Rarity (again!)

Readers, I BEG you. I mean that I am sincerely begging you, in the strongest possible way, to understand the meaning of the word "rare".

If the word "rare" is being used to describe an item for sale, then "rare" is being used primarily as a marketing term.

I have argued time and time again that every seller using the word "rare" is trying to convince you that there is a direct connection between rarity and value. There is not. Value reflects desireability. There is a 100% direct connection between desireability and value. Sellers desparately want you to believe that rare items are desireable. Many are. But sadly, many rare certificates are hardly desireable at all.

American Bank Note Company security printing

Here is a view of the printing department at American Bank Note Company in the late 1860s. There are probably 30 workers visible in addition to the guard at the top of the center stairway.

This factory scene took place in the penthouse of the Merchant’s Exchange Building at 48 Wall Street in Manhattan (55 Wall Street under the later street numbering system.) This location had been the previous headquarters of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson Co. You can see the penthouse in the view of the building’s exterior.

These images appear in The Story of the American Bank Note Company by William H. Griffiths (1958.) The engraver of the exterior view is unrecorded. The bottom right corner of the interior view is signed "A. H. Jocelyn", probably Albert Higley Jocelyn (1827-1900), an engraver covered briefly in Gene Hessler’s The Engraver’s Line. Albert Jocelyn’s uncle was Nathaniel Jocelyn, one of the founders of the American Bank Note Company in 1858.

It appears that ABNCo occupied its rented space at the Merchant’s Exchange Building between May 1860 and sometime in 1867.

During this period, the vast majority of ABNCo’s business was printing money for both the Federal government and private businesses. Its money printing endeavors increased throughout the late 1860s with increasing numbers of orders coming from other countries.

During the time ABNCo was located in the Merchant's Exchange, its printing of stocks and bonds was probably minimal. My database can identify only 36 extant varieties of railroad stocks and bonds that ABN had printed between 1860 and 1867.

Unfortunately for ABN, the Federal government took over all much of its own currency printing in 1874. By 1877, the government was printing all its own money. This move forced ABN to shift to printing stamps and money for foreign governments as well as stocks and bonds for domestic businesses. This switch can be seen in the number of certificates printed by ABN after 1870.

No one knows how many certificate varieties ABN may have printed during the last decades of the 19th century, but it must have been huge. Counting only railroad certificates, my database shows 277, 1,041 and 725 distinct varieties printed during the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s respectively. Assuming that the surviving population of certificates is only a fraction of what ABN may printed, the company probably created two to five new varieties of certificates each week. Throw in all the security printing for non-railroad businesses as well as all its foreign business clients and we can see its engraving endeavors were truly staggering!

Cherrelyn Horse Car in Denver

This was apparently the last horse car used in Denver and survived at least into the 1900s. I do not know what system it may have operated on nor whether it was officially incorporated.

This favorite photo appeared on the cover of Happy Home Chats from Feb. 10, 1936. (Happy Home Chats was a weekly 4-page promotional newletter from Denver's Happy Home Bakers.).

The horse would pull the car and passengers to the top of a gradual hill near today's Englewood. On the downhill trip, the horse would stand on the rear platform and ride down in comfort.

11x17 scanners

I receive numerous requests asking me to recommend scanners capable of imaging stocks and bonds in one pass. You can always scan certificates in two or three passes and then stitch images together. However, if you go that direction, your images will look pretty scuzzy unless you invest in good (by that I mean Photoshop) image software. For the average non-techie collector, I strongly suggest it is easier and dramatically more time effective to try buy a large scanner.

Yes, there is the price issue. While letter-size scanners are almost disposable items, 11 x 17 scanners can be very pricey.

To be useful for collectors, scanners need to be

• flatbed (flat glass surface)
• capable of scanning 11 x 17 (officialy designated "A3" size)
• affordable
• have acceptable software

Stay away - far away - from multi-function scanners or scanners with document feeders. Unless you like living dangerously, never let machinery grab your certificates.

Here are the large flatbed scanners currently available.

1. 1. Epson Expression 10000XL. This is a serious, serious workhorse. and the one I use. It has proven extremely reliable. This scanner comes with good scanning software.


2. 2. Epson GT-20000. I don't know anything about this machine, but if it's anything like the 10000XL, it ought to be great. Let me know if you're familiar with this scanner.


3. Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB 1200 Pro. One of my correspondents bought one just to scan certificates. His images look good and he says he's very pleased with his purchase. These are extremely affordable machines, so probably perfect for the hobbyist.


4. UMAX Powerlook 2100XL. I cannot speak to this device, but we used an ancient UMAX for years. Dollar for dollar, it was a terrific investment.


5. Avision FB6080E. Unlike any of the other scanners, this one has glass almost to the edge of the scanner body. This allows you to scan book pages very easily.


6. Plustek Optibook A300. Another large format flatbed scanner primarily designed to make it easy to scan large books face down without trashing the binding. The list price on this scanner is higher than the other scanners in this list.

Several other companies (Ricoh, Xerox, Bell & Howell) offer large format "flatbed" scanners heavily adorned with document feeders. They are expensive machines intended for large businesses, so not considered here as appropriate for collectors.

It appears that most large companies like HP, Canon, Microtek, Kodak and Fujitsu have abandoned the 11 x 17 size flatbed scanner market for us ordinary consumers. If a big fan of those companies, you can still buy older and discontinued models online. However, be warned that you never know how much useful life is left in the bulbs. Repairs are often possible, of course, but frequently more expensive than replacement.

Arguing against jargon

I think we should all applaud our hobby for using very, very little jargon. I think this is especially amazing when you consider that every collectible certificate came from the world of finance, a profession inundated with arcane and obscure terminology.

I just did a search in the current issue of Scripophily, the quarterly publication of the International Bond and Share Society. I saw no jargon whatsoever.

Now, that is not to say that every single word would be immediately understandable to a novice. Words like "specimen", "proof", "vignette", "preferred", and even "scripophily" (the official name of the hobby) can be confusing. However, I classify those words as necessary terminology and fully recognize that the boundary between terminology and jargon can be fuzzy.

Most collectible bonds are "first mortgage coupon bonds". A novice may not know what a first mortgage coupon bond is, but the term cannot really be simplified. Besides, the words appear on bonds.

However, if a description were shortened to "1885 7% 1st", we would be solidly in the realm of jargon. Even experienced collectors might not know the description referred to a 7% first mortgage bond issued in 1885.

To me, the test is often simple. If a simple word can be substituted for a confusing one, then the confusing word is probably jargon.

Take "recto" and "verso", for instance.

These are Latin words for "right" and "back." With the exception of a handful of people in the teaching and clerical professions, no one really understands, let alone speaks, Latin. "Front" and "back" don't sound terribly professional, but their meanings are crystal clear. "Recto" and "verso" are therefore jargon words. (In truth, "recto" refers to the right hand page in a book meant to be read first. Its use in describing certificates is, in my opinion, a little misguided to begin with.)

In some cases, jargon is used to make writers or speakers sound professional and educated. It is a time-worn rule that if you spout off a little Latin, you sound like a pro.

And then, there are terms that serve definite purposes in one profession or hobby and somehow get stolen and cludged onto another. They are not really jargon so much as "Frankenstein words."

One of those ugly monsters is the term "mint condition". Here was a perfectly good term used in the coin hobby in years past. Coins are minted, so the term "mint condition" had its place. The term was abandoned when collectors accepted the fact that coins came from mints in wide ranges of conditions. Today, coin collectors refer to those conditions as various "mint states."

In a strange paradoxical twist of fate, the abandoned term "mint condition" lives on as a Frankenstein term in various collectible paper hobbies, including stock and bond collecting. How is it that "mint condition" can be used to describe pieces of paper that may never have been within a thousand miles of a mint? Was there ever a collector of paper who thought paper was minted?

I maintain a large glossary of terms related to the hobby of collecting stocks and bonds. Please contact me if you ever encounter jargon or Frankenstein words that need clarification.

Prices remain schizophrenic

I admit it.

I am confused about the direction of prices for collectible stocks and bonds. Some prices are up. Many are down. Prices for some items should be down, but are actually up. And vice versa. As I said a few months ago, prices are wacky.

Mario Boone's auction a month ago in Antwerp (the next listing down) was very curious. Overall, Mario sold about 60% of the lots offered. That percentage was abnormally high for a European sale. Having said that, lots that featured North American railroads only sold half as well as the rest of the sale. In part, I think those low sales percentages reflected overly high owners' reserve amounts rather than market disinterest.

At the other end of the market, the number of certificates being sold on eBay is down substantially. Regardless of sellers' proclamations that their certificates are "rare", most certificates being sold on eBay right now are rather ordinary. And that is where it gets really interesting.

I am seeing that scarcer certificates are, by and large, establishing new lows. At the same time, prices for more common certificates – the certificates you see week in, week out – are moving up.

What the heck is going on ?!? Apparent trends just don't seem to be making a lot of sense.

A few years ago, MK&T certificates with Jay Gould's autograph routinely sold for $350-$400. Lately, some have broken the $175 barrier and are now challenging the $150 level. Certificates with rather common imprinted revenues have been selling for 50% to 100% more than they used to. Prices for very common certificates are up. Prices for medium common to medium scarce certificates are down.

Yes, we can certainly attribute some of this odd price behavior to the global downturn and a general feeling of caution, if not outright fear. It has always been the rule that when people need to liquidate, they sell for any price they can get.

However, if we go back to Mario Boone's sale, we can see that some sellers are apparently refusing to capitulate. Fortunately for those sellers, some collectors are behaving as if they believe this is a pefect time to buy. Boone's sale proves to me that some collectors are continuing to buy and are continuing to pay strong prices.

I'm back to where I began. I can't say whether prices are going to drop further, head higher, or stay schizophrenic. I am baffled.

Mario Boone Auction Catalog 42 Available

A pair of excellent Mario Boone auction catalogs just arrived. In my opinion, these are Boone's best yet and he has some wonderfully scarce and desirable certificates inside.

This is Boone's 25th year selling collectible stock and bonds, so all year long he has been offering "Silver Jubilee" specials. That is why he has a three-day sale and two catalogs this time.

Mario offers a hugely diverse selection of 1975 lots from all around the world. Of that number, I count 328 United States lots. My interest, of course, is railroad issues from Panama to the Arctic circle. I count 56 lots in my railroad specialty.

These are not your typical lots of railroad certificates. I see several lots of scarce and rare certificates that are almost never seen.

Perhaps my favorites are two (!) certificates from the Maxwell Land Grant & Railway Company. For the real specialist, there is a Niles & New Lisbon Railway piece with James Fisk's signature. Even collectors with multiple Vanderbilt signatures don't have a Fisk! These only appear every few years.

Speaking of Vanderbilt, Mario is offering a receipt for 2nd mortgage bonds of the Hudson River Railroad signed by "C. Van Derbilt" (aka, the Commodore.) The start price on this item is €4,500. A couple of years ago, I would have said that price was too low. Today, I suspect Mario's start price is fair.

(Yes, I do look at other things! There is a Standard Oil Trust with J.D. Rockefeller's signature. Or how about a Brigham Young autograph as president on a Zion's Mercantile stock? There is also an uncancelled Buffalo Bill Cody signature on a Cody-Dyer Arizona Mining & Milling certificate. And gobs more.)

Among other seldom seen certificates is one that might be overlooked by many collectors. There is one bond from the St Louis & St Joseph Railway which I've never seen one before. Of course, Mario is also offering one of the ever-popular stock certificates of the Harrisburg Portsmouth Mount Joy & Lancaster Rail Road bearing Thomas Scott's signature.

As usual, Mario's two catalogs are heavily illustrated and all in color. Images of ALL lots are available online. In fact, the entire two catalogs are available online at Booneshares.com. The sales will take place March 20-22 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Antwerp, Belgium. European collectors already know to expect "Europe's biggest scripophily bourse" on Sunday.

I want to stress to American collectors that the dollar is currently at a six-year high against the Euro, so you won't be so heavily penalized by foreign exchange rates. And for those of you wondering, but too polite to ask, yes, Boone's catalogs are all in English.

The full auction offering is already online. However, if you want to receive a beautiful printed catalog, e-mail Mario Boone, at Centrum voor Scriptophilie BVBA in Deinze, Belgium, mario.boone@skynet.be.