tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42179041320146040502024-03-13T10:34:27.455-06:00Coxrail News and AnnouncementsAll about collecting antique stocks and bonds from North American railroads.Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.comBlogger218125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-85205145394566967282023-04-27T18:06:00.000-06:002023-04-27T18:06:13.494-06:00Mario Boone Sale 70, the 40th Anniversary Sale<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDD055t9G4IZjkfJIg4sMOMjiumbQNgiui_g2jsbg3R4_nCvx-O_QO5qgIGRpcouMbU2oJtzPFc3n0u3JtG83YT8uexQ8hdDcZQq6aI3hHD91HfcdMUD_3FE8H5waSDKVfRmzlVDLjmruIEm-8FB_XGu1GwXUhbBAi2LVHKnMjB-xMejgiJgmsNC-OSw/s708/Boone70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDD055t9G4IZjkfJIg4sMOMjiumbQNgiui_g2jsbg3R4_nCvx-O_QO5qgIGRpcouMbU2oJtzPFc3n0u3JtG83YT8uexQ8hdDcZQq6aI3hHD91HfcdMUD_3FE8H5waSDKVfRmzlVDLjmruIEm-8FB_XGu1GwXUhbBAi2LVHKnMjB-xMejgiJgmsNC-OSw/s320/Boone70.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>I just received <b><i>Mario Boone's</i></b> huge, 360-page full-color catalog for his auction, number 70 he will hold in Antwerp May 6 and 7, 2023. For the last forty years, <b>Mario</b> and his father <b>Erik</b> before him have been selling certificates from most countries across the globe. This catalog continues that tradition and I count about 140 lots related to railroads in North America plus a few coal companies. <p></p><p>I wanted to get notice out as quickly as possible, so have not had time to look closely at every lot, so let me hit the highlights.</p><p>The auction is divided into two parts, live and internet. The live auction sale contains the lion's share of scarce and rare certificates. Those items will cross the block May 6 and 7. The internet auction for the remained will take place on <a href="http://Invaluable.com"><b>Invaluable.com</b></a> on May 8 and 9. </p><p>Roughly half of the North American certificates are rarities and scarcities that are rarely seen for sale on either side of the Atlantic. Many of those are arguably unique. With the exception of one-of-a-kind proofs, I don't call any certificate "unique" because I do not know what hundreds or thousands of collectors may have hidden in their basements. But I can tell you, there are many items in this sale that I have only seen offered once.</p><p><b>Lot 687</b> is a March, 1832 (joint) stock certificate of the <b>Delaware & Raritan Canal Co and the Camden & Amboy Railroad & Transportation Co</b>. This was one of the earliest operations we can legitimately call a railroad, and this certificate was issued about six and half months before the line officially opened for traffic. It was issued to Robert Stevens and signed by <b>Edwin Stevens</b> as treasurer. (The certificate was cancelled with two pen marks and neither touch the signature.)</p><p>Another very early item, by California standards, is a $1,000 bond of the <b>California Central Rail Road</b>. This bond (#108) appears as <b>lot 694</b> and is one of only two examples known to me. To my knowledge, this item was last sold by Scott Winslow in 1995 and has been hiding out in Germany since. Another example later appeared in Germany nine years ago.</p><p>Although issued three years after the previous bond, a very rare stock certificate from the <b>Sacramento Valley Rail Road</b> will be offered as <b>lot 697</b>. That company was incorporated in 1852 in California and ultimately became part of the Central Pacific in 1865.</p><p>Scarcer is <b>lot 690</b> from the <b>Chicago St Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad</b>, dated1855. Its design is quintessential of certificates engraved by Wellstood Hay & Whiting. I have recorded only one occurrence of this variety of stock certificate offered in lot 690. I cannot find any record of other appearances before this item sold in a Fred Holabird auction in 2020.</p><p>Another serious rarity is an 1877 stock certificate from the <b>Ralston Rail Road & Coal Co</b> from here in Colorado. Ralston Creek was one of the first drainages prospected for gold by men heading to the California Gold Rush. They found only hints of gold there, but coal was later discovered at the base of the foothills and a railroad was planned to enable extraction. Mario is offering certificate #11, the only example I have encountered. It last sold in Germany in 2014.</p><p>Boone is also offering another equally rare stock certificate (<b>lot 708</b>) from the <b>Alabama & Chattanooga Rail Road</b>, dated 1871. I last encountered this single certificate (#41) in a 1997 Smythe sale.</p><p>Old <b>Union Pacific Railway</b> stock certificates are essentially unknown except in proof form. <b>Lot 722</b> is a 50-share proof by American Bank Note Co and was dated 1881 in crayon pencil. These come up for sale only rarely and they are highly sought after.</p><p>To save the best for last, I purposely skipped over eight lots (<b>678 to 685</b>) of Gould-signed certificates from seven different companies. We're not talking about the well-known and ever-popular items from the Missouri Kansas & Texas Railway. Gould's signature on seven of the eight lots are terribly hard to find and thus have starting prices in excess of 2,000 Euros. The standout, at a €12,000 minimum bid, is Gould's signature on an uncancelled $1,000 bond of the <b>New Jersey Southern Railroad Company</b>. Even the custom vignette on this bond is a keeper. I recorded this potentially unique bond from a Smythe sale in 1992 and it has been hiding somewhere for the last thirty-one years.</p><p>At more affordable levels are certificates from the second half of the sale offered to be over the internet on <b><a href="http://Invaluable.com">Invaluable.com</a></b>. Most of those lots have starting bids in the range of €80 to €200, with a few cheaper and a few more expensive. While none are in the collectibility class of the live auction items, there are several notable scarcities waiting to be acquired by discerning intermediate to advanced collectors.</p><p>As always, I suggest two things. First, don't dawdle. Try to acquire a physical catalog while they are still available. At 360 pages, this is the largest Boone sale ever. Start by going to <a href="http://Booneshares.com"><b>Booneshares.com</b></a>.</p><p>The second thing I recommend is viewing items on <a href="D:\all-data\certs\Working">Boone's site</a>, even if you're going to bid on Invaluable. Mario has a new website design and his online catalog displays 100 items per page. Click on any item for a full description, and once there, click again on images to see scans larger than any of his competitors. </p><p>Again, please don't dawdle.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-56273143929965004202022-10-20T15:31:00.003-06:002022-10-20T15:31:36.992-06:00Mario Boone auction 69<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJUcNC1Ql_tMfP_mA2Y69xNNQRG_r1LB0xZq8sIAj5mXW-W2OBEVMR3DWtRuAkGNQ5qTFXsfwv9KMa5u1QSNfHXNwCZUYnvjRzDs7VZtEiYPIFlg7ms6HWhDAJ731j56j-g5FmH5rSwN5_asio6CJmrz_TXLUEf-2juKiG3XFCuv5FmORLzeFGrqu0w/s314/Boone069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="230" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJUcNC1Ql_tMfP_mA2Y69xNNQRG_r1LB0xZq8sIAj5mXW-W2OBEVMR3DWtRuAkGNQ5qTFXsfwv9KMa5u1QSNfHXNwCZUYnvjRzDs7VZtEiYPIFlg7ms6HWhDAJ731j56j-g5FmH5rSwN5_asio6CJmrz_TXLUEf-2juKiG3XFCuv5FmORLzeFGrqu0w/s1600/Boone069.jpg" width="230" /></a></div> Mario Boone's 69th Auction and Bourse will take place at the Antwerp Crowne Plaza Hotel on November 5, followed by and internet/mailbid auction the following day. You may view lots large scale images 1) online at <a href="https://www.booneshares.com/AuctionCatalogue/AuctionCatalogueNo69/Browsefullcatalogue.aspx">Booneshares.com</a>, 2) in the physical full-color catalog or 3) on <a href="https://connect.invaluable.com/booneshares/">Invaluable.com</a>. I want to make collectors aware of this sale because it will offer 163 lots, the largest Boone selection of rail-related certificates from North America since 2008. In fact, only two sales have ever had more such certificates offered.<p></p><p>The are so many lots in this sale that it is hard to narrow the selection for review here. There are numerous items that I have not seen in ten or fifteen years, with some even further back. Let's start with an unissued stock certificate from the <b>Erie Railway Co.</b> (Lot 570.) The last time I encountered this certificate was in Smythe sale 14 (lot 3034). It is an unissued, but cancelled certificate printed by Henry Seibert & Brothers Co. Smythe noted the item was used by ABN as a model for later issues. It fetched $744 in that sale including commission. To my knowledge, no other examples have appeared in thirty years.</p><p>An 1872 second mortgage bond from the <b>Cayuga Lake Rail Road Co.</b> (Lot 567, serial 34) is one of only two examples known to me.</p><p>Lot 603 is a proof of a certificate of deposit from the <b>Central Pacific Railroad Co. of California</b> for Extended Mortgage bonds deposited with Speyer & Company. It is printed on thick paper with no printed border. There is no printer name, but the vignette is one that was used frequently heavily by American Bank Note Co., so I strongly suspect this item is of ABN origin and is probably unique.</p><p>An example of a stock certificate from the <b>Twin City & Lake Superior Railway Co.</b> appeared on the cover of the first edition of my catalog. I don't know where that image came from, but I have never encountered any of these in person. In fact, I have cataloged only four unissued and six issued (and uncancelled) examples ever. Lot 613 is serial #273.</p><p>Another interesting certificate is a stock from <b>The Alton & Upper Alton Horse Railway & Carrying Co.</b> (Lot 562.) It has somewhat of an odd name, but is otherwise not terribly outstanding as far as horse railroads go. This item is serial #15 and last appeared (to my knowledge) in Smythe sale 242 in 2004. Like the above certificate, this lot makes a total of six serial numbers recorded, but it has historically fetched high-than normal bids (median = $185.) </p><p>Lot 559 is an offer of a <b>Troy Salem & Rutland Rail Road Co.</b> certificate signed by Jay Gould as president. At a €200 start price, this would almost seem like a giveaway for a previously unrecorded Gould-signed item. (I had heard of one like this before, but did not have sufficient particulars for listing.) I have recorded only two other issued serial numbers (#3 and #73), so this one (#2) is new. I think Mario's low start price reflects that this issued certificate, like the other two, is heavily pen cancelled through officers' signatures. Nonetheless, it may be a LONG wait before another example with Gould's signature appears.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk-yWTnGd46Tk2eMUx_Om0-PhJJMpOgRTsEsNRJv7TXVlKdoyrGRU4QLjY8NuCL-yRibI-9M57mgXIgo_JTx5MFuLFSCEMxFNDDAB94zaUeNyNnVe8ci2-4pF0844_UhYSB2Q-2QEhU12yLBesvS2lf0JNa6Gm-o7pW-t_6TJTD81XkNeF45Zl9xWag/s240/Weems.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="240" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk-yWTnGd46Tk2eMUx_Om0-PhJJMpOgRTsEsNRJv7TXVlKdoyrGRU4QLjY8NuCL-yRibI-9M57mgXIgo_JTx5MFuLFSCEMxFNDDAB94zaUeNyNnVe8ci2-4pF0844_UhYSB2Q-2QEhU12yLBesvS2lf0JNa6Gm-o7pW-t_6TJTD81XkNeF45Zl9xWag/s1600/Weems.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>I first saw serial #10 of the <b>Weems Electric Railway System</b> in 2002 from a copy sent by one of my earliest contributors. It later appeared in an FHW sale ten years later and is now offered by Mario Boone another ten years further on. It remains the only example I have learned of. Please look at a picture of Lot 598 to see the large blue underprint that sets it apart from almost all other stock certificates.<p></p><p>In addition to certificates from the United States are numerous rarities from elsewhere in North America including Barbados, Jamaica, Bermuda, Cuba and elsewhere. Like I said at the start, there are just so many, I cannot do the sale justice. You will need to view for yourself. And if the ones I mentioned seem above your normal price point, please see for yourself. There are many affordable scarcities, too numerous to mention.</p>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-4707455190827559462022-04-13T09:57:00.001-06:002022-04-13T09:57:59.077-06:00Mario Boone 68th Auction and Bourse<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9KDhihx3bUPwCB5Jo5f8P5SmdlSUIIqZEtPKrPcAGyURL6x9JLI4eZL2W7wxOKA3xcUr_2Qb4Tq9k2agUlUOWWgX8PcSJlzXdkhSM7hh4vSlJ1NhFug1uRSYO68fTZ6fkJaYvCWN-6EW59sfDjj3kcBddBQZngJaCeYdm_1-FZxbOPfLFEOdRDcfIg/s750/Boone068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9KDhihx3bUPwCB5Jo5f8P5SmdlSUIIqZEtPKrPcAGyURL6x9JLI4eZL2W7wxOKA3xcUr_2Qb4Tq9k2agUlUOWWgX8PcSJlzXdkhSM7hh4vSlJ1NhFug1uRSYO68fTZ6fkJaYvCWN-6EW59sfDjj3kcBddBQZngJaCeYdm_1-FZxbOPfLFEOdRDcfIg/s320/Boone068.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>Many of you have probably already received <a href="https://www.booneshares.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Mario Boone's latest auction catalog – number 68</a>, scheduled to take place April 30 and May 1 in Antwerp, Belgium. <p></p><p>This sale was a real pleasure to review because of the abnormally heavy concentration of stocks and bonds from North American railroads: 126 lot in all.</p><p>While Mario usually features rarities and rarely-seen items, he has outdone himself this time. Many items must have lived in old collections because there are several items I have not seen offered for sale in twenty years. A few specific serial numbers last appeared for sale in the early 1980s. I try very hard to avoid using the word "unique" because no one on the planet can possibly know what certificates may be hiding in old collections and dealer inventories. I will, however, say that ten items are <i><b>possibly unique</b></i>. Two certificates represent one of only two that I have seen in records going back to 1979. Five items represent companies that are new to me. While new company names are found frequently, they are rarely represented by certificates.</p><p>One of the curiosities that caught my attention is an 1869 bond from the <b>Burlington Cedar Raids & Minnesota Railway Co</b> (lot 1116). It is a dual denomination bond ($1,000/£200) probably intended to be sold in both the U.S. and Europe. It is the first certificate known from this company (the one incorporated in both Iowa and Minnesota.) </p><p>The bond was handsigned in three places, apparently in the same hand, over the printed words "cancelled." I could not find a serial number. Instead, I found and engraved inscription in the bottom left corner that says, "Sample Bond." Its true purpose is unknown, but I am listing this item as a specimen because it was clearly not intended for issuance. Except for the three "cancelled" words and the "Sample" inscription, it is a legitimate printing from Henry Seibert & Brothers. This bond issuance is definitely referenced in the 1870-1871 Poor's Manual, although under the incorrect listing of "Railroad." </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeO07rpDxDWeC2f7SHfOtVjsauARReaNMbPcHasVdsxDpY_b3Vt9cqVpKtI_zLsRO-nbXrIHBJb1wGPDFChouMIUeP6vdJLAz2quaDLkVLdRb1R95i1HVfguX62l-fV78JpglW8_NDkdIepqhrndVEoh8dXH9ezhTW41XlRCTjfvzONXEwtmkgJu2DQ/s2621/NewEgypt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1813" data-original-width="2621" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeO07rpDxDWeC2f7SHfOtVjsauARReaNMbPcHasVdsxDpY_b3Vt9cqVpKtI_zLsRO-nbXrIHBJb1wGPDFChouMIUeP6vdJLAz2quaDLkVLdRb1R95i1HVfguX62l-fV78JpglW8_NDkdIepqhrndVEoh8dXH9ezhTW41XlRCTjfvzONXEwtmkgJu2DQ/s320/NewEgypt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Another highly interesting item is an 1872 $500 bond from the <b>New Egypt & Farmingdale Rail Road</b> (lot 1124). Not only is the bond the <i>first and only</i> certificate recorded for this company, it is also uncancelled and <b>signed by Jay Gould</b> as president of the New Jersey Southern, the guarantor of the bond. European collectors are especially fond of celebrity autographs, so I expect this item to attract bold bids.<p></p><p>I had known of the <b>Choctaw Coal & Railway Co.</b> since the mid-1990s and I had found reference to its bonds being foreclosed in 1894. However, This lot 1157 is the first time I have seen any of those bonds offered as collectibles. I warn collectors that <i>if this bond is not unique, it is nearly so</i>. The bond was engraved by New York Banknote Co., probably in 1889. It shows two vignettes; one of miners filling mine cars behind a mule and another of a fireman stoking a locomotive boiler. Both these vignettes appeared on bonds of the Columbus Shawnee & Hocking Railway Co., known for possibly the most fanciful vignette on railroad certificates. Bonds of both companies were issued Jan. 1, 1890.</p><p>Another item I want to bring to the attention of collectors is lot 1150 featuring a serial numbered specimen bond of the <b>Central Railroad of New Jersey</b>. Only a tiny number of issued bonds of this variety are known and have historically sold for around $700 apiece. This is the first one I have encountered in specimen form and the starting price is offered for about half that amount. My records suggest there have not been many opportunities to bid on this variety.</p><p>Among the many other scarce and rare certificates is a bond from <b>The Northern Pacific Terminal Company of Oregon</b> (lot 1142) featuring the typical N.P. image of Mount hood. The starting bid is €200, a price the belies the fact that I have not encountered any public sales of this variety since 2001. I am not saying there are not more examples out there; I'm saying that they are going to be hard to find.</p><p>There are many, many more examples of items I would like to have time and space describe, but I suggest you check for yourself. If you do not already receive Mario Boone's auction catalogs, then go online at <a href="https://www.booneshares.com/Home.aspx">https://www.booneshares.com/Home.aspx</a> and check out all the certificates offered in this sale as soon as possible. Bidding is conducted in person, by mail or via the internet on <a href="https://www.invaluable.com/catalog/ou4vd5rhcf">Invaluable.com</a>. Commissions are 17% for low-priced items (€100 and below and <b><i>only 10%</i></b> for sales above that value. VAT applies to European buyers and 3% is added to successful bids made through Invaluable.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Really. If you're a serious collector, you need to check out this sale.</b></h4><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-6790433605312097742021-10-15T20:17:00.001-06:002021-10-15T20:17:09.122-06:00Mario Boone Auction 67 - Short notice<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjOP4yTDMII/YWo1dTIFcdI/AAAAAAAAB0s/d7ev9_R2BMIYMBc_jdodvtsb4a0yMpLtwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1821/Boone067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1821" data-original-width="1344" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjOP4yTDMII/YWo1dTIFcdI/AAAAAAAAB0s/d7ev9_R2BMIYMBc_jdodvtsb4a0yMpLtwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Boone067.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><b>Mario Boone's</b> (longtime dealer and auctioneer headquartered in Belgium) <b>next sale will take place October 16 and 17</b> in Antwerp. Unfortunately, I did not receive his catalog until October 14, so I apologize to him and my readers that I did not get a chance to review sooner.<p></p><p>Unlike his last few sales, this one has a <b>great selection of mid-grade railroad (77 items) and coal (7) certificates.</b> I just checked every item offered and found that 80% of his advertised lots have minimum bids BELOW my price estimates. All but one of the remaining lots are priced reasonably above my estimates, well within the amounts European bidders are familiar with. And <i>that includes commissions and VAT</i>. (But not ever-shifting Euro-dollar exchange rates.</p><p>I unfortunately do not have time to describe lots except to say that if collectors are scared of bidding in Europe, they are going to miss many certificates that they do not see in the U.S. with any frequency. Moreover, they need to consider that European and American bidders tend to focus on different kinds of certificates. To be sure, American bidders will encounter competition, but large numbers of recent sales have taken place at starting bids. </p><p>Be aware that only a handful of certificates being offered in sale 67 are ever seen on eBay. I don't have time to do a deeper dive, but it looks like the majority of these certificates appear for sale with a frequency in the range of <b><i>once every three to ten years</i></b>.</p><p>Think European sales are always expensive? <b>Think again.</b> 77 of the 84 lots have starting prices of $100 or less. Moreover, 56 of the 84 have minimum bids of $50 or less. Remember, I am counting both commission and VAT.</p><p>If you want a few to look at quickly, I will suggest <b>lots 1164, 1243, 1332, 1338, 1343 and 1357</b>. Collectors of coal mining certificates should peruse lots <b>1258 and (especially) 1288</b>.</p><p>Oh yes, I forgot. <b>Six items are new to me.</b></p><p><b><i>Again, I apologize for not being able to review this important sale earlier</i></b>, but mail from Europe has been taking an unusually long time to reach me. If political news is anywhere near accurate, those times are only going to elongate.</p><div><br /></div>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-62140788624443536172021-03-31T19:54:00.002-06:002021-03-31T19:54:45.576-06:00Time for another Boone auction!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cV8kjL2GhDs/YGUmir9dQWI/AAAAAAAABxg/LMXkv8TDXM0agycbrqQBOaRyWK9uRIFDACLcBGAsYHQ/s595/Boone-066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="419" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cV8kjL2GhDs/YGUmir9dQWI/AAAAAAAABxg/LMXkv8TDXM0agycbrqQBOaRyWK9uRIFDACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Boone-066.jpg" /></a></div>In only a few days, Mario Boone will be kicking off his 66th auction. Because of the ongoing coronavirus threat, bidding will be a combination of mail bidding and online bidding through the <a href="http://Invaluable.com">Invaluable.com</a> platform. Please check out listings and images on the <a href="http://Booneshares.com">Booneshares.com</a> website as soon as possible. Then, if interested, fax or email your bids by April 9th or make sure you are registered with Invaluable.<p></p><p>In this auction, you will find 34 certificates from North American railroads plus 7 from coal companies. There are standouts in both categories, so I will mention a few.</p><p>Perhaps the most important is <b>Compañia de Caminos de Hierro de la Habana</b> (lot 847) from Cuba. It is a 1-share dated 1853. I recorded this sole certificate from a 2003 Boone sale, but Mario says he knows of three. It last sold for the equivalent of $1,967 and if it reaches the minimum asking price will beat that earlier sale slightly. I know of only two or three earlier railroad certificates from Cuba.</p><p>Entirely new to me is an 1872 bond from <b>Sociedad Anónima de los Ferro-Carriles del Salvador</b> (lot 850.) I don't know how many El Salvador collectors there might be, but I'm pretty sure they are not going to see another one of these certificates for a long while.</p><p>There aren't many coal mining collectors are out there, but a 20-share certificate from the <b>Mount Carbon Coal & Iron Company</b> is most assuredly worth looking at. That is, if you want to see a stock certificate with a vignette all the way across the top and down the left side.</p><p>Lot 958 is a stock certificate from the <b>American Rail-Way Manufacturing Company</b> featuring an unusual monorail. I know of only four like it.</p><p>An issued bond from The Duluth Street Railway Company is offered in lot 1020 and represents one of only two issued examples I've encountered. (There is also at least one specimen. The next lot (lot 1021) is a stock certificate and perennial favorite from the <b>Weir Frog Company</b> featuring six vignettes of its hardware in red underprint.</p><p>I think railroad collectors will be checking out the ones I've mentioned, but there are six that I bet a LOT of collectors are going to overlook. They are bonds from the <b>New York Central</b> and the <b>New York New Haven & Hartford Railroad</b>s. All LOOK familiar, but only because everyone has seen the vignettes on many other railroad bonds. In truth, the $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 registered bonds from the <b>NYC</b> are each represented currently by 2, 12 and 4 examples respectively. (See lots 1028, 1029 and 1030.) I would never say there aren't more extant; I'm just saying I've never seen them.</p><p>The <b>NYNH&N</b> bonds (lots 1034, 1035 and 1036) are also registered bonds denominated as $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 and are also easy to overlook. If someone knows of more out there, then please tell me, because I've only recorded 1, 1 and 4 issued examples respectively. </p><p>Please examine the full listing of 1,117 lots at <a href="http://Booneshares.com">Booneshares.com</a> and please do it quickly because the sale will take place April 10, 2021.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-87756786084348193252021-03-20T12:57:00.001-06:002021-03-31T19:55:35.057-06:00Fifty. No, twenty. No, Fifty<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NankCCW6HwY/YFZD5t32fZI/AAAAAAAABw4/CxCXqK32s1YFVYMFGEU6c3yUA4RGrFUDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/Fif-Twe-Fifty-Shares.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="167" data-original-width="600" height="111" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NankCCW6HwY/YFZD5t32fZI/AAAAAAAABw4/CxCXqK32s1YFVYMFGEU6c3yUA4RGrFUDwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h111/Fif-Twe-Fifty-Shares.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This reminds me of one of those ink spots that looks like a dog at first and then like a World War I tank a few seconds later.<p></p><p>A curious handwritten denomination on a Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Company certificate from 1879. that first looked like a fifty-share, then a twenty and then a fifty.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EVhad5XwdLw/YFZENHpVDTI/AAAAAAAABxA/Pjb4wW5SET8cmzlMgbu7pIDGGyhP5d5lgCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/BurlingtonCedarRapids%2526Northern-1879.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EVhad5XwdLw/YFZENHpVDTI/AAAAAAAABxA/Pjb4wW5SET8cmzlMgbu7pIDGGyhP5d5lgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/BurlingtonCedarRapids%2526Northern-1879.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Images courtesy Dr. Thomas O'Shaughnessy.<p></p><br /><p><br /></p>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-41411929054662535362020-11-13T16:42:00.000-07:002020-11-13T16:42:06.046-07:00Origin of the word "Scripophily"<p>In case you missed it, I transcribed the following from the "Business Diary" section of the <b><i>Times (of London)</i></b>, May 9, 1978, page 25.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Business Diary: Scripophily: is our word your bond?</span></h3><p><i>Ross Davies, Business Diary's Editor, reports on the outcome of Business Diary's name-the-hobby competitions.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i></i></div><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LgUyTdeiFZQ/X68Tirb_vSI/AAAAAAAABuU/m2wNNhXylM8a9WpwclbB0YGqqjIGkmTXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1128/Scrip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="1128" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LgUyTdeiFZQ/X68Tirb_vSI/AAAAAAAABuU/m2wNNhXylM8a9WpwclbB0YGqqjIGkmTXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Scrip.jpg" width="320" /></a>The winner of our competition to find a name for the hobby of collecting old bonds and share certificates is Arthur Howell, of Brighton.</p><p>He suggested "scripophily," a word effectively half-English and half-Greek, combining scrip (a provisional certificate as for shares, share certificates, or shares or stock collectively – an abbreviation from subscription receipt) with <i>philein</i> (to love).</p><p>He wins a price of £10-worth of bonds offered by the originator of the competition, Commander Donald Ross. The Commander is a keen collector and is secretary of the Vintners' Company.</p><p>Howell will also receive a collection valued at £100 from Colin Narbeth, a joint managing director of dealers Stanley Gibbons Currency Limited. They weighed in with this offer on reading of the competition in the Business Diary.</p><p>The winner will receive his prizes at a luncheon in his honour which Gibbons is throwing in London on Monday week.</p><p>Left to his own devices, Howell would probably lose little sleep if he never saw a bond or a share certificate again. He is a retired solicitor who spent much of his life handling clients' and it has not left him much of a "phile" – he neither collects the things nor is a habitual competition entrant.</p><p>Howell oh-so-narrowly beat Mrs. J. J. Santilhana of Bristol, who pulled up the same roots but suggested using them in reverse order as in "philoscripy".</p><p>Commander Ross and I sat down to puzzle through the postcards and came to a gratifyingly quick and painless agreement. We reconsidered over a bottle of Château Malescot St. Exupery Margeaux 1971, but remained unshaken in our resolve. Howell and scripophily it was.</p><p>The commander had his way of reaching a conclusion and I mine. He had chosen four criteria, each carrying five marks.</p><p>One criterion was whether or not the word conveyed the sense of bonds or certificates and, if possible, deadness. The chosen word would also have to signify love of collection; it had to convey a picture and, lastly, it had to come trippingly off the tongue.</p><p>My choice, thank heaven, the same a my companion's, was made because it seemed a good idea at the time.</p><p>Mrs. Santilhana and her philoscripy, we decided, had to give way to Howell and his scripophily, as the latter was just that much easier to say. I do hope Mrs. Santilhana will not stop reading the Business Diary.</p><p>She, I trust, will reflect that the commander and I had also seen our suggestions bettered. Some weeks ago I had suggested "bondaphily" in print whereupon the commander wrote in to say that my choice "smack of cheese" and then offered to fund a competition to thrash out the matter.</p><p>Postcards, some covered in entries, came in from England, Scotland and Wales. There was even a delightful view of Lulworth Cove, which came to us from R. G. Holloway in Brussels of all places. He suggested "bonditry."</p><p>Perhaps the most elegant entry , again a multiple one, came from Bernard Slater, the senior classics master at Bradford Grammar School. I quite liked his "promissophily", but found his "syngraphophily" and "philosyngraphy" a little chewy.</p><p>Mrs. D. Bryden of Melrose, Roxburghshire, enlisted Shakespeare, quoting thus: "I'll have my bond; speak not against my bond. I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond."</p><p>What else could she then suggest but "Shyloxsis"? Mmm, thought the commander and I, we'll let you know.</p><p>Stanley Gibbons Currency Limited, which is to hold a first British auction of bonds and share certificates in November, declares our choice of scripophily "most apt." Robin Hendy, its advisor, has already been rechristened "scripophilic expert."</p><p>Yesterday I spoke to Mr. Robert Burchfield, the editor of Oxford English Dictionaries. He says that Howell's word could be in volume three of the supplement to the OED which is to appear in two years' time.</p><p>Commander Ross, meanwhile, plans to start a scripophiles' club: we will give the address to write to shortly.</p><p><span style="font-family: times;"></span></p><div class="separator" dir="rtl" style="clear: both; direction: ltr; text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fBqr_pqLlw/X68Tv8qMG8I/AAAAAAAABuY/PJWFaNYFk1ouArNL5To7V3yjN8qz2CKZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s470/Dictionaries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Webster Dictionaries" border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="470" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fBqr_pqLlw/X68Tv8qMG8I/AAAAAAAABuY/PJWFaNYFk1ouArNL5To7V3yjN8qz2CKZQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h285/Dictionaries.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><div style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">[Terry Cox note: For those of us who spent three long years in Mrs. Lanham's Latin class, I suspect the word scrip needs a bit more explanation. It certainly goes back further than "subscription receipt." </div><div style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">According to the esteemed Noah Webster, LL.D., in the George and Charles Merriam's 1852 edition of <i>An American Dictionary of the English Language</i>, scrip comes from the Latin noun, scriptum, the perfect passive participle of scrībō (“to write”). Part of 1852's definition explained <i>A certificate of stock subscribed to a bank or other company, or of a share of other joint property, is called in America a scrip.</i> </div><div style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The latest edition of <i>Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary</i> carries the essential parts of that earlier definition and etymology and suggests the first use of "scrip" in this context appeared in 1590.]</div><p></p>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-72072063310006184972020-10-24T19:26:00.001-06:002020-10-24T19:37:29.345-06:00Mario Boone sale 65 at the end of October<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4DKclK364-8/X5TWvtAOYmI/AAAAAAAABtM/Dt7m4FFqNBYsfI5EeDYpE84AWy5CnpIzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1213/Boone065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="870" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4DKclK364-8/X5TWvtAOYmI/AAAAAAAABtM/Dt7m4FFqNBYsfI5EeDYpE84AWy5CnpIzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Boone065.jpg" /></a></div><br /> Unlike most of the recent sales from Mario, North American railroads are under-represented in this sale with only lots in the railroad and coal specialties that I track. Nonetheless, there are a few items I hope collectors will view with an eye for participating in their first non-American auction. Only five items have start prices above 50 Euros. Considering we are currently in an abnormal Fall slump in the market, I think American collectors should have a good chance of bringing several rare certificates back to this continent. <p></p><p>The first I will mention is a $500 specimen bond of <b>Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Company</b> (lot 1189.) While not everyone's cup of tea, I've always been fond of coal company issuances from Nova Scotia. These are mines accessed coal reserves inland from the Atlantic, but which followed coal seams eastward out under the ocean. I have only encountered this certificate once before in a Boone sale seven years ago.</p><p>Another Canadian item is a 1914 $1,000 bond specimen from the <b>Canadian Pacific Railway</b> (lot 1193.) This is only the third example of this bond variety and a new color previously unknown to me. All three examples are recorded only from Europe. Let me remind my American readers that specimens are not currently popular collectibles in Europe. </p><p>Lot 1212 is a another previously unrecorded Bradbury, Wilkinson specimen of a £500 scrip certificate from the <b>United Railways of the Havana & Regla Warehouses, Ltd.</b> (Cuba.) This rarity has a €50 start price, reflecting the current reality that Cuban certificates are still not collected widely. (And this has always baffled me!)</p><p>Surprisingly, another Bradbury, Wilkinson specimen is listed as lot 1245 with the same start price. This rare 1909 certificate represented £100 invested with the London-based <b>Corporation of Foreign Bondholders</b> for the purchase of Republic of Nicaragua bonds dedicated for completion of an unspecified railway from the Great Lake of Nicaragua to the Atlantic Ocean. (I admit this is somewhat oblique to the collecting of railroad certificates, but tell me when another one of these is going to appear.)</p><p>A distressed example of an 1839 2-share certificate of the <b>Williams Valley Rail Road & Mining Company</b> is offered in lot 1257. This is one of eight currently recorded and desirable primarily for its 1839 date.</p><p>Scarcer is an 1880 stock certificate from the <b>Pennsylvania & Ohio Coal & Mining Co.</b> (lot 1270). from Columbus, Ohio, one of only four currently known to me.</p><p>Almost certain to be overlooked by North American collectors is lot 1323, a 1992 specimen fund certificate issued in the Netherlands to hold shares in the <b>Santa Fe Pacific Corporation</b>. This company was a descendent of the Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corp, an aborted attempt to merge the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe with the Southern Pacific. Dutch fund certificates are rarely seen in the United States, but were highly important in funding many major American rail ventures. (See <i>Slow Train to Paradise: How Dutch investment helped build American railroads</i> for details.)</p><p>Unlike Mario's normal sales, this is offered entirely remotely by internet, telephone or advance bidding because of Coronavirus concerns. Please visit <a href="http://Booneshares.com">Booneshares.com</a> to view all lots and see the rules for bidding. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-19032560112804124292020-03-26T16:08:00.000-06:002020-03-26T16:08:02.148-06:00Boone auction 64, April 4-5, 2020<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feIjW8C0f1Q/Xn0bS1QOepI/AAAAAAAABmk/6SWrDjIAXAUyFxUVaZWpllzmcEeUfxjdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Boone064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1217" data-original-width="906" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feIjW8C0f1Q/Xn0bS1QOepI/AAAAAAAABmk/6SWrDjIAXAUyFxUVaZWpllzmcEeUfxjdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Boone064.jpg" width="238" /></a>Like sales elsewhere, Mario Boone's next auction will take place entirely online due to the global coronavirus epidemic. See current auction rules online at <a href="http://www.booneshares.com/">Booneshares.com</a> and be sure to register early.<br />
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Unlike many of Mario's sales the last few years, the number of North American railroad certificates in sale 64 is somewhat abbreviated, numbering only 18 lots out of 1,653. Nonetheless there are several intriguing certificates.<br />
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None of us have a crystal ball to predict how the global coronavirus outbreak will affect participation and prices. My opinion is worth only as much as the next person, which means not much.<br />
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I can say one thing for sure, however. Like so many Boone sales before, there are a few items in this sale that are genuinely rare or very scarce. I will not quibble about definitions, but will say with certainty that some of these certificates will not be seen again in the next ten years. Maybe longer. If collectors desire any of these certificates and refuse to bid out of fear of buying in Europe, they better not come crying to me.<br />
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Nuff said!<br />
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Lot 1570 is a familiar certificate from <b>The Chesapeake Ohio & Southwestern Railroad Co,</b> but this certificate is signed by Collis P. Huntington as president. This lot has a very reasonable start price compared to American sales.<br />
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If someone is a fan of the AT&SF, I advise they look at the 1888 certificate of the <b>Rio Grande Mexico & Pacific Railroad Co</b>. issued in the New Mexico Territory (lot 1575.) This certificate was for 69,360 shares issued to the AT&SF and signed by AT&SF president William Barston Strong.<br />
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Another rarity can be found in lot 1578, representing an 1891 guaranteed stock certificate from the <b>Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac Rail Road Co</b>. Mario is offering a low start price on this lot also, even though I have recorded only one other similar certificate in thirty years. Call it anything you want; I'll call it rare.<br />
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Lot 1579 is an 1880 $1,000 bond from the <b>Missouri Pacific Railway</b> and features a vignette of its main 4-story terminal building engraved by Homer Lee Bank Note Co. This item is an unnumbered specimen and I suspect was last offered in an R.M. Smythe sale in 2001. While it is impossible to know for certain, I suspect this is one of only two, possibly three, bonds of this design and all are specimens.<br />
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The oldest certificate in this Boone sale is an 1832 stock from <b>The New Castle & French Town Turnpike & Rail Road Company</b> (lot 1581.) I have recorded only six similar certificates.<br />
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Lot 1584 is the same certificate that last sold in 2012 for $2,277. It is an 1864 <b>Staten Island Rail Road</b> stock certificate signed by Jacob Vanderbilt, both as stock holder and president.<br />
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For collectors of rapid transit companies, I recommend <b>Inter-State Rapid Transit Railway Company (Consolidated.)</b> This 1886 certificate is is a $1,000 bond and most observers would instantly confuse this bond with a nearly identical certificate from the Inter-State Consolidated Rapid Transit Railway Co. Notice the slightly different name? I barely did. This is a new-to-me company.<br />
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Most certificates in the sale are illustrated in the full-color physical catalog and all certificates are viewable online at <a href="https://www.booneshares.com/">Booneshares.com/</a>. Again, be sure to register <i><b>before</b></i> the sale date (April 4-5, 2020.)<br />
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<br />Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-40888049102626613122020-01-16T10:38:00.000-07:002020-01-16T10:38:11.601-07:00HWPH Auction 54 / 55Thanks to Herr Matthias Schmitt for sending catalogs for the next HWPH auction which will take place Saturday, January 25 and Monday, January 27 in Wurzburg, Germany.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E7dYUXXUFSQ/XiCe5_6bSNI/AAAAAAAABlE/prTOCccqAP4uMPF5-JLQyUvdiHBH8mKbwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HWPH54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E7dYUXXUFSQ/XiCe5_6bSNI/AAAAAAAABlE/prTOCccqAP4uMPF5-JLQyUvdiHBH8mKbwCK4BGAYYCw/s200/HWPH54.jpg" width="143" /></a>As usual, the middle part of the Saturday auction (Auktion 54 in this case) is reserved for the fifty of the scarcest and most valuable certificates, all illustrated with articles and larger images in their own special catalog titled <i>50 Highlights</i>. This time, the cover of <i>50 Highlights</i> shows Lot 624, a certificate from the <b>New York & Harlem Rail Road Co</b>. This rarity is an 1868 stock certificate issued to and signed by "Commodore" Cornelius. As with the three similar certificates that I can confirm, this shows a "three-generation" association of signatures from the Commodore, son William Henry Vanderbilt (president) and grandson Cornelius Vanderbilt II (counter-signatory.) This is a great-looking certificate with a very clear signature from the Commodore on the back. The start price on this item is €5000, a quarter of the $19,500 price realized in a 1995 Smythe auction for a different serial number. Please be aware that this rarity is among the topmost tier of certificates in the railroad specialty. The last similar certificate sold seventeen years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5sZY8IW-4cY/XiCfCD0UyxI/AAAAAAAABlI/rmv8FKnDHMcXlAR_I0my5ovJsJaxz7GjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/HWPH-54-55-highlights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1153" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5sZY8IW-4cY/XiCfCD0UyxI/AAAAAAAABlI/rmv8FKnDHMcXlAR_I0my5ovJsJaxz7GjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/HWPH-54-55-highlights.jpg" width="143" /></a>Elsewhere in Auktion 54 are two certificates signed by J. P. Morgan. Lot 76 is a relatively common <b>New Jersey Junction Railroad</b> bond signed on the back by Morgan and Harris Fahnestock. Much scarcer is Morgan's signature on the back of a <b>Wagner Palace Car</b> stock (lot 79). His signature is barely touched by a single pinhole cancellation. In the same auction is a rare and attractive ABN certificate of <b>Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatan</b> (lot 47.)<br />
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While neither stocks nor bonds, I also recommend advanced collectors check out lots 72 and 73. The first is an Erie Railway document boldly signed by James Fisk in sending a pass to William H. Birsdsall. The other is a records of dividends disbursed to holders of Hudson River Railroad stocks with three Commodore Vanderbilt signatures.<br />
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Auktion 55 has a selection of an additional 47 rail-related certificates, a few with start prices as low as €1. Lot 1797 is a preferred ordinary shares certificate from the <b>Bermuda Railways Investment Co, </b>an item I've seen only a few times. Another certificate that is seen quite infrequently is an 1872 bond from the <b>Chicago & Canada Southern Railway</b> (lot 1813).<br />
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Lot 1839 is a <b>Cuba Railroad</b> bond, signed by Sir William van Horne. (As an aside, Cuba railroads certificates are an enticing and historic specialty; I don't know why I don't detect much interest.)<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFFux4OA3cE/XiCfCFNyRQI/AAAAAAAABlQ/EYxOkYxxJ3cOgxbeMgFLnAcA2m9Pbu76gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/HWPH55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1146" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFFux4OA3cE/XiCfCFNyRQI/AAAAAAAABlQ/EYxOkYxxJ3cOgxbeMgFLnAcA2m9Pbu76gCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/HWPH55.jpg" width="143" /></a>Lot 1920, an 1871 Reconstruction-era bond from the <b>Mobile & Montgomery Railroad,</b> appears favorably-priced and worth a consideration. While I predict most collectors will not pay much attention to an 1869 stock certificate from the <b>Norfolk & Great Western Railroad</b> (lot 1934), they probably should. After all, this is only the fourth certificate to come to my attention in over thirty years!<br />
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Auction 55 also contains a section of autographed items, with several rail-related certificates among them. While experienced U.S. dealers have many of these in stock, I have not seen very few offered at auction in recent years. Autographed items tend to be more popular in Germany than in the U.S., so I imagine most or all of these will sell. If interested in U.S. rail-related autographs, you will find items signed by Millard Fillmore (<b>Hudson & Berkshire Rail-Road</b>, lot 2015), James Fargo (<b>Merchants Despatch Transportation Co</b>, lot 2016), Cornelius Vanderbilt II (<b>Michigan Central Railroad</b>, lots 2017 and 2018), Russell Sage (<b>Milwaukee & St Paul Railway</b>, lot 2019), John Dix (<b>Mississippi & Missouri Rail Road</b>, lot 2020), Jay Gould (<b>Missouri Kansas & Texas Railway</b>, lots 2021 and 2022), F. W. Vanderbilt (<b>Pittsburgh McKeesport & Youghiogheny Railroad</b>, lot 2024), George Pullman (<b>Pullmans Palace Car Co,</b> lot 2025) and Charles Paine and Josiah Quincy (<b>Vermont Central Railroad</b>, lot 2028.)<br />
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You may preview all these items and a couple thousand more by visiting the <a href="https://www.hwph.de/stocks-bonds/auktionen_en.html">HWPH site</a> or ordering <a href="mailto:auktion@hwph.de">physical catalogs</a> for yourself. But be sure to do that soon. The sale will start on January 25.Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-51058302155482386302019-11-05T11:27:00.001-07:002019-11-05T11:27:36.385-07:00Mario Boone Auction 63<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Where in the world does Mario find this stuff? It is the question I had back in 1986 when I first saw a Boone catalog. And it's the same question I have asked with almost every catalog since.<br />
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This catalog is similar to its ancestors in having a heavy population of scarce and rare certificates. I count 75 rail-related certificates from North America, 69 of which are from the U.S. There is a near-even split among stocks and bonds. While there is an inevitable foreign exchange penalty for American collectors due to the weak U.S. dollar, start prices remain reasonable especially in comparison to scarcity.<br />
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Like many previous Boone sales, several items are seen much more frequently in Europe than in the U.S. This tells me three things.<br />
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<i>First</i>, European dealers and collectors were very astute in recognizing and buying up rarities from Smythe auctions back in the 1980s and 90s. <i>Second</i>, prices in Europe have remained too strong for American tastes, which is why only limited numbers of those certificates have moved back to North America in intervening years. <i>Third</i>, as I have mentioned many times in the past, European collectors have a greater appetite for rarity; for them, historical significance trumps appearance.<br />
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This auction, now in its sixty-third edition, caters heavily to historical significance. For instance, take the 1898 stock certificate from the <b>Stockton & Tuolumne County Railroad Company</b> (lot 1309). This railroad was started by a group of women and remains the only American railroad company known to have had a female president. Only two stock certificates from this company are known to me. That other certificate sold in Germany in 2014 for over $1,600.<br />
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Then there is a 1912 bond from the <b>International Railways of Central America</b> (lot 1220) issued in New Jersey to finance a Guatemalan rail system. This bond is issued. Only one other unissued bond is known to me. True, Guatemala is not a big collecting interest among Americans. Nonetheless I must ask, "Where exactly is someone going to find another one like this?" Oh, yeah...Boone sold the unissued example in 2003 for $540.<br />
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Lot 1255 is an example of a great rarity that will likely be overlooked. It is a cut-cancelled 1851 stock certificate from the <b>Rochester & Syracuse Rail-Road</b>. I encountered this particular variety only once in 1990. That means this certificate has been vacationing, out of sight and probably in Europe, for the last 29 years!<br />
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Another certificate likely to be overlooked is a 100-share specimen from <b>Gary Railways Company </b>(lot 1315). Its ABNCo vignette is highly familiar, so collectors can be forgiven for thinking this certificate is too common to mess with. While I could be wrong, <i>I personally suspect this certificate is unique</i>.<br />
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With its huge vignette taking up most of the width, stock certificates from the <b>Union Railroad Safety Gate Company</b> (lot 1290) are highly sought after. There are a few unissued, unnumbered examples known. So far, they have sold in the range of $27 to $378. This is the only issued example I have ever seen and Mario Boone sold it in 2013 for $771. It is up for sale once again for less than $700, including currency exchange and commission.<br />
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Among the not-so-rare are items like an 1870 $1,000 bond from the <b>Selma & Gulf Railroad Company</b> (lot 1268.) That particular certificate is one of ten known to me. While an example in poor condition sold in a 2018 Holabird sale for $250, the last one I recorded prior to that was sixteen years ago. I remind everyone: they aren't making anymore of these things!<br />
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As I always recommend when reviewing Mario Boone's sales, make sure you get a physical catalog. This one is 184 pages with full color images of almost all certificates. Contact <b>Booneshares: The Scripophily</b> Center at <a href="http://booneshares.com/">Booneshares.com</a> or call 0032-(0)9-386-90-91. Be sure to act quickly because the sale will take place in Antwerp, Belgium November 9 and 10, 2019. You may view all the lots and bid online by going to <a href="http://booneshares.com/">Booneshares.com</a>.<br />
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<br />Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-33654064222220494372019-08-25T14:48:00.000-06:002019-08-25T14:48:29.499-06:00What can we learn from serial numbers?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLVmZh1_i1E/XWLyeVEH4QI/AAAAAAAABik/5oLHMPESvvAqg6Psb0CC-HPDpVSQYxrlACLcBGAs/s1600/JEF-344-B-30-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="617" height="114" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLVmZh1_i1E/XWLyeVEH4QI/AAAAAAAABik/5oLHMPESvvAqg6Psb0CC-HPDpVSQYxrlACLcBGAs/s320/JEF-344-B-30-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
With the exception of serial #1, advanced collectors don't pay much attention to serial numbers. Back in the 1990s, I saw minor premiums paid for serials #2 and #3. Since then, any enhanced amounts paid for serials other than #1 are lost in normal variations in prices.<br />
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I occasionally see amateur eBay sellers promote "low numbered" certificates with serial numbers above one or two hundred as being somehow special. I don't see anyone falling for such hype.<br />
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Collectors who contribute to my project know I record prices and serial numbers of every certificate I add to the database. Serial numbers give me the ability to track scarcer varieties through time. Admittedly, recording serial numbers takes additional time. The payoff is the increased opportunity to discover new sub-varieties. I constantly compare images of lowest and highest serial numbers so see if they look identical. When they don't, I get to create new listings.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8wbKhft_5E/XWLxsUSuXyI/AAAAAAAABiU/_mVreK7ABeUigztkZCrDRplo6Er8KF6hgCLcBGAs/s1600/NEW-545-S-42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="494" height="163" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8wbKhft_5E/XWLxsUSuXyI/AAAAAAAABiU/_mVreK7ABeUigztkZCrDRplo6Er8KF6hgCLcBGAs/s320/NEW-545-S-42.jpg" width="320" /></a>During the process of examining thousands of serial numbers each year, I find a substantial numbers of errors in earlier reports of handwritten serial numbers. Some handwriting was quite legible and precise, particularly when companies were new. However, when certificate numbering rose into the thousands, handwriting often grew hurried and sloppy. One such example can be seen on stock certificates from the New York Sleeping Car Company where the medallion for serial numbers was too small for clerks tasked with issuing certificates.<br />
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Lacking the luxury of having multiple certificates for comparison, smaller dealers and amateur sellers often misinterpret handwritten serial numbers and dates. This is especially the case where ink has faded and certificates have grown yellowed and soiled.<br />
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We all know old certificates display handwritten serial numbers and recent ones have printed numbers. But when did the change occur?<br />
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Truth be told, handwritten serial numbers never fully disappeared. Small and start-up companies still use generic certificates and still number their certificates manually. Many of those certificates come from the Goes Lithographing Company which has been printing lithographed stock certificates for 140 years. The question is, when did printed numbering become the predominant method of numbering stocks and bonds.<br />
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The earliest printed serial number I know about is #14 found on an 1846 stock certificate from the Utica & Schenectady Rail Road Company (UTI-688-S-50). Knowing that the vast majority of certificates have already vanished into landfills and furnaces, I place the probable date of the first machine-printed serial numbers to have been about 1844 or 1845.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NPYedMepDAQ/XWLzmDNSCCI/AAAAAAAABi0/kA4q4MrYevMdZ1-FThJpKxIXZjDPX4DAwCLcBGAs/s1600/LOU-040b-S-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="104" data-original-width="325" height="102" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NPYedMepDAQ/XWLzmDNSCCI/AAAAAAAABi0/kA4q4MrYevMdZ1-FThJpKxIXZjDPX4DAwCLcBGAs/s320/LOU-040b-S-30.jpg" width="320" /></a>In terms of absolute numbers of certificates, machine-printed serial numbers on stock certificates probably outnumbered handwritten numbers sometime around the Civil War. However, in terms of extant certificate varieties, machine-printed serial numbers did not predominate until 1879.<br />
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With exceedingly rare exception, railroad companies seldom enjoyed profitability for long. Relatively few companies avoided the ultimate "embarrassment." In bankruptcy, the ownership of debt in the form of bonds is always superior to ownership of stock. Remembering that the vast majority of railroad debt existed in the form of bearer bonds, we can see why detecting and preventing the redemption of fraudulent bonds was always so important to companies.<br />
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Even from the earliest days, bonds employed more anti-counterfeiting measures than stocks. While printed serial numbers were easy to imitate, serial numbers had to be printed on front, backs and coupons of bonds. That added an additional challenge for counterfeiters.<br />
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Because reliable serial numbering has always been important, I suspect that machine numbering was used on bonds as early as on stocks. However, the first bonds seen in the database with printed serial numbers are those from Havana Railways dated 1850, four years after their earliest appearance on stocks. Again, I suspect this is a function of survivability rather than delay in acceptance.<br />
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If we examine certificates in terms of varieties, it appears bond printers embraced machine-numbering more quickly than those who printed stock certificates. In fact, over 50% of bond varieties had machine-printed serial numbers by 1867, twelve years earlier than stocks.<br />
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In this case, I do not think the wide time difference is entirely due to survivability of certificates.<br />
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Obviously, the American Bank Note Company printed huge numbers of bonds after its formation in 1858. What many collector may not realize is that the company initially made the majority of its income printing paper money, not securities. As a consequence, ABNCo had embraced machine serial numbering earlier than most of its competitors. The company did not really get into stock and bond printing in a major way until about 1870.<br />
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The giant American Bank Note Company was singlehandedly responsible for printing one-third of all the certificates in my database. The actions of all other printers and engravers are literally lost in its shadow. We must remove ABNCo from the mix to see how the rest of the security-printing world lived.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WUzaWmp6F1E/XWLzyQyxnnI/AAAAAAAABi4/Ynbcr_97arwZcVTUx5Igm7Is0Dyp696FgCLcBGAs/s1600/coal-BEL-800-S-70-57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="467" height="202" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WUzaWmp6F1E/XWLzyQyxnnI/AAAAAAAABi4/Ynbcr_97arwZcVTUx5Igm7Is0Dyp696FgCLcBGAs/s320/coal-BEL-800-S-70-57.jpg" width="320" /></a>We find 312 companies picked up the crumbs that ABNCo left and were responsible for printing 5,324 varieties of bonds. That meant each company produced an average of 15.85 bonds. It is important to remember, that while there was repetition of overall design content among different denominations of the same issue, every bond issue involved custom design, engraving and printing. Theoretically, custom designs would have generated more income than off-the-shelf designs.<br />
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Conversely, tremendous numbers of stock certificates were generic designs, differing primarily in company name, state and capitalization. Diminished design complexity allowed 846 companies to compete in the stock-printing business. They were responsible for a total of 8,439 varieties, or an average of 9.98 varieties per printer.<br />
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Is a 59% difference in the number of varieties produced (15.85 versus 9.98) significant enough to account for bonds adopting machine serial numbering twelve years earlier than stocks? I think so, especially when combined with a greater need for protecting the integrity of debt issued in the form of bearer bonds.<br />
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I admit, this has been a long and tedious way around the subject of lowly serial numbers. Equally, I admit hardly anyone cares. Still, I hope I have given you an appreciation that even minor details can hold interest in this vast hobby.Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-37628026784124842612019-04-15T09:32:00.000-06:002019-04-15T09:32:15.392-06:00Latest offering from HWPH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/auktionen.html">Historisches Wertpapierhaus</a> AG (HWPH) will stage two sales on Saturday, May 4 and Monday, May 6 at Barockhäuser in Würzburg, Germany. Bidders may participate in person or by mail, fax or online.<br />
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Full-color catalogs for the sale are available by contacting HWPH by email at <a href="mailto:auktion@hwph.de">auktion@hwph.de</a> or through its website at the link above. All lots are viewable online with full-color images larger than those possible in printed catalogs. Online bidding is conducted through the Invaluable bidding platform, so make sure you register for bidding beforehand.<br />
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While my readers will no doubt find many other items of interest, I count 75 lots that directly involve North American railroads. Advanced collectors will be familiar with the vast majority of company names, but upon closer inspection they will spot several scarce varieties, some of which are new or have not been seen for years.<br />
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For instance, take lot 67 from the highly familiar <b>Chicago Great Western Railroad Company.</b> While the 10-sh stock certificate <i>looks</i> familiar, it is actually a previously unreported variety of a stock trust certificate. The certificate was issued to Prince Ferdinand Philipp Maria August Rafael of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, himself a famous German collector in the early 1900s.<br />
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Lot 71 is from the <b>Hartford & New Haven Rail Road Co</b>, another highly familiar name. The 1850 stock certificate, however, is a new variety of "Extension Stock", not previously known to me.<br />
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Everyone familiar with North American railroads has seen images of stock certificates from the <b>Mount Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway Co </b>with its great view of San Francisco Bay through the trees. Unlike all of them, lot 77 appears to be the first uncancelled example. (The catalog does not specifically mention whether it is cancelled or not.) Don't tell anyone, but even if cancelled, the start price is low by comparison to a recent sale price of a cancelled example in a Holabird auction of Ken Prag's collection.<br />
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There is also an example of an 1857 stock transfer from the <b>New York & Harlem Rail Road Company</b>. This would seem to be an unimpressive offering except for two things: this is one of only two examples of this variety known to me. AND the transfer records a sale of stock to <i>Cornelius Vanderbilt and Daniel Drew</i>. This is historic connection to be sure. Observers will note that I do have this transfer recorded in my catalog, based on an auction appearance 27 years ago!<br />
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The large vignette of a horsecar makes this 1900 stock certificate from the <b>Rome City Street Railway Company</b> (lot 91) quite recognizable. Again, its familiarity is deceptive. This certificate was issued after the company raised its capital from $50,000 to $150,000 in 1900. This lot is the only <i>issued </i>example to come to my attention. All the other examples with the capital alteration are unissued. That's probably not a big deal to the majority of collectors, but where else are they going to find another issued example?<br />
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Then there is a blue version of a 1915 stock certificate from the <b>Western Railway of Havana, Ltd.</b> (lot 102.) The certificate carries no vignette, so the lot does not seem important – except for the fact that it is a previously unknown variety.<br />
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Lot 112 is another transfer I recorded many years ago. It is a transfer from the <b>Mohawk & Hudson Railroad Company</b> dated 1836 and signed by William Blackhouse Astor. I'm pretty sure Astor is no longer signing certificates like this.<br />
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For those collectors still searching for an autographed certificate from James Longstreet, take a look at lot 113 and an 1871 stock certificate from the <b>New Orleans & North Eastern Rail Road Company.</b><br />
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Many collectors are going to notice the previous certificate, but the familiarity of lot 660 will probably cause many collectors pass on by. This lot is a $10,000 bond from the <b>Cincinnati Indianapolis St Louis & Chicago Railway Co</b>, and is currently represented by 25 or so examples. There might be another fifty of them out there somewhere. This particular certificate, however, is one of three currently known that were issued to Thomas Alva Edison and signed by him twice on the back in his highly distinctive style. Maybe worth a second look?<br />
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Of more <i>normal</i> appeal is lot 1957, a vertical format bond from the <b>New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad Company</b>. This bond shows a famous American Bank Note Company vignette of four miners and a huge mine car outside of a coal mine. The vignette is most often seen on stock certificates from the Acadia Coal Company. What makes this bond significant, however, is that it is one of only four to come to my attention in over thirty years.<br />
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As I do with most auctions I review, I beg collectors to act early if they are interested in bidding on rarities. And even if they are not going to bid, they need to be aware of all their options and what other collectors are bidding on. At least take the time to visit the <a href="https://www.hwph.de/stocks-bonds/auktionen_en.html">HWPH website</a>. I guarantee there is a lot more world out there than the fiefdom of eBay.Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-83591697093340793592019-03-21T08:52:00.001-06:002019-03-21T08:52:25.753-06:00Boone sale 62 coming April 6, 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mario Boone's latest sale is fast approaching, offering 1,622 certificates from across the globe. Of that number, I count sixty rail-related certificates from North America. Mario's sale will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Antwerp, Belgium Saturday, April 6 followed by the largest Euopean stock and bond bourse on Sunday.<br />
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Even if you already receive the physical catalog, I recommend you view images of the lots online at <a href="http://www.booneshares.com/">www.BooneShares.com</a>.<br />
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The Euro is currently trading at a 13.7% premium to the dollar. Coupled with the auction commission, prices will seem a bit higher than Americans may be used to. For that reason, I feel compelled to remind collectors that there are many lots in this sale that are <b><i>exceedingly rare </i></b>in North America and may not be seen again for many years. By "many year," I mean ten, maybe even twenty years. Having said that, I stress that high rarity does NOT necessarily translate into high price. Therefore, don't be afraid to take a chance.<br />
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Here are a few standout rarities that I noticed. You will probably see others that I missed.<br />
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<b>United Railroads of Yucatan Inc</b> (lot 1466). A specimen of a £200 bond dated 1910. Possibly unique.<br />
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<b>The Mexican Electric Power & Tramway Co</b> (lot 1465). A possible unique 1908 preferred stock certificate.<br />
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<b>Madison & Indianapolis Rail Road</b> (lot 1491). An 1852 stock certificate that is the only fourth of its variety known to me. I have not seen this variety offered since it first appeared in 2011. This company controlled track a stretch of track that remains the steepest non-cog railroad grade in North America.<br />
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<b>Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain Rail Road & Coal Co.</b> A scarce purple variety of an 1863, $500 bond.<br />
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<b>New Jersey Rail Road & Transportation Co.</b> (lot 1503). This is an 1870 stock, not horribly rare, but seldom seen and offered with a low start price.<br />
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<b>Peach Bottom Railroad Co.</b> (lot 1507). An 1882, $100 bond. I know of only five bonds from this company. Every time I have seen it sold, it has seemed underpriced relative to both rarity and desirability. But what do I know?<br />
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<b>Pittsburgh Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway Co.</b> (lot 1511). This is an 1885, odd-share stock certificate. I have cataloged other certificates from this company with the same design, but this is a <i>new color and denomination.</i><br />
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<b>The Coxsackie & Greenville Traction Co.</b> (lot 1520). An 1899, $1000 bond that makes only the fourth example known to me.<br />
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<b>Omaha & Nebraska-Central Railway</b> (lot 1526). Many collectors shy away from generic certificates like this example of a 1907 stock certificate. I understand. But be aware, before I cataloged this certificate, <i>I had never even heard of this company before! </i>(Never mind that a couple of my correspondents were long-time Nebraska specialists.)<br />
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<b>Wabash Chester & Western Railroad Co.</b> (lot 1534). A 1920 stock certificate and only the second certificate to come to my attention.<br />
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<b>Point Arena Railroad Co.</b> (lot 1571). <i>This certificate is a star of North American rail-related certificates.</i> Certificate #1 with train and boat at pier in wide vignette of Point Arena. (Point Arena is a hundred miles north along the Pacific Coast from the Golden Gate Bridge.) This certificate was issued to the company president and dated 1881 at San Francisco. This example is considered the <i><b>only </b></i>certificate known from this company.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">REMINDER</span></b>. See the home page at <a href="http://www.booneshares.com/">www.booneshares.com</a> for registration and bid deadlines. DO NOT PUT OFF until the last minute !!Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-23858568238201001012018-11-27T14:58:00.000-07:002018-11-27T14:58:19.359-07:00Another monster Holabird sale coming soon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Titled <b><i>A Sale to "Die" For</i></b>, Holabird Western Americana Collections will conduct its latest sale over a span of five days, December 5 to 9, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. The sale is titled such because the centerpiece of the sale is a large number of token dies from the Northwest Territorial mint.<br />
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Having said that, the dies are but a fraction of the sale. Like Holabird's other sales, the range of collectibles is wide, much wider than I have space to relate. With 5,752 lots being offered, you simply need to get one of of Holabird's full-color catalogs to see for yourself. I contend that if collectors can't find something desirable in this - or other Holabird catalogs - I'm not sure they are really collectors of historic items.<br />
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Of course, my interest is telling you about railroad certificates. There are a lot of them in this sale, but even their number pales in comparison to the number of mining certificates offered.<br />
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Most, possibly all, of the railroad certificates in this sale were amassed by San Francisco scripophily dealer and collector Ken Prag. Holabird began liquidating Mr. Prag's collection in his October sale. I apologize, but I was so thoroughly involved in getting the third edition of my catalog published, I did not have time to review and write about that sale. In fact, it took me over a month to catalog every certificate offered. This time, I put everything else aside to see what kinds of certificates were coming up for sale. While the railroad portion of the sale is still two weeks off, the number of railroad certificates being offered is so large that I can only hit a few of the high points. I will leave the in-depth digging to my readers because everyone's interests are so varied.<br />
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Railroad certificates can be found in lots 5234 through 5752. These lots will go under the hammer starting on December 9, the fifth day of the sale. While I strongly recommend getting a copy of the physical catalog, you can start with a virtual version found at at <a href="http://holabirdamericana.com/">FHWAC.com</a>. Day 1 items can be found <a href="https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/December-2018-Auction-A-Sale-to-Die-for_as56114">here</a>, or you may <a href="https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/December-2018-Auction-A-Sale-to-Die-for_as56118">go directly to Day 5</a> to find all the rail-related lots.<br />
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<i>(<b>I specifically advise you to use both the printed catalog and the online auction site together. </b>Don't rely on a magnifying glass to check printed photos, because you <b>will </b>overlook rarities. I guarantee it! Instead, use the catalog to focus on items that strike your fancy and then use the auction site to check large images of every lot.) </i><br />
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Eliminating a handful of non-certificate items, I count a total of 496 lots of railroad certificates. While the majority are single-item lots, 144 lots feature two or more certificates. Unlike multi-item lots in most other sales, Holabird's multi-item lots contain closely-related certificates, normally from the same company. Counting all certificates in all lots, the 'Sale To Die For' will offer 779 railroad certificates.<br />
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I specifically mention multi-item lots because there are some hidden gems there that you probably will not expect to find. I won't have time to examine every one of those lots for at least a couple more weeks, but if this sale is anything like the last, you will find some sensational rarities if you look closely enough. I make this prediction this because I recorded 22 (!) entirely new varieties in the last sale from multi-items lots alone. Don't be too quick to ignore multi-item lots.<br />
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It is only to be expected that many certificates will appear familiar to advanced collectors. Take the well-known but rare certificate from the <b>Alaska Central Railway Co.</b> with a map occupying the green background of the entire certificate (lot 5245). Almost every railroad specialist has seen pictures of it, but I have recorded only 17 serial numbers up until now. When cataloged, this lot will contribute the 18th example and it will be the earliest known so far.<br />
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On the other hand, how many collectors have examples of the <b>Alaska Midland Railway Co</b> (lot 4246) in their collections? Or the <b>Boynton Bicycle Electric Railway</b>?<br />
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It you're the person who collects certificates with serial #1, check out rarities like the <b>Lookout Incline Railway</b> (lot 5456) and <b>Los Angeles & Vernon Street Railway</b> (lot 5458). Or how about a stock certificate from the <b>Silverton Railway</b> signed by Otto Mears (lot 5622)? It will become only the second such certificate I have recorded from this rare company, both signed by Mears.<br />
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I went through all images of single-item lots in this sale, looking merely for certificates that struck me as unusual. Within about twenty minutes, I spotted five certificates that I have not encountered since recording them from unillustrated lots in the 1990s. This makes the first time I have encountered illusive certificates from the <b>Arlington & Fairfax Railway, Blue Ridge Traction, Indian Valley, Lewiston Nezperce & Eastern </b>and the <b>Palatine Lake Zurich & Wauconda</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UeIMQMCxc70/W_23b5xT0oI/AAAAAAAAA7U/mpKSSTeASnw_Qt39mfDEgs0sAuaUN4ICACLcBGAs/s1600/5606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="1600" height="174" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UeIMQMCxc70/W_23b5xT0oI/AAAAAAAAA7U/mpKSSTeASnw_Qt39mfDEgs0sAuaUN4ICACLcBGAs/s320/5606.jpg" width="320" /></a>I also stumbled across the first instances of certificates from companies like the <b>Pascagoula Street Railway and Power Co.</b>, the <b>Portsmouth Kittery & York Street Railway Co.</b>, the <b>San Francisco & Bay Counties Railway</b>, the <b>Stamford & Northwestern Railway Co. </b>and the <b>Allentown Passenger Railway.</b><br />
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Stressing again that I have not yet cataloged a single item, I also noticed certificates from two entirely new companies: the <b>Mine Hill Railroad Co.</b> (lot 5482) and the <b>Pacific Coast Express</b> (lot 5493).<br />
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Also new was an unissued municipal bond from the City of San Francisco sold to aid the <b>San Francisco & San Jose Rail Road Co.</b> (lot 5605. There is also another entirely new municipal aid bond from the <b>Corporation of the City of Brownsville, Tennessee</b> (lot 5364) that was issued in 1870 to aid an unspecified railroad.<br />
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What new certificates and companies hide among the multi-item lots? No idea. I figure I will not have time to check every item before the sale takes place. Hopefully, you will. If wondering when you will see these in the Coxrail database, look for them in the mid-December database update. While some of these items appear for sale a few times per year, I have already alerted you to a few items that probably won't appear more than once or twice per <i><b>CENTURY.</b></i> If you miss them now, you are unlikely to <b><i>ever</i></b> have a second chance.<br />
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Just sayin!<br />
<br />Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-47657212306549503952018-10-17T08:08:00.004-06:002018-10-17T08:08:57.860-06:00Spink USA auction, Oct 30, 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spink will offer fifteen lots of railroad certificates among its wide-ranging selection of collectibles in a sale at its New York offices October 30 and 31.This is sale number 342, the latest addition to Spink's continuing <i>Numismatic Collector's Series</i>. Items offered include coins, paper money, medals and stocks and bonds plus a very nice assortment of World War I posters. (Having sold many of these posters myself, I think these posters would make a delightful sale on their own if photographed and offered individually.)<br />
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Like recent sales, Spink is grouping most of its stocks and bonds in multi-item lots. While this is not particularly good for collectors, these lots would make good additions to smaller dealer inventories. Only two of the lots are illustrated in the physical catalog, but all scripophily lots are illustrated online at <a href="https://spink.com/" target="_blank">Spink.com</a>.<br />
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Because of the wide array of items offered in this and similar Numismatic Collector's Series sales, collectors will find many highly interesting lots that they would not ordinarily encounter. Those are precisely the kinds of collectibles most people will overlook if not thumbing through the physical catalog. Consequently, that is precisely why I always recommend acquiring catalogs from professional auction sellers such as Spink. However, if only viewing online, then browse offerings of railroad certificates by searching for lots 1079 through 1092, 1099 and 1112A.<br />
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<br />Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-22290975085429344512018-10-09T13:20:00.000-06:002018-10-09T13:20:13.357-06:00Boone auction 61 near the end of October<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just received a new catalog from Mario Boone and discovered it offers 102 lots in the North American railroad specialty. I did not keep count when I entered all the information in my database, but it appears that at least half of his offerings are represented by ten or fewer examples.<br />
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I do not want this point to go unnoticed. There are LOTS of certificates in auction 61 that you may not have the opportunity to acquire for several years, if ever again.<br />
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Yes, you will see some long-time favorites like Ferro Monte Rail Road, Gilpin Tramway and Wat-Chung Railway, but there are a few that I have never seen before.<br />
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At least part of these offerings seem to have originated from a collection of one of my long-time correspondents. However, I have no idea where most came from.<br />
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The best thing I can do is suggest you acquire a copy of the printed auction catalog. Failing that, please visit <a href="http://www.booneshares.com/" target="_blank">booneshares.com</a> and look at items there.<br />
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I know there are not a lot of Cuba specialists out there, but eighteen lots represent Cuban railroads. With the exception of certificates from the Cuba Railroad, most Cuban certificates are quite scarce. If you happen to collect certificates from Cuba, please don't miss out. Lot 1037 is a stock certificate from the Western Railway of Havana, Ltd. and is the only certificate I ever encountered. That particular certificate was last offered in Germany in 2008. Equally rare is a specimen from the Banco del Comercio Ferro Carriles Unidos de la Habana Almacenes de Regla (lot 1038), last seen in a 1993 Smythe sale.<br />
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There are only five railroad lots from Canada, but among those is a stock certificate from The Cape Breton Railway Extension Co, Ltd. While the company is not new to me, this is the first time I have actually seen an image. Rare? It seems like it to me.<br />
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Obviously, I don't have the space to relate every rarity. However, here are a few. In parentheses are the numbers I have encountered since the late 1980s. Like any other super-rare collectible, there is always a possibility that additional unreported examples may exist somewhere. But I wouldn't get my hopes up.<br />
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Lot 1164, New Orleans Baton Rouge & Vicksburg Rail Road Co. (3)<br />Lot 1165, Selma & Gulf Railroad Co. (8)<br />Lot 1193, Pneumatic Tramway Engine Co. (3)<br />
Lot 1200, Eastern Rolling Stock (1)<br />
Lot 1211, San Diego Cable Railway Co.(2)<br />
Lot 1212, Pensacola Terminal Co.(3)<br />
Lot 1215, Gallatin Light Power & Railway Co. (1, GAL-405-S-30)<br />
Lot 1219, Fair Haven & Westville Rail Road Co. (1, FAI-057a-S-40)<br />
Lot 1222, The Stockton & Tuolumne County Railroad Co. (2 STO-160-S-30)<br />
Lot 1223, Chatham & Lebanon Valley Railroad Co (1, CHA-748-B-25)<br />
Lot 1226, Omaha Southern Railway Co. (4)<br />
Lot 1227, Hastings & Northwestern Railroad Co. (2, HAS-750-S-30)<br />
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Note also that Lot 1227, is a serial number 1 certificate.<br />
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Auction 61 will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Antwerp, Belgium, October 27 and 28. The deadline for submitting absentee bids is 8 pm, October 26. I stress once again that there are a bunch of rarities in the sale that probably will not be seen again in the next ten years. Please visit <a href="http://www.booneshares.com/" target="_blank">Booneshares.com</a> as soon as possible.<br />
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<br />Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-18241802001735484422018-04-02T08:25:00.002-06:002018-04-02T08:25:37.406-06:00Boone Auction 60 in Less Than Two Weeks<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-omZVVtA2Wzo/WsI0-heXbRI/AAAAAAAAA6A/lpRE6EGuxLI8JB7fH4LAbMUzU3wL30d3wCLcBGAs/s1600/Boone060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1149" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-omZVVtA2Wzo/WsI0-heXbRI/AAAAAAAAA6A/lpRE6EGuxLI8JB7fH4LAbMUzU3wL30d3wCLcBGAs/s320/Boone060.jpg" width="229" /></a>Mario Boone’s next auction is scheduled for April 14 in Antwerp and will feature yet another great selection of American railroad rarities. As usual, he features stocks and bonds from around the globe, all arranged by country. The unquestioned highlight of this sale is a Spanish banking and loan document dated <b>1279</b> (!). If you are in the market for a 739-year old rarity then, chances are, you already have the catalog for Auction 60 and have planned your bid.<br />
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I count 81 rail-related lots from the U.S. plus eight more from elsewhere in North America. I ask you to get online quickly at <a href="http://www.booneshares.com/">www.BooneShares.com</a> and look for certificates in your specialties; you are bound to find several pieces of interest. I will mention a few items that caught my attention, either because they are the first I have seen or they APPEAR to be unique or extremely rare.<br />
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1901 debenture from the <b>Cuban Central Railways, Ltd</b>. (lot 1607): new to me.<br />
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1902 gold bond from the <b>Havana Electric Railway Co.</b> (lot 1608): only the second issued bond I have recorded.<br />
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1911 bond from the <b>Havana Terminal Railroad Co.</b> (lot 1613): another item I have never encountered before.<br />
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1851 stock from the <b>Rochester & Syracuse Rail-Road</b> (lot 1694): the second serial number known to me.<br />
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1865 stock from the <b>Schuylkill & Dauphin Improvement Railroad Co </b>(lot 1703): first recorded.<br />
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1872 stock certificate from the <b>Schenectady & Susquehanna Rail Road Co</b> (lot 1709): the second one to come to my attention in 30+ years.<br />
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1889 stock from the <b>St Augustine & Halifax River Railway Co</b> (lot 1729): first stock certificate that I have recorded for this company.<br />
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1890s specimen stock certificate from the <b>Schenectady Railway Co.</b> (lot 1732): if not unique, then nearly so.<br />
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1893 issued stock certificate from the <b>Kaaterskill Railroad Co</b> (lot 1739): while familiar in unissued form, this is the first issued example I have encountered.<br />
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1905 uncancelled stock certificate from The <b>South Omaha & Western Railroad Co</b> (lot 1753): serial #1 and still the only example I have ever recorded.<br />
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1915 uncancelled stock certificate from the <b>New York & Queens County Railway Co</b> (lot 1760): so far, only one known to me.<br />
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1947 stock certificate from the <b>Salt Lake Rail & Bus Terminal Co</b> (lot 1771): although recorded before, this remains the only certificate I know from this company.<br />
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The word <b>unique </b>means one of a kind; the only one in existence in the entire world. Unless there is some sort of definite proof, I am exceedingly reluctant to speculate that any certificate is truly <i>unique</i>. And I hate to say that another will <i>never</i> appear. ALL of us have been surprised more than once. Nonetheless, based on thirty years of recording over a million offerings of railroad stocks and bonds, I will suggest that several items in this auction APPEAR to be highly rare. Therefore, if sold, I believe we are unlikely to ever encounter several of these certificates again in our collecting careers.<br />
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Please visit www.BooneShares.com or email to receive a copy of this 263-page, full-color catalog. And yes, I know that commissions, VAT, postage and the declining value of the dollar relative to the Euro are penalties on American collectors. No argument there. But, what value do you place in your quest? And how many of these items do you expect to ever see again?<br />
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Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-65401066653165657012017-12-28T07:39:00.001-07:002017-12-31T16:35:37.004-07:00HWPH auction January 20 & 22, 2018<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppRGzv9coBI/WkQQpRvmmUI/AAAAAAAAA5c/pEfEf2gBonwXuv87s58ruSt980EzMuEZwCLcBGAs/s1600/HWPH47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1141" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppRGzv9coBI/WkQQpRvmmUI/AAAAAAAAA5c/pEfEf2gBonwXuv87s58ruSt980EzMuEZwCLcBGAs/s320/HWPH47.jpg" width="228" /></a>I received the latest offering from <b>Historisches Wesrtpapierehaus AG (HWPH)</b> over the Christmas weekend. Auktion 47 will offer 928 lots, predominately from Germany and Russia. There are only a few lots representing North America and only one 471-item lot related to American railroads. Thankfully Herr Schmitt posted a complete list of the contents of that large lot on the web. (See <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-47.html" target="_blank">lot 47</a>.)<br />
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For collectors of American railroads, online Auktion 48 is more enticing. 60 of the 2,398 lots involve American and Cuban railroading. About half are seen very rarely in the United States and are <b><i>not </i></b>the kinds of certificates any experienced collector should hope to find on eBay. For that reason, I suggest collectors take a serious look at this sale. Several certificates in this sale will not be seen again in the next decade, so I will mention a few that caught my attention.<br />
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Several collectors will recognize a $1000 bond from the <b>Brooklyn & Brighton Beach Railroad</b> (<a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2064.html" target="_blank">lot 2064</a>). One of these certificates appears for sale every couple of years, but the number of collectors who want one routinely pushes auction prices over $150. It is more elusive than its familiarity might suggest.<br />
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Certificates from the <b>American Car & Foundry Co</b> should also appear familiar, but the 100-share certificate offered in this sale (<a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2032.html" target="_blank">lot 2032</a>) is much scarcer than most people realize. Similarly, a 1908 $1000 bond from the <b>Chicago Subway Company</b> (<a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2079.html" target="_blank">lot 2079</a>) is another infrequently-seen beauty that might be overlooked.<br />
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Now to the rarities.<br />
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Labeled '<b>Brunswick & Albany Bahn</b>', the certificate in <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2066.html" target="_blank">lot 2066</a> is a certificate of deposit is one of only five I have recorded. This unassuming certificate was used for bonds deposited with the Brunswick & Albany Committee in Frankfurt in 1872. Only one of the five was sold in the U.S.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAfbl9Nn5s4/WkQQpalnfqI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/xr7iw45TkwMV2ODmNOHgi8vSZCwTV-fAgCLcBGAs/s1600/HWPH48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1154" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAfbl9Nn5s4/WkQQpalnfqI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/xr7iw45TkwMV2ODmNOHgi8vSZCwTV-fAgCLcBGAs/s320/HWPH48.jpg" width="230" /></a><a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2140.html" target="_blank">Lot 2140</a> is a £250 bond from the <b>Havana Railroads Company</b>, dated 1859 and only the third to come to my attention. Sadly, Cuban railroad certificates seldom attract the attention their rarity might imply. This is especially true of on orange 1-share preferred certificate from the <b>Cuba North & South Railroad</b> (<a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2115.html" target="_blank">lot 2115</a>). This is a bearer share certificate and I can attest that bearer shares are very uncommon from anywhere in North America other than companies that operated in the Caribbean island. This orange variety is one of only four that I have encountered.<br />
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However, there is also a green common share companion (<a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2114.html" target="_blank">lot 2114</a>), which just happens to be the first I have ever listed. Hmmm, I wonder how many collectors are going to realize the rarity (!) of this certificate, especially considering HWPH's minimum bid is only €140.<br />
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Another first to me is a warrant from the <b>Erie Railroad</b> to purchase common stock (<a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2126.html" target="_blank">lot 2126</a>). It is admittedly plain, but still a new item for my catalog.<br />
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Also the first of its kind is a specimen 1925 equipment trust certificate for $1000 from the <b>Great Northern Railway</b> (<a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2136.html" target="_blank">lot 2126</a>). Yes, it also is plain. And yes, not very many people collect equipment trust certificates. Still, if a collector is attracted to rarity for the sake of rarity (as many are), he/she should take a look at these kinds of certificates that usually fly under the radar of most collectors.<br />
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I can't remember exactly when I first started cataloging railroad certificates, but I think it was about 1987. If true, then <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2169.html" target="_blank">lot 2169</a> seems to be rare. It is a $10,000 bond from the <b>New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad Co</b> dated 1917 and only the fourth serial number I have recorded of this variety. No question about it, there are probably more around. After all, there is no way anyone could have listed every railroad certificate offered over the last 30 years by hundreds of dealers in fifteen or more countries. But no true collector should ever call this certificate common!<br />
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Another uncommon certificate is <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2081.html" target="_blank">lot 2081</a>, a 10-share common stock certificate from the <b>Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul Railway</b>, dated 1912. It might look a familiar to the uninitiated, but it is only the third such certificate I know about.<br />
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Still not impressed? How about a certificate I have recorded only once before? <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2150.html" target="_blank">Lot 2150</a> is a $1000 second mortgage gold bond from the <b>Kansas City & Northern Connecting Railroad</b>. Minimum bid? €100.<br />
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Finally, do you just want a great vignette? Then look at <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/losnr-auktnr-pa48-2082.html" target="_blank">lot 2082</a> from the <b>Christopher & Tenth Street Rail Road</b>. Minimum bid: €30.<br />
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See all these certificates and about three thousand more at <a href="http://www.hwph.de/" target="_blank">www.hwph.de</a>, the website for Historisches Wertpapiere AG. Once you reach the home page, click on the flag appropriate to your language. (Click this <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/katalog-auktnr-pa48-929-2398.html" target="_blank">link</a> to go directly to the <a href="http://www.hwph.de/historische-wertpapiere/katalog-auktnr-pa48-929-2398.html" target="_blank">complete list of auction items</a> in Auktion 48.)<br />
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Finally I personally recommend you also acquire the beautiful full-color print editions.Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-4779226251035011342017-11-21T20:34:00.003-07:002017-11-21T20:37:01.752-07:00Fully paid and non-assessable<h3>
Why 'Fully paid and non-assessable?"</h3>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Many railroad stock certificates carry the declaration "Fully
paid and non-assessable." In simple terms, that means that companies agreed to NOT demand money from shareholders beyond the amount they paid for their shares. While
stock exchanges did not require such statements on certificates, many companies
added the phrase to purposely distinguish their issuances from companies that could – or would – demand extra money from shareholders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
It was very common to see the phrase "Fully paid and non-assessable" on paper stock certificates before electronic trading came
along in the 1990s. While not necessarily understood by investors at the time, its presence on collectible certificates now serves as clear evidence that most early stocks were <b><i>assessable</i></b>.<br />
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<h3>
Assessability grew out of high par values</h3>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Prior to 1910, approximately 90% of all railroad companies
sold shares for $50 or $100 per share (the par value). That percentage did
not vary much throughout that entire period. While $100 shares do not seem overly expensive today, $100 was a very hefty investment at that time. Here is a
chart that shows the purchasing power of $100 at various times in the past if
converted to today’s (November, 2017) dollars.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
$100 in 1840 = about $2,700 in 2017<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
$100 in 1850 = about $3,010 in 2017</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
$100 in 1860 = about $2,820 in 2017</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
$100 in 1870 = about $1,800 in 2017</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
$100 in 1880 = about $2,170 in 2017</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
$100 in 1890 = about $2,490 in 2017</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
$100 in 1900 = about $2,660 in 2017</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(rounded from Bureau of Labor Statistics measurement of U.S. inflation rate.)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are disagreements over the many ways to estimate
the value of a dollar through time and what the various results mean. Nonetheless, suffice
it to say that average citizens were hard-pressed to invest in a single share
of stock, let alone multiple shares. By limiting participation to only the
wealthier slice of society, $50 and $100 par values often made it hard for startup companies to raise sufficient funds for
development and equipment.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Enticing investors to pay for shares a little at a time</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Certificates from the 1830s are not common, but the few that
survive suggest that companies discovered early on that they
could raise more money by offering shares for lower initial amounts and then
<i>assessing</i> buyers for the remainder
over time. Out of the need to entice sales, companies invented investing on a layaway plan. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The initial par
value of stock from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was $100. However, even as early as
1835, the company sold some of its shares for $50 and $75 and
assessed buyers for the remainder after purchase. (See BAL-662a-S 25a and S-25b.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Evidence of discounted sales from other companies can be inferred from rare (<i>and seemingly under-priced</i>) assessment requests and assessments receipts that survive. Here is an 1864 example of an assessment receipt from the Agricultural Branch Rail Road.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FfJxUk9CUQ/WhSVTYYFDiI/AAAAAAAAA4s/SgPyfrYJGAUpROmYickcI_neXXpn0rKHgCEwYBhgL/s1600/AGR-500-O-10-56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="1353" height="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FfJxUk9CUQ/WhSVTYYFDiI/AAAAAAAAA4s/SgPyfrYJGAUpROmYickcI_neXXpn0rKHgCEwYBhgL/s640/AGR-500-O-10-56.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p>And here is an example of a stock certificate identical to one that the shareholder above would have owned. </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nzUHTOU5_8k/WhSVTuw0CnI/AAAAAAAAA4s/UBRSMLyx4SMxR5Mmr6OgiKwLvEUJ1Ps4wCEwYBhgL/s1600/AGR-500-S-50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1306" data-original-width="1600" height="521" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nzUHTOU5_8k/WhSVTuw0CnI/AAAAAAAAA4s/UBRSMLyx4SMxR5Mmr6OgiKwLvEUJ1Ps4wCEwYBhgL/s640/AGR-500-S-50.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<o:p>What if shareholders did not pay their assessments?</o:p></h3>
<div>
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the middle of the 1800s, many companies were selling
shares for 10% down and assessing stockholders for the remainder, usually 10% per
quarter. That does not mean all stockholders had the
abilities or desires to pay when demanded. On the flip side, the refusal by
stockholders to honor their commitments often created financial
hardships for companies. Many companies responded to non-payments by modifying their corporate by-laws to force stockholders to forfeit their shares for failing to
pay assessments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Note that the stock certificate above is silent about either assessments or potential pentalties.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did all shareholders know about or understand such penalties? Probably
not. In fact, I currently know of only one railroad company that mentioned the penalty of forfeiture on its certificates. Here is an example of that text from the Mohawk Valley Rail Road Company (S-40, courtesy of Thomas O'Shaughnessy.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Records are scarce, but we can surmise that losses of initial
investments through non-payment of assessments would have come as shocking surprises to small investors.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Assessments for additional funds</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition to ordinary assessments for partially-paid par
values, an unknown percentage of companies also retained the right to assess
stockholders for operating funds if needs arose. Such companies argued that
stockholders were part owners of companies and therefore were responsible for contributing more money if companies fell onto hard times and economic trouble.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Records of lawsuits between stockholders and companies show
that corporate by-laws generally prevailed when stockholders balked at onerous
demands for money above and beyond par values. While often ignored by courts, shareholders often claimed that they should not be required to pay for the fiscal irresponsibility of operating officers. Charges of overly high presidential salaries are not a new phenomenon.</div>
<h3>
Did assessments <i>help</i> stock sales?</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems obvious that stockholder lawsuits of any kind could not have been good for corporate stock sales. As early as 1866, railroad companies
responded to objections over assessments by declaring their shares <i>non-assessable</i>. The earliest non-assessable stock certificate
currently recorded in the database is S-50 from The Montgomery & Erie
Railway Company.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the perspective of 150 years, it seems logical that stockholder lawsuits over assessments probably dampened sales of assessable railroad stock. We have no clear proof among railroad certificates, but boisterous arguments among western precious metal mines about assessable stock certainly quickened the trend toward
non-assessability in that industry.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
When did assessable railroad stocks disappear?</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lacking access to all but a few corporate records, it is
terribly difficult to determine a date when assessable railroad stocks
disappeared from trading. I can find mentions of assessable western mining
stocks being sold as late as 1916. Although he offered no proof, author Thomas Gibson specifically
stated in 1919 (<i>Simple Principles of Investment,</i> p118 )that, “There is no such thing as an assessable railroad stock.”
It is hard to prove a negative, but I have been unable to find any
records of successful assessments on railroad stockholders after 1898. (Stuart
Daggett, 1908, <i>Railroad Reorganization</i>.)
Splitting the differences between those dates, I suggest it is reasonably safe to
assume that most assessable railroad stocks were gone by 1910.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
How can a collector know if a stock certificate was
assessable or not? </h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Generally, the determination is unclear. The most obvious
evidence appears in the form of phrases found on collectible certificates attesting to <b><i>non-assessability</i></b>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Full paid</li>
<li>Fully paid</li>
<li>Full paid and unassessable</li>
<li>Full paid and non-assessable</li>
<li>Fully paid and non-assessable</li>
<li>Fully paid up and non-assessable</li>
<li>Full paid shares non assessable</li>
<li>Full paid and non-liable</li>
<li>Full paid, not subject to assessment</li>
<li>Full paid and neither assessable or redeemable</li>
<li>Full paid and forever non-assessable</li>
<li>Fully paid and free from assessments</li>
<li>Fully paid and not liable for any further calls</li>
<li>Full paid and not subject to further calls or assessments</li>
<li>Not subject to any future calls or assessments</li>
<li>Paid up</li>
<li>Paid up and non-assessable</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Currently, only about 14% of varieties of collectible railroad certificates can be positively identified as non-assessable. On the other hand, printed evidence of assessability is much scarcer and harder
to find. Collectors will find sparse mention on stock certificates in text
similar to:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>assessable shares</li>
<li>subject to assessments</li>
<li>subject to all payments due</li>
<li>subject to assessments as provided in the By-laws of said
corporation</li>
<li>subject to each assessment as may be legally made thereon</li>
<li>on which there is due and to be paid on call of the
directors</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It appears that companies often understated assessability by referring
to provisions in company by-laws. It would seem that few investors would have known how to
acquire company-bylaws and fewer still would have taken the time to do so. What appears to be possible references to assessability may be found in rather common and oblique language on certificates such as:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>subject to the provisions of the Charter and the By-laws of
the Company</li>
<li>subject to the Memorandum and Articles of Association
thereof</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most evidence of assessability can be <i>implied</i> by certificates that sold initially for less than par value. That behavior was relatively common between about 1840 and 1880. Such shares often carried phrases similar to:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>“…on which ______________ Dollars per share have been paid.”</b><o:p></o:p><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div>
<o:p><b>Does assessability affect collector bids?</b></o:p><br />
<o:p><b><br /></b></o:p></div>
<div>
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div>
<o:p>As a group, railroad stock certificates that clearly state assessability are much scarcer than those that display phrases similar to "</o:p>Fully paid and non-assessable." Assessable stock certificates that mention forfeiture penalties are highly rare. However, I cannot find any evidence that collectors are willing to pay premiums for such rarity. At this point in time, the issue of assessability is barely a curiosity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-12225807537281947522017-10-10T08:34:00.001-06:002017-10-10T08:34:42.160-06:00Mario Boone Auction 59, October 21 and 22<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have another fine offering from Mario Boone to be auctioned in Brussels later this month. Among the lots are some truly fine rarities including the certificate shown on the cover. Dated Oct 20, 1777, that stock certificate will turn 240 years old the day before the auction. It was issued by The Iron Bridge Trust to build on iron bridge across the River Severn in Shropshire, England. The bridge has been honored by UNESCO which proclaimed that it is the symbol of the industrial revolution and that "the world's first bridge constructed of iron had a considerable influence on developments in the fields of technology and architecture."<br />
<br />
The bridge still stands today. It was built by the Coalbrookdale Company and opened on January 1, 1781. Eleven years later, the same company built the world's first railroad locomotive, which brings me to the purpose of this article.<br />
<br />
The 59th Boone auction will auction 1,348 lots, 76 of which involve North American railroads. One of the fun things about recording information about certificates over such a long period is that I get to witness the movement of certificates from continent to continent and from collector to collector. In this case, I recorded many of the certificates offered in this auction in the early 2000s from images and lists graciously provided by the owner. Many of those certificates had appeared in early Boone auctions, as well as in auctions by R.M. Smythe and Scott Winslow and catalogs by famous dealers such as George LaBarre.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, this auction also lists several items I have never seen before. Even after a quarter century of cataloging, I still get to record new items every week!<br />
<br />
One of the new items I noticed is a an attractive new red specimen from the United Railways of the Havana & Regla Warehouses (lot 946). That company controlled over 1,200 miles of western Cuban railroad by the 1920s.<br />
<br />
Another intriguing Cuban scarcity is a 1-share stock certificate from Compañía Consolidada de Ferro-Carriles de Caibarien a Santo Espiritu dated 1866 (lot 945). This certificate makes the only the ninth example known to me.<br />
<br />
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Lot 979 is a cancelled stock certificate from the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad Company. The certificate was issued in 1837. While not the oldest railroad stock recorded, as far as I can tell, this company was the first to issue stock in the United States. I know of several 1839 certificates from this company as well as one other from 1837. However, the certificate being offered in lot 979 is the only one of that variety that I have recorded and it is the lowest serial number (#1556) recorded from the company<br />
<br />
A still earlier 1834 certificate from the Boston & Providence Rail Road & Transportation Co appears in lot 980. While Mario calls that item a subscription receipt, I list it as a full-fledged stock certificate. Note that it displays serial #7. Collectors may never have another opportunity to secure a lower number.<br />
<br />
Not many people have seen (or own) a stock certificate from the National Suspended Monorail Company (lot 1038). No, the company was not a main line railroad nor was it a standout in any historical way. The certificate is not vignetted. Nonetheless, I pause to point out that this certificate is one of a minuscule number of of stock certificates that display punch panels in both the left and right borders. Since the punch panels had the capacity to display as many as 9,999 shares, I list this certificate as a "less than 10,000-share" certificate. (No, you're probably not impressed, but it is a fun fact to me!)<br />
<br />
Lot 1030 is from the Duluth, St Cloud, Glencoe & Mankato Railway Co. Usually seen in unissued form, issued examples are normally seen converted to first preferred shares by handwritten or rubber-stamped notices. This is the first issued example I have seen that was not converted from ordinary capital shares.<br />
<br />
I am afraid that lot 1018 might confuse a couple of collectors. While titled Jamaica & Brooklyn ROAD Company, it was actually a horse car operation. It took its name from the consolidation of the Jamaica & Brooklyn Plank Road Company and The Jamaica Woodhaven & Brooklyn Railroad Company in 1880. This item remains the only certificate I have yet recorded from this company!<br />
<br />
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Another item that I suspect collectors will overlook is a temporary preferred stock certificate from the Fort Dodge Des Moines & Southern Railroad Co (lot 1033). While illustrated online, it is not shown in the printed catalog. Even if it were shown, like most temporary stocks it is fairly plain and easy to ignore. Nonetheless, it has so far proven unique in my experience.<br />
<br />
Several collectors have told me they, "only buy on eBay." I understand their bargain hunting, but I always warn them that their collections will never grow past a certain point until they branch out to auctions and professional dealers. I'll go even one step further for my more advanced readers here.<br />
<br />
Your collection will ultimately be stymied if you do not continue to widen your horizons to foreign sources.<br />
<br />
By <b><i>foreign</i></b> I mean that if you live in North America, you should consider buying in Europe. And if you live in Europe, you need consider buying in the opposite direction. Why? Because different items routinely appear in different markets. Items in our hobby are too rare to appear in very many places and many items tend to congregate on one side of the Atlantic or the other. Yes, professional dealers always try to shop the world for inventory, but even they cannot buy everything. And they may not consider buying something in your specialty.<br />
<br />
Bringing things back around, I want all of you to consider items in this sale. While there are certainly scarcities and rarities, all of the start prices in this sale are reasonable. <i>Some are even on the low side by American standards!</i> Most of the items in this sale are seen infrequently and very, very few will ever appear for sale in eBay. I will go a step further to suggest that there are several items in this sale that won't appear for sale again for another ten or more years.<br />
<br />
The easiest way to get started is browse Boone's online catalog at <a href="http://www.booneshares.com/" target="_blank">booneshares.com</a>. At the left side of the page, click either "Browse by Country" or "Browse by Theme." Personally, I always want a physical catalog so I can flip back and forth at will. If you're such a person, be sure to request a printed <b>full-color </b>catalog as soon as possible. Or make sure you get on Mario's list for his next sale. (Catalogs are $15 / €10.)<br />
<br />
Yes, Mario speaks perfect English. And since he grew up in the worldwide scripophily business, he knows how to ship internationally without problem. He accepts PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and bank transfer. Since there is no language barrier or currency transfer problem, why not branch out now?Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-35636670551304272412017-09-04T11:16:00.000-06:002017-09-04T11:16:18.922-06:00The flexibility of bearer and registered bonds<table align="center" border="1"><tbody>
<tr><td>This is the third article in a series discussing railroad bonds. See also:<br />
<br />
July 27, 2017 – <a href="http://coxrail.blogspot.com/2017/07/coupon-bonds-versus-bearer-bonds.html" target="_blank">Terminology - 'coupon bonds' versus 'bearer bonds'</a><br />
August 31, 2017 – <a href="http://coxrail.blogspot.com/2017/08/digging-deeper-into-bearer-and.html" target="_blank">Digging deeper into bearer and registered bonds</a>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
People unfamiliar with out hobby tend to classify all certificates as 'stocks.' That is easy to understand because the nightly news always reports results of the latest trading day on the New York <b>Stock</b> Exchange but rarely mentions bonds. Nonetheless, bonds are highly important, both to corporate finance and our hobby. At the current time, 39% of all identified railroad certificates are bonds.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><td><br />
<b>Understanding Bonds 101</b>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Bonds are the primary sources of funds for many, if not most, railroad companies.</b> While bonds seem mysterious at first, they are actually quite simple in concept. Bonds represent loans made TO companies.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>The most common types of railroad bonds are mortgage bonds. </b>Mortgage bonds are highly similar to ordinary mortgages on typical single family homes. In fact, railroad mortgages include many of the same conditions as home loans. Both types of mortgages are security agreements whereby <i>mortgagors</i> (borrowers) give <i>mortgagees</i> (lenders) the right to seize their <i>collateral</i> (property) if they <i>default</i> (cannot or will not pay) on their <i>bonds</i> (binding, written promises to repay.) </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Bonds are written promises to repay at a specific future time.</b> The two main differences between mortgage bonds and home mortgages are, 1) the entire principal on bonds is normally repaid at the time of redemption while some principal is repaid with each home loan payment, and 2) foreclosing on corporate bonds is a much longer, more difficult process than foreclosing on home loans.</blockquote>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>The need for more money and more flexibility. </b>In the high-growth period following the American Civil War, companies came to realize that many of their bondholders demanded anonymity and freedom to exchange bonds with minimal intervention, while others wanted more security in their investments. Hence the reason that railroad companies turned increasingly toward issuing both registered and bearer bonds after the 1870s.<br />
<br />
During that period, companies gradually lengthened the terms of their loans from twenty and thirty years to one hundred years and even longer. The longer the terms of bonds, the more certain that bond ownership would change before redemption. Consequently, companies realized they needed to let their bondholders change the statuses of their bonds between registered and bearer formats.<br />
<br />
In order to embrace that concept, most companies allowed their investors to:<br />
<ul>
<li>register bearer bonds, and </li>
<li>exchange registered bonds for bearer certificates.</li>
</ul>
<b>The stories on the backs of bonds. </b>Most bonds reserve spaces on the backs for recording transitions from one format to the other. Admittedly, most collectors spend little time looking at the backs of their certificates. However, the recorded transitions between bearer and registered status can give interesting insights into corporate histories.<br />
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Here are some examples.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5bHAKiD7dOA/WalnJN7Rz_I/AAAAAAAAA2k/90bshaEvQQIBBbXTVmxiaoJ5AhMtIQRVACLcBGAs/s1600/P0083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="640" height="217" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5bHAKiD7dOA/WalnJN7Rz_I/AAAAAAAAA2k/90bshaEvQQIBBbXTVmxiaoJ5AhMtIQRVACLcBGAs/s320/P0083.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Transition from registered status to bearer status.</b><br />
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This investment started life as a registered bond when issued January 23, 1969. The assignment panel on the back of that bond is shown below and attests that the bondholder promptly converted the bond to bearer status on February 5, 1969, only thirteen days later! The assignment to 'Bearer' and the stamp would have been added by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Although clearly labeled as a 'registered bond,' it functioned as a bearer bond, with unknown ownership, until cancelled eight months later, in October, 1969. We don't know exactly what happened, but it seems likely that the bearer sold the bond to someone else who traded it in for another registered bond. Whatever the situation, the transaction took place one year after the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with the New York Central and only eight months before it filed for bankruptcy protection.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YZUw6GukxxY/WalofjesXOI/AAAAAAAAA2w/i9cdhUkBgWsth6uOkGrpJbW7vjyjNrh3QCLcBGAs/s1600/N0508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="640" height="224" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YZUw6GukxxY/WalofjesXOI/AAAAAAAAA2w/i9cdhUkBgWsth6uOkGrpJbW7vjyjNrh3QCLcBGAs/s320/N0508.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Registered bond traded for bearer bonds. </b><br />
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This $5,000 registered debenture bond was issued by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, August 20, 1925. Five days later, the bondholder exchanged the bond for five $1000 bearer bonds and the registered bond was cancelled. One can presume that the registered bond would have been traded for bearer debenture bonds of the same series. However, no such bearer bonds have yet been reported. Shown below is the transfer panel on the back. The handwriting and ink does not match any other writing on the bond, so we do not know who wrote the phrase 'Coupon bonds.' It seems possible that the instruction might have been written by someone at the bondholder's brokerage. </div>
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<b>Transition from bearer status to registered status.</b><br />
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Shown below is part of the transfer panel on the back of a $1000 general mortgage bearer bond issued by the Cleveland Cincinnati Chicago & St Louis Railway in 1893, more popularly known as the 'Big Four.' The New York Central acquired control of the Big Four in 1906. While certainly underwritten by the giant New York Central, the company made its own interest payments on bonds like this and the company was a solid investment well over half a century. Between 1893 and 1927, the ownership of the bond is entirely unknown. However, the New York Savings Bank came into possession of the bond at some time during that period and converted it to registered status in 1927. During conversion, the bank surrendered all the coupons and thereby registered its interest payments with the railroad company. It appears the bank held the bond through the 1929 stock market crash and the worst of the Great Depression before selling it to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance in 1935. That company owned the bond for the next 39 years, during which time the New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad. The resulting Penn Central filed for bankruptcy protection in 1970, and Mass Mutual ultimately sold the bond to Bear, Stearns & Co. in 1974. Bear, Stearns re-sold the bond six days later to Lerche & Co. which held the investment for three more years. By that time, the bankruptcy had long been in litigation and the value of bonds like this dropped to around $40. A favorable outcome for investors was highly uncertain. Lerche & Co. ultimately sold the bond to Warren Buffet in 1977. The bond was retired and cancelled November 3, 1978, presumably as part of the Penn Central Transportation Company's bankruptcy court agreement of August, 1978. We don't know how much Buffet might have paid for the bond, but one can surmise he did not lose money.<br />
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<b>Transition from bearer status to registered status and then back again.</b><br />
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The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company issued this $1000 gold mortgage bond in 1897. After an unknown ownership for two years, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts registered this bond as an investment held in trust for the Marine Insurance Company of Liverpool. The bond stayed in the trust for the next 29 years, presumably netting $1,105 in interest. At that time, the new buyer converted the bond back to bearer status. Its history turned dark again and there is no record of who or what might have owned this bond during the Central's merger with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1967, the bankruptcy of the Penn Central in 1970, or acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Whatever the case, the bond was ultimately retired, on Oct 31, 1978, only three days before Buffett's bond above, and probably for a similar amount. Once cancelled, it lived in the Penn Central archives until John Herzog convinced the Penn to sell its old paper securities instead of incinerating everything. Chances are, the bond sold as part of a large lot in a NASCA/Smythe sale in 1987 or 1988. I ultimately acquired the bond from Clinton Hollins in 2005.<br />
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Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-85030200571890414582017-08-31T18:08:00.000-06:002017-08-31T18:08:03.192-06:00Digging deeper into bearer and registered bonds<br />
<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr><td>Let's review some critical terms.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Bonds</b> represent loans that investors make TO companies. Bonds are written, binding promises. Companies use bonds to specify the amounts of money they will repay on specific dates. Bonds usually specify interest rates, the schedules of interest payments and the collateral that companies pledge in case they fail to fulfill their promises. Bondholders are usually 'first in line' in case of corporate bankruptcy.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Notes </b>are bonds with shorter terms, generally ranging from 6 months to five years. There are a few 'notes' in my database with terms as long as 25 years. Very short-term notes were often issued without coupons. In the article that follows, assume that everything I say about bonds also applies to notes.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Coupons</b> are small demand warrants usually attached to bonds. Coupons are worthless until specific dates, but on those dates, they immediately become payable for interest. Other than their names and small sizes, bond coupons bear no similarity to ordinary coupons that today's retail stores give to their shoppers to entice purchase. </blockquote>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Back in <a href="http://coxrail.blogspot.com/2017/07/coupon-bonds-versus-bearer-bonds.html" target="_blank">July</a>, I wrote about the most obvious differences between registered bonds and coupon bonds. From the 1880s until the 1940s, most medium-and large-sized railroad companies tended to offer both types of bonds whenever they borrowed money. While the differences seem obvious, it is important to understand why companies issued both types. Prior to the 1880s, most companies issued only coupon bonds. After the 1940s, registered bonds became the issuance of choice. The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act officially stopped the issuance of domestic bearer bonds in 1982.<br />
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In truth, coupon bonds and registered bonds bonds were actually designed to deal with two different features of loans. Registration involved the security of investment principal, whereas coupons dealt with the payment of interest. Viewed from that perspective, registered bonds and coupon bonds were not quite opposites. Let's look at the differences.<br />
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<b>Registered bonds </b>are meant to give <i>security</i> of ownership. Registered bonds are registered in the names of individuals or companies who legally own bonds. Only those specific registered owners are legally entitled to redeem bonds at maturity.<br />
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It is important to understand that the true opposites of registered bonds are not coupon bonds, <i>per se</i>, but <i>bearer bonds</i>.<br />
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<b>Bearer bonds</b> represent <i>no specific ownership</i>. They are not secure. Whoever possesses bearer bonds can redeem them. There is no implied concern about whether ownership is legal. The differences between registered bonds and bearer bonds represent the differences in who will receive funds at the time of redemption.<br />
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Having said that, we must question who is entitled to receive interest payments in the period between purchase and redemption. Legal owners or bearers? Who should be responsible for initiating interest payments? Companies or bondholders? Is interest going to be paid throughout the terms of bonds? Or is interest going to be allowed to accumulate until the time of redemption?<br />
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These questions give rise to different approaches and this is where coupons come in.<br />
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<b>Coupon bonds</b> push the responsibility for collecting interest to bondholders. Whoever possesses coupon bonds must purposely redeem their coupons for interest, usually twice per year. If bondholders lose coupons or wait a long time before cashing them in, the problem is theirs alone. Viewed from the perspectives of companies, every lost or non-redeemed coupon represents profit.<br />
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With rare exception, coupons are <i>bearer instruments</i>. That means that whoever possesses coupons may redeem them. Legal ownership is a matter of concern for the legal system, not for companies.<br />
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The vast majority of corporate bearer bonds were issued with coupons, hence the reason that 'bearer bonds' are <i>almost</i> synonymous with 'coupon bonds.'<br />
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<b>Bonds issued without coupons. </b>The vast majority of registered railroad bonds were issued without coupons. In most cases, companies would have paid interest on registered bonds only to registered owners.<br />
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There is a question, however, whether all companies assumed the responsibility for sending interest payments to bondholders. Did some wait until bondholders requested payments? The text on registered bonds is rarely explicit on this point. Most registered bonds merely say they would make payments at the office of the railroad company or at the office of its agents. Theoretically, bondholders would have been paid through their brokerage accounts, but looking through the lens of time, it is unclear who was responsible for initiating those payments.<br />
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It is also important to understand that not all registered bonds were issued without coupons. <i>Some registered bonds were, in fact, issued with coupons</i>. Registered coupon bonds are fairly common among U.S. Treasury bonds, but they are quite rare among collectible railroad bonds. For those reasons, it is easy to understand why most collectors – <i>and many companies –</i> considered registered bonds the opposites of coupon bonds.<br />
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As I hinted above, companies and investors might prefer a third method for paying and collecting interest. What if interest is not paid during the terms of loans? What if interest is paid only at the time that companies redeem their bonds?<br />
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This is, in fact, the method the U.S. Government uses to pay interest on its savings bonds and short term Treasury Bills. While used more frequently in later years, some very early railroad companies took this approach, too. <br />
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Such bonds are issued without coupons and are usually called <b>zero-coupon bonds</b> or <b>'zeros.'</b> Interest is paid only upon final redemption. Some zero-coupon bonds are sold at face value and allow interest to accumulate over the terms of loans. Interest is not paid periodically, but only when bonds are redeemed. For example, companies will need to pay investors $1,500 each to retire 10-yr, 5%, $1000 bonds. (5% interest on $1000 is $50/year; over ten years, delayed interest payments total $500. In this scenario, interest <i>does not compound</i>.)<br />
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Instead of accumulating interest over long periods, companies generally prefer to repay only the <i>face value</i> of zero-coupon bonds at the time of redemption. Consequently, investors must build in their own desired interest rate by purchasing zero-coupon bonds at discounts from face values. For instance, investors willing to settle for 5% non-compounding yield on their money will pay no more than $666 for a 10-year, $1000 bond. (If investors want their money to compound, they will probably lower their offers to less than $614.)<br />
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Both kinds of zero-coupon bonds are known among railroad bonds.<br />
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<b>How are bonds distinguished in my database? </b>Up until now, I have usually described bonds as either coupon bonds or registered bonds. I recently examined all 8,400 bonds in my database and pushed as many as possible into slightly more elaborate categories. The vast majority are described as:<br />
<ul>
<li>bearer coupon bonds</li>
<li>registered bonds (typical bonds issued without coupons)</li>
</ul>
Long-time readers will notice a <b><i>few </i></b>new descriptive categories when I had enough information to determine their types:<br />
<ul>
<li>bearer zero-coupon bonds</li>
<li>registered coupon bonds</li>
<li>registered zero-coupon bonds</li>
</ul>
(Don't freak out! There aren't many bonds in these new categories.)<br />
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<b>How did I decide whether a bond started life as a bearer or a registered instrument?</b> The key lies in simple, two-word phrases that appear on most bonds:<br />
<ul>
<li>... 'or bearer' ...</li>
<li>... 'or holder' ...</li>
<li>... 'or assigns' ...</li>
<li>... 'or order' ...</li>
</ul>
Bearer bonds are the easiest to recognize. A large number were simply issued 'to bearer.' Most bearer bonds, however, have text that shows that bonds were initially issued to companies or prominent individuals followed by the phrase, 'or bearer.' A few companies used the phrase 'or holder,' but the meanings appear to have been entirely synonymous.<br />
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Because bonds were commonly written for terms of thirty to well over a hundred years, companies always assumed that bondholders would change through time. Consequently, we can understand the need for phrases like <b><i>'or bearer.'</i></b> While 'or bearer' is not always obvious, some variation can usually be found somewhere on every bond that once had coupons attached.<br />
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By contrast, the vast majority of registered bonds left an empty space or line for bondholders' names, followed by the phrase, <b><i>'or assigns.'</i></b> Legally, the word 'assigns' means 'assignees,' and carries the implication of legal transference of all rights.<br />
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I personally doubt that <i>assigns</i> was always interpreted using today's meaning.<br />
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To complicate matters further, some companies used the phrase 'or order' in place of 'or assigns.' According to current legal definitions, if a document is payable to an identified person 'or order,' it is <i>not</i> payable to a bearer. (See <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/3/3-109" target="_blank">Legal Information Institute</a> at the Cornell Law School.) Consequently, I define 'or order' like 'or assigns.' That does not mean I believe the definition was always accepted that way, nor that every company used the phrase in the same manner.<br />
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<b>One final point.</b> Although investors usually had justifiable preferences for one format over the other, they could later change their minds. They could register their bearer bonds or they could trade their registered bonds for bearer bonds at any time. My next blog article will discuss the flexibility of bonds types.<br />
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Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-7242690824984166952017-08-24T21:21:00.000-06:002017-08-25T05:38:23.239-06:00What are collectibles 'worth' when they don't sell?<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rHciFme8rw8/WYRvXK_C52I/AAAAAAAAA0M/Uy4ZqSdh9hgP7RHU3aoYJe4xeC8lLhXeACEwYBhgL/s1600/47378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="640" height="238" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rHciFme8rw8/WYRvXK_C52I/AAAAAAAAA0M/Uy4ZqSdh9hgP7RHU3aoYJe4xeC8lLhXeACEwYBhgL/s320/47378.jpg" width="320" /></a>I consider the question of unsold items everyday because it affects my catalog. However, it indirectly affects all dealers and all collectors, in every type of collectible, in every specialty. <br />
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Although you may not notice it, I adjust my prices constantly, primarily on the basis of recent sales. However, non-sales also enter my equations. Why did something NOT sell? Should I lower my estimates based upon recent non-sales?<br />
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As you might guess, it depends. <br />
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<b>It depends, of course, on where item have failed to sell.</b> A non-sale on eBay means almost nothing. A non-sale in a well-attended European auction might signal a sea-change.<br />
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<b>Collectors' personal issues control checkbooks.</b> Let's face it; it is a universal truth that life gets in the way. Collectors will get into arguments. Collectors will have monetary problems. Collectors will experience competing needs for money or illnesses or vacations or hail storms or broken computers. These events happen to everyone, but, statistically they don't happen to everyone at the same time. But, sometimes they do exactly that and there is no way of knowing that it has happened. Moreover, life can get in the way for only one or two collectors and their absense might make all the difference in the non-sales of key items.<br />
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<b>Lack of eyeballs.</b> No matter what is being offered, sales depend on collectors learning about offerings. Generally speaking, the more people who know about upcoming sales, the greater the number of examinations of inventory. Ideally, the greater the number of looks, the greater the number of sales. That all sounds very simple.<br />
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Even if an auction house sends out large numbers of catalogs or eBay touts very large numbers of members, it doesn't mean a thing if offerings fail to reach the right kinds of eyeballs.<br />
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<b>Inappropriate audiences.</b> The reality is that eBay sellers are never going to sell thousand dollar items to buyers who never spend more than a hundred dollars. And auction house are never going to sell $50 items when they send catalogs to buyers who routinely buy $50,000 collectibles. Sellers need to match their buyers to their offerings. And vice-versa.<br />
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<b>Price.</b> The underpinning assumption of capitalism is that sales depend on price. The accepted rule is that lower prices result in more sales. But that only works to a point. Unrealistically low prices can stymie sales if they cause collectors to worry about the threat of hoards lowering the value of their existing collections. Witness how absurdly eBay prices have adversely affected the sales of practically all collectibles. <br />
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Unrealistically high prices can also have a long-lasting effect on sales. Once collectors get turned off by high prices from certain houses and dealers, they may never buy from those outlets again, even if prices subsequently drop.<br />
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<b>Risk. </b>In my opinion, the issue of risk in hobbies like ours is the least understood and the most under-researched factor that affects sales of collectibles. I generally consider the impression of risk to be even more important than price. Simply put, every interaction between sellers and buyers affects the impression of risk and the flow of money. Obviously, customer service is a gigantic concern. The more sellers can lower the impression of the risk of purchase, the more likely collectors will buy.<br />
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Basically, the more sellers can focus on the qualities of the items they are selling, the more they can positively manipulate the comfort level of their potential buyers. Sellers automatically lower risk when they show good pictures of the exact items they are selling. They lower risk when they give precise information about problems, availability, scarcity, color, smell, feel, texture, age and so forth. There is nothing earth-shaking here; I'm simply talking about David Ogilvy's mantra, "The more you tell, the more you sell."<br />
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Sadly, many amateur sellers try to use senseless hype to sell their collectibles. They fail to realize that hype usually works to their detriment among collectors. Do such sellers really think words like "WOW!", "Unbelievable!" and "L@@K" have any positive effect on would-be buyers? If so, why don't they see such drivel in the catalogs of Christie's, Sotheby's, Spink, Heritage and Stack's Bowers? Maybe because it doesn't work? Maybe because hype increases the impression of risk among collectors?<br />
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Each of these topics is an article – or book – in its own right. And each affects how I answer the question of, "What is a collectible worth if it doesn't sell?" But here is my general approach.<br />
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<b>Non-sale on eBay.</b> I pay little attention if something does not sell on eBay. In fact, unless certificates are extraordinary, I don't even look. And I NEVER adjust prices up or down based upon non-sales on eBay.<br />
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<b>Non-sale from low-priced auction houses.</b> I have not encountered any such auctions in a long time. I fear all low-prices auction houses have fallen victim to, or moved their operations to, eBay. <br />
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<b>Non-sale from mid-priced auction houses.</b> If minimum-bid prices are reasonable, and descriptions and photos are good, I try to get some feeling from my correspondents about the issues of eyeballs and audiences. If their audiences are good and they are reaching adequate numbers of collectors, then non-sales are probably indicative of weak markets. If the same items fail to sell after a couple attempts, then I definitely lower price estimates 10% to 20%.<br />
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<b>Non-sale from high-priced auction houses.</b> I generally assume those kinds of houses enjoy good penetration (eyeballs) in good audiences (good matches with inventory.) At first blush, it would seem most non-sales would result from general high prices. However, it is also possible that some, if not many, non-sales actually reflect an over-valuing of rarity. I have found in conversations with correspondents that many who routinely buy expensive certificates buy only those certificates that fit their specialties. For them, rarity outside of their specialties is not particularly compelling. It is for that exact reason that certain highly rare items may appeal to only limited subsets of collectors. Once a few such collectors acquire rarities for the sake of rarity, there may be few if any more buyers on the sidelines. <br />
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I also find high-priced auction houses tend to focus heavily on autographed certificates, and those items follow cycles of interest different from otherwise ordinary certificates. It appears that highly specialized collectors tend to focus on collecting only those autographs of the highest quality. They may well delay buying second- and third-tier items while waiting for better quality autographs to appear.<br />
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For these reasons, I usually wait for typical items to go unsold three or four times before I lower my price estimates. It is not unusual to see items of ordinary rarity go unsold several times and then suddenly sell at prices measurably higher than had been rejected several months before. <br />
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On the other hand, I often lower price estimates quickly for unsold rarities when historic price behavior suggests they are not remarkably desirable. As I have argued many, many times, desirability is vastly more important for sales than rarity.<br />
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<b>The conclusion?</b> I definitely adjust prices based upon non-sales. It seems perfectly obvious to me that if items go unsold several times at one price, then they are not worth that price. Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217904132014604050.post-71616375665761973052017-08-23T08:38:00.004-06:002017-08-23T08:44:43.503-06:00Faked issuanceWhile it doesn't happen very often, last week I encountered two certificates that had been fictitiously issued. One had been sold on eBay and another had been sent in by a correspondent.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sEeamSz9r-s/WZ2TLqF0S4I/AAAAAAAAA00/G5AxzIqmeKI4fez_Busrld9vB_35Q9TXACLcBGAs/s1600/0042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1600" height="246" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sEeamSz9r-s/WZ2TLqF0S4I/AAAAAAAAA00/G5AxzIqmeKI4fez_Busrld9vB_35Q9TXACLcBGAs/s400/0042.jpg" width="400" /></a>In both cases, they were ordinary unissued certificates that someone had filled in just for fun. Probably children. And probably with no malicious intent.<br />
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Nonetheless, both certificates ended up being sold as real issued certificates. And both buyers will probably chalk up their oversights to inexperience. But I look at the question from twenty years down the road. I almost guarantee those spuriously 'issued' certificates be sold again, some time in the future..<br />
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Like I said, I do not encounter many of these certificates with faked names and details. Usually only one every two or three years. But they are out there. You will need to look for several telltale signs to avoid purchasing one by accident..<br />
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<b><i>Faked issuances are almost always created by children and most are not recent creations.</i></b> The handwriting usually looks like it was created by a child. The writing often looks strained and lacks the free flow typical of someone who spent years filling out certificates and working in an office. The slant of the writing typically shifts backs and forth from left to right.<br />
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<b><i>No embossed seal.</i></b> Very early certificates lack embossed corporate seals, but other details of those kinds of genuine certificates are exceedingly hard to fake. After the 1840s, most stock certificates show embossed corporate seals. Unless someone is an extreme pro, there is no reliable or cheap way to fake embossing. Beware of any certificate lacking that feature! If you can't see an embossed seal in a photograph, and the certificate otherwise appears questionable, simply ask the seller.<br />
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<b><i>All of the handwriting looks the same.</i></b> Genuine certificates typically show handwriting from two to four people. A clerk usually filled out most of the details (shareholder name, handwritten share value, numeric share value, serial number and date) and then it was signed by a president, a treasurer and sometimes a transfer agent. While some presidents and treasurers signed certificates in advance of legitimate issuance, their signatures never look like they came from the same hand.<br />
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<b><i>The surnames of two to three crucial character names (president, treasurer, shareholder) are commonly the same.</i></b> Vanity usually leaves evidence.<br />
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<b style="font-style: italic;">The entire certificate looks like it was filled out with the same pen. </b>That almost never happened with genuine certificates.<br />
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<b><i>The ink is blue or red.</i></b> There is no hard and fast rule about ink color, but the vast majority of legitimate issuances were written in black ink by hand using a fountain or quill pen. The older the date on the certificate, the more likely that the original black ink has aged to brown.<br />
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<b><i>Some details are usually missing.</i></b> Faked issuances commonly lack a serial number, a numeric share value or a date. I have never encountered a faked issuance that lacks names, however. (There's that issue of of vanity again!)<br />
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<b><i>Ball point pens.</i></b> As I mentioned, most faked issuances capable of tricking collectors are not new. However, some are written in ball point pen and yet dated in the 1800s. (Ball point pens did not become popular until Christmas, 1950.) Be very cautious of any certificate written in ball point pen if it displays any other problems.<br />
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<b><i>Strong preference for stock certificates.</i></b> To date, I have never encountered a spuriously-issued bond, transfer receipt, subscription form or the like. That is not to say they are not out there, but it is obvious that unissued stock certificate remainders have always been easier to find. Still, the same warnings apply.<br />
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<b><i>Date-related inconsistencies.</i></b> Children (and even older individuals who haven't grown up) are not normally going to study railroad history in advance of their little games, so their handwritten dates will usually disagree with other known facts. Names will be wrong, of course, but companies were almost always defunct at the time of fictitious dates. You can also compare the serial numbers of questionable certificates with genuine serials recorded in my online database. Unless a professional forger is faking issuance for ill intent, faked serial numbers have little chance of coinciding with known date/serial number combinations.<br />
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<b><i>Finally, check your own vanities and desires at the door.</i></b> Never think you've seen everything and can't be tricked. Please remember that the more you want something, the easier you can fall for a con. So, step back and try to soften your desires for a minute. Does something <b><i>not feel right?</i></b> If so, that is the exact time to take a second look.<br />
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Still feel invincible? Then I beg you, in the strongest possible way, to read...<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Salamander: the story of the Mormon forgery murders</b></div>
<br />
...available in paperback from Amazon, Alibris, Abe Books, and elsewhere. <b style="text-align: center;">(</b><span style="text-align: center;">ISBN 1560852003). </span>I consider this book a <i>MUST-READ for every collector of paper documents.</i>Terry Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01519274625518716666noreply@blogger.com0