Archives International Auctions, sale 21

Dr. Robert Schwartz is now presenting his 21st sale since 2007. Like all recent Archives' catalogs, this catalog is in full color and the majority of lots are illustrated.

Gross statistics: This time, there are 1,450 lots offered, of which at least 420 are related to stocks and bonds. Of that number, 178 are related to railroads and all but one are North American companies. About 24 lots are multi-item lots and always represent excellent buying opportunities.

As typical, Schwartz is offering numerous specimens, all of which are rare to highly rare. Collectors beware! Specimens like these often represent the ONLY opportunities to acquire ANYTHING from many of these lines. If anyone is a specialist in a certain family of companies, I warn you to strongly consider looking at Schwartz's offerings.

When we are talking about rarities such as these, it's hard to pick stand-outs. A certificate that is special to one person might have no meaning to someone else. The best thing I can recommend is for everyone to check the online catalog as soon as possible.

A special message to my European readers. Unlike European sales, Archives International does NOT list minimum starting bids. Instead, minimum bids for scripophily are 60% of minimum estimates, and are, therefore, substantially lower than European norms. Buyers' commissions are 18% of the hammer price and there is no Value Added Taxe (VAT).. I strongly recommend European collectors check out this sale.

For those readers who live within easy distance of New York City, be aware that all scripophily-related lots will be sold at the Museum of American Finance at 48 Wall Street starting at 10:30, Saturday October 25. All remaining lots (lots 450 to 1450) will be sold Tuesday, November 4 at the Archives International Auctions office in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Contact Archives International Auctions by phone at 201-944-4800 or through its website for a copy of the latest catalog.

Mario Boone auction 53, November 1

Mario Boone will hold his 53^rd auction Saturday November 1, 2014 at the Atomium in Brussels. This sale includes 1,289 lots of which 75% are European issues. The highlight of the sale is a lot of 560+ certificates from collector Jacques Simar, all involving the career and businesses of Belgian entrepreneur, Baron Edouard Empain.

In this sale, only 113 lots involve North American companies and only 18 are railroad-related. Minimum bids for most certificates are strong by U.S. standards, but well in line with European standards.

If anything seems underpriced, it is an 1871 $1000 bond from the Mobile & Montgomery Railroad. The scarcest item seems to be an 1834 stock certificate from the Philadelphia Germantown & Norristown Rail Road Company. An item with unrecognized rarity is an 1851 Carroll County, Ohio aid bond for the Carroll County Rail Road. The certificate offered is one of only four known to me and last sold in 2005 for about the same amount as the starting bid.

As usual. essentially all lots are illustrated and the entire catalog is in color. If interested in this sale, be sure to contact Mario at Mario.boone@skynet.be as soon as possible. You may also see all lots in color at http://www.booneshares.com/.