Latest (and fast approaching) Auctions

Four new auction catalogs have come in in the last few days. Most of you have already received one or two of these. Let me inform you about others that might interest you.

ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL AUCTIONS, PART 16 - This first session of this sale will take place at the Museum of American Finance in New York on Saturday, October 22, 2013. The second session will follow on Tuesday, October 22 at the Fort Lee, New Jersey offices of Archives International. Contact the company at 201-944-4800 or at www.ArchivesInternational.com for a copy of this 200-page, full color and well-illustrated catalog.

By my count, there are 426 lots of American railroad certificates, 10 of which sport important autographs. There are more railroad-related items from elsewhere in North America (Canada, Mexico, Cuba) that I did not have time to count.

A full 209 lots are examples of items of certificates from the Penn Central collection that R M Smythe first brought to light in 1986. This collection includes an example of essentially every variety Smythe found, many of which remain very scarce. I only one #1, but several are low-numbered.

Approximately 217 railroad-related lots will be offered during Session 1, 70% of which are specimens and proofs. For those of you who like bargain hunting, approximately 15% of rail-related lots include two of more certificates. There are around 2,290 lots offered in this massive sale with about half related to stocks and bonds.

MARIO BOONE 51st AUCTION - Mario's latest sale will be an internet and mailbid auction on and will take place Oct 12, 2013. For American readers, I would advise calling immediately if you want a catalog. Contact Centrum voor Scriptophilie at 0032-(0)9-386-90-91 or online at www.booneshares.com.

This sale is smaller than recent sales, possibly because Auction 50 was so large. For collectors of North American railroad certificates, I count only 17 lots, although there are a couple of standouts that caught my attention.

Were I a collectors, I'd aim for lot 574, a stock certificate from Bermuda Railways Investment Company. At a starting bid of only 30 Euros, even with shipping and commission, this seems a deal. But what do I know?

Another item of interest to American collectors is a tramway-related stock certificate from the Angamar Motor Company of New York (lot 630). I've never encountered this company before and the starting bid of 50 Euros again sounds like a serious deal. But you decide.

As always, all lots are available for viewing and bidding online. Make sure you get after it as soon as possible so you can do your research and decide how you might bid.

SPINK COLLECTOR'S SERIES SALE 317 - Like most of Spink's recent sales in the U.S., the 1,099 lots in this auction encompass a huge range of collectibles: stocks, bonds, coins, currency, documents, medals, autographs. As usual, there are some great collectibles in practically every category, although I only count 53 lots related directly to railroad stocks and bonds from North American collectibles. Yes, I catalog railroad stocks and bonds, but believe me when I tell you there are some other tremendous items in this catalog. Whether you bid or not, you WILL see things that catch your attention.

Ever since Spink took over Smythe, we've seen a heavy reliance on multi-item lots and this sale is no exception (32 of 53 are multi-item lots.) While certainly not for every collector, multi-item lots are great ways to amass certificates quickly. If you end up with something you don't want, scan it and put it up for sale on eBay. As long as you don't have a monstrous start price, you'll sell.

Thus sale is a short-fuse opportunity. Visit www.spink.com immediately to see the lots online and order your own full-color, well-illustrated catalog.

SPINK BONDS & SHARE CERTIFICATES OF THE WORLD - Thankfully, this sale is a little further out. This sale will take place in Lugano, Switzerland on October 19 and October 21, 2013. Unlike the last sale described above, this sale is dedicated almost entirely to stocks and bonds. Please contact Spink at www.spink.com for your copy of the sale catalog. As always, Spink catalogs are well-illustrated and in full color. Most lots are illustrated online and bidding will take place live across the internet.

This particular sale is being conducted in cooperation with the prominent Swiss dealer, HIWEPA. Since the sale will take place in Switzerland, be aware that the currency used is Swiss Francs and the descriptions are variably written in either English or German.

Like most German, Austrian and Swiss sales, numerous lots involve railroad celebrities and semi-celebrities(Morgan, Vanderbilts, Huntington, etc.). In my opinion, the standouts will probably be Fargo-signed certificates from American Express. Overall, I count 146 lots related to North American railroads with a quarter being multi-item lots.

For those of you who collect certificates from other specialties and other countries, you won't fail to find something you'll like. Be sure to check out the sale online immediately.