 781
62 John T. Dorrance 1873 1930 $115,000 786
63 George Pullman 1831 1897 $17,500 835
64 Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. 1893 1968 $1,000,000 864
65 Horace E. Dodge 1868 1920 $100,000 889
66 John F. Dodge 1864 1920 $100,000 889
67 J. Paul Getty 1892 1976 $2,000,000 893
68 William Aspinwall 1807 1875 $4,000 913
69 Johns Hopkins 1795 1873 $10,000 944
70 John Werner Kluge 1914 $6,700,000 952
71 Samuel Colt 1814 1862 $5,000 966
72 James Stillman 1850 1918 $77,000 989
73 William Collins Whitney 1841 1904 $23,000 993
74 William Thaw 1818 1889 $12,000 1040
75 Paul G. Allen 1953 $6,100,000 1046
76 Cyrus McCormick 1809 1884 $10,000 1072
77 Arthur Vining Davis 1867 1962 $400,000 1103
78 Thomas H. Perkins 1764 1854 $3,000 1116
79 Joseph Pulitzer 1847 1911 $30,000 1142
80 Daniel Willis James 1832 1907 $26,000 1169
81 Howard Hughes 1905 1976 $1,500,000 1190
82 Frank W. Woolworth 1852 1919 $6,500 1214
83 John McDonogh 1779 1850 $2,000 1278
84 Samuel Slater 1768 1835 $1,200 1312
85 August Belmont 1816 1890 $10,000 1313
86 Benjamin Franklin 1706 1790 $150 1320
87 Sumner Murray Redstone 1923 $4,800,000 1329
88 Capt. Robert Dollar 1844 1932 $40,000 1451
89 Richard Warren Sears 1863 1914 $25,000 1457
90 H. L. Hunt 1889 1974 $1,000,000 1474
91 Jay Van Andel 1924 $4,300,000 1483
92 Richard M. DeVos 1926 $4,300,000 1483
93 Henry Phipps 1839 1930 $60,000 1506
94 Lawrence J. Ellison 1944 $4,300,000 1519
95 Ronald Owen Perelman 1943 $4,300,000 1519
96 Peter Chardon Brooks 1767 1849 $1,300 1646
97 Charles W. Post 1854 1914 $22,000 1656
98 Samuel I. Newhouse 1895 1979 $1,500,000 1681
99 William Wrigley, Jr. 1861 1932 $34,000 1707
100 David Packard 1912 1996 $3,700,000 1724

 

What is Scripophily

What is Scripophily?
by Bob.com Kerstein , CEO Scripophily.com

SCRIPOPHILY (scrip-af-il-ly), the collecting of canceled old stocks and bonds, gained recognition as a hobby around the mid-1970s.  The word resulted combining words from English and Greek. The word “scrip”  represents an ownership right and the word “philos” means to love.   Today there are thousands of collectors worldwide in search of scarce, rare, and popular stocks and bonds. Collectors who come from the a variety of businesses enjoy this as a hobby, although there are many who consider Scripophily an good investment. In fact, over the past several years, this hobby has exploded.   Modern Dot companies and Scandals have been particularly popular.  You can find our more about modern collectible stock certificates at ModernStocks.com

Many collectors like the historical significance of certificates. Others prefer the beauty of older stocks and bonds that were printed in various colors with fancy artwork with ornate engraving. 

Many autograph collectors are found in this field, looking for signed certificates of famous people like John D.Rockefeller of Standard Oil Company, Franklin Fire Insurance Company signed by famed economist Henry Carey issued in 1836,  Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus,  Atari Corporation,  Eastern Air Lines with Captain Eddie Rickenbacker as President, Certificate signed by George Bush’s Great Grandfather Samuel Prescott Bush,Broadband.com, Tucker Corporation and many others.  As many certificates become harder to find, Scripophily is an exciting hobby with lots of challenges and potential.  Since the hobby is relatively new (around 20 years),  it prices are still very reasonable.  Where can you find a 100 year old piece of history with a an excellent engraving for under $40? Fortunately,  the hobby hasn’t hit the boiler room call centers yet!

There are many reasons that contribute to the success of this hobby. First of all, it is a worldwide collectible since almost all countries of the world have issued stocks and/or bonds through their governments or businesses. Each certificate is a different piece of history. It describes the company, the type of instrument (usually stock or bond), the year, signatures of officers or officials, who it was issued to, the printer, due date for bonds, and much much more. Many of the certificates have pictures or vignettes showing anything from cars to trains to Indians to leaders to nothing at all. 

Due to the computer age, more and more stock and bonds are issued electronically which means fewer paper certificates are issued as a percentage of actual stock issued.  During the past several years, the Internet has played a major role in the awareness of the hobby. 

The hobby of Scripophily is one of the most fascinating areas of financial history. Over the years there have been millions of companies which needed to raise money for their businesses.  In order to do so, the founders of these companies issued securities. Generally speaking, they either issued an equity security in the form of stock or a debt security in the form of a bond. However, there are many variations of equity and debt instruments. The can be Common Stock, Preferred Stocks, Warrants, Cumulative Preferred, Bonds, Zero coupon bonds, Long Term Bonds (over 400 years) and any combination thereof.  

Just as each company is different, each certificate is different as well. The color, paper, signatures, images, dates, stamps, cancellations, borders, industry, Stock Broker, name of company, transfer agent, printer, holder name all add to the uniqueness of the hobby. Each company needed to raise money to get into business. Each company had their own story as to how they did it. These certificates give us a piece of that story.

Some of the companies became major success stories. Some the companies were acquired and merged into other companies. Some of the companies and industries were successes for of time, but were replaced by improvements in technologies. The railroads are a good example of this.

Most the companies, however, never made it and the certificates became worthless pieces of paper….until the hobby of Scripophily came along!  There were many bubbles that came and went.  The mining boom in the 1850’s, the railroad build out beginning in the 1830’s, Oil Boom beginning in the 1870’s, Telegraph beginning in the 1850’s, Automobile Industry beginning at the turn of the 20th,  Century, Aviation beginning around 1910 after the Wright Brothers, Electric Power Industry in the 1930’s, Airline Wars and Takeovers beginning in the 1970’s, Cellular Telephones beginning in the mid 1980’s, Banks in the 1930’s, Saving’s and Loans in the 1970’s,  Long Distance Telephone Service in the 1990’s, and most recently the Dot Com rags to riches to rags chapter.   

There are many factors that determine value of a certificate including condition, age, historical significance, signatures, rarity, demand for item, aesthetics, type of company, original face value, bankers associated with issuance, transfer stamps, cancellation markings, issued or unissued, printers, and type of engraving process.

Condition   –  The grading scale that could be used in stocks and bonds is shown below.  Generally speaking, however, the grading is not used in the hobby as strictly as it is in coins and stamps.  Most people acquire certificates for the artwork and history.  Fortunately, the hobby has not made it to the slabs yet.

Grading Standards – American Stock and Bond Collectors Association

Cancellations

By their very nature, stocks and bonds are more often than not found in a state of cancellation. A variety of methods were employed over time to cancel certificates, thereby indicating they no longer hold negotiable value. Among the methods used were:

Stamps of varying colors and sizes
Punches
Pen/manuscript
Cut

Each type of cancellation may manifest a wide range of visual appearances, some of a relatively minor detracting nature to those which are very visually unappealing. As a result, the degree and severity of the same method of cancellation employed may vary substantially from certificate to certificate. To the extent that a certificate is heavily cancelled, its grade may be lowered.

Factors and Considerations

Many factors are taken into consideration when grading certificates. Many of these considerations are reflected in the final grade applied to a piece. Some are considered primarily for their importance to the overall eye appeal of an item. These factors include the following:

Eye Appeal
Condition of the paper
Fold weakness
Staining
Foxing
Paper loss – i.e. at fold intersections, edges, etc.
Mildew
Insect or vermin damage
Natural Defect re: hole in vellum
Contemporaneous ink spot
Feathered signature
Strength of ink
Strength of printing text and vignettes
Extraneous bleed-through (show through) of inks from writing on verso
Stamp or glue residues
Unsightly stamps, or cuts such as those on checks, receipts, etc.
Other people\’s endorsements
Mounting traces
Trimmed
Unusual margins
Excessive wrinkling
Graffiti – handwriting accomplished on an item which has no relationship to its history.

A WORD ON RESTORATION
A common practice for decades has been the restoration and repair of historical documents of all kinds. Restorations may be encountered in varying states of quality. Many have been accomplished by trained professionals, others have not. The degree and quality of any restoration, if present, will normally have an effect on the overall assigned grade of the certificate.

Poor (P) This would be a certificate that is essentially uncollectible except in the case of rarity or historical importance. For pieces that are routinely or occasionally available this would be an unacceptable example. Certificates in this grade would exhibit extreme problems. Writing on the certificate may be extremely faded or illegible due to light exposure or other factors. The certificate may exhibit damp-staining, severe water damage or other extreme staining. One quarter or more of the certificate may be entirely missing. This certificate would primarily be collectible only in cases of extreme rarity.

About Good (AG) While better than a certificate rating Poor, this would be an example which would normally be collectible because of rarity or historical importance. For pieces that are routinely or occasionally available this would likely be an unacceptable example. The certificate may exhibit paper loss, dampstaining, fading, severe folding and tears. The certificate may have large pieces missing and possibly rust stains from paper clips — though not to the extreme degree of an example which would grade Poor. May contain large, bold cancellation(s) or transfer block rubber stamps over the face. Vignette may be obliterated by cancellation(s).

Good (G) This certificate will have a number of problems from very moderate to heavy staining, paper loss, tears, edge chinks and other problems. May have significant wrinkling or soiling as well as numerous folds with damage and/or discoloration. A corner or corners may be missing and/or it may be trimmed into the border design. Writing on the reverse might cover the entire back of the certificate. Vignette might not be clear, with written cancellation(s) superimposed over the top.

Very Good (VG) This certificate may display some minor staining, discoloration or other minor problems. It may display significant wear and folds. May have small marginal edge chinks or tears. Also may have weak folds and staple holes may be present. Will have reasonable eye appeal regarding overall condition. Overall a collectible example at the lower end of the desirability scale.

Fine (F) Displaying normal characteristics of some use such as light creasing or folds. May have a couple of small pinholes. May display some minor discoloration or a few minor edge tears at fold ends. May have some light smudging or surface soiling. Staple holes may be present. Light writing on the verso. Vignette should be clear of all obstructions. This grade is representative of an average certificate.

Very Fine (VF) The paper retains some of its original crispness with some light edge wear and perhaps light smudging in upper right corner from counting or handling. May have a slight separation at the margin of a fold or two. Staple holes may be present. Some minimal soiling may be present. Extremely Fine (EF) A certificate which will display light evidence of usage. May have a couple of folds but the paper remains crisp. This certificate would remain largely free from any tears, staining or forms of discoloration. A few light staple holes may be present though not exhibiting rips and tears. Vignette remains sharp.

About Uncirculated (AU) A fresh, clean certificate with crisp paper. Printing remains bright and clean. Free from soiling, edge tears, staining, discoloration or any other defects. This would be an example that would be held back from a higher certificate uncirculated (CU) grade because of a few staple or pin holes or a very light crease. May have a couple of minor corner folds.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE:
Stocks and bonds were customarily folded for storage and delivery through the mail and otherwise. As a result, certificates are, in the majority of cases, encountered with some degree of folds. This alone should not keep a certificate from being graded as About Uncirculated.

Certificate Uncirculated (CU) A certificate free from any defects. The paper remains crisp as printed. Printing remains bright and clean. No corner folds or creases exist. May have one or two staple or pin holes. As it was often a practice of individuals to contemporaneously pin or staple certificates together this alone would not hold a certificate back from the lower end of the numerical scale for this grade. It should, however, be noted.

A SPECIAL NOTE ON LARGE FORMAT BONDS:
It was a common practice for larger format bonds to be uniformly folded following their printing. As a result, many of these bonds have never been unfolded until just prior to being graded. Many remain in a truly uncirculated state but for these folds.

Originial State Uncirculated (OS)
This grade is reserved for those certificates which remain as printed, in pristine condition without folds. The paper will remain crisp and the certificate will remain as it left the press. It will remain free from any trimming, handling marks or other defects. This grade represents the finest condition certificates available. The certificate should be absolutely mint, with no signs of circulation whatsoever. It will remain free of any folds, staple marks, bleaching or processing of any kind. A certificate receiving this grade will exhibit sharp printing and remain free of any edge wear or discoloration.

Age –  Usually the older the more valuable, but not always.

Historical significance    –  What product did the company produce? Was it the first car, airplane, cotton gin, etc. Did the company make it? Was it a fraud? What era was the item issued i.e. during a war, depression, industrial revolution?

Signatures –  Did anyone famous or infamous sign the certificate?

Certificate Owners Name  –  Was the certificate issued to anyone famous or a famous company?

Rarity –  How many of the certificates were issued? How many survived over the years? Is the certificate a low number?

Demand for item   –  How many people are trying to collect the same certificate?

Aesthetics   –  How does the certificate look? What is in the vignette? What color of ink was used. Does it have fancy borders or writing on it?

Type of company –  What type of company was it issued for? Does the industry still exist? Has the industry changed a lot over the years?

Original Face Value –  How much was the stock or bond issued for? Usually, the larger the original face value, the more collectible it is.

Bankers associated with issuance – Who worked on the fund raising efforts? Was it someone famous or a famous bank? Is the bank still in existence? – Who worked on the fund raising efforts? Was it someone famous or a famous bank? Is the bank still in existence?

Transfer stamps –  Does the certificate have tax stamps on it – imprinted or attached? Are the stamps valuable or unusual?

Cancellation markings –  Are the cancellation markings interesting to the item. Do they detract or add to its history and looks?

Issued or unissued   –  Was the item issued or unissued. Was the certificate a printer’s prototype usually stamped with the words specimen? Usually the issued certificates are more valuable and desired.

Printers –  Who printed the certificate? Was it a famous printer?

Type of engraving process  –  How was the certificate made? By hand? By Wood engraving? Steel Engraving? Lithograph? Preprinted Form?

Paper   –  Was the paper use in the printing high quality or low quality. Has it help up over time? Does it have a watermark used to prevent counterfeiting?

As you can see,  Scripophily is more than just collecting another piece of paper. It is collecting history. It is something everyone from all ages and all parts of the world can enjoy. The more you see, the more you collect, the more you appreciate that stocks and bonds were the monetary fabric that built the world as we know it today.