Spink Smythe Auction 320, June 17

The latest Spink Smythe auction catalog 320 just came in. This latest offering is part of the "Collector's Series" series and offers a wide array of items including coins, currency and stocks and bonds.

You may view the catalog online, of course, or purchase a copy directly from Spink.

The downside is that stock and bond lots in The Collector's Series are limited in number – only 174 lots this time. The upside is that because the lots are hidden inside a predominately coin and currency-related auction, competition for lots might be greatly diminished.

41 of the 174 scripophily lots are related to North American railroad. 15 of the 41 lots are multi-item lots. I always like multi-item lots because of the opportunity to acquire certificates for excellent prices.

As expected, there are several serious rarities, but because so few North American railroads are illustrated in the catalog (only four!), I suspect they will go largely unnoticed by all except the obsessed. Standouts include Waverly & New York Bay RR (lot 1608) with only four examples known to me. The Liberty & Vienna RR certificate (lot 1602) is almost equally scarce, but a more attractive piece. An issued version of a stock certificate from the East Line & Red River Railroad Co. (lot 1595) is probably three to four times more common than the other two, but tends to sell for about the same or more because of its coloration and its origin from Texas.

Lot 1597 offers two certificates (#2 and #3) from the Engleside Railroad. Okay, the certificates are not terribly attractive (vignettes of Washington and Franklin), but these two items represent one-eighth of all the certificates likely issued for this company. Scarcer still is a stock certificate from the Grassy Island Coal & Rail Road Company (lot 15980. This is one of only three certificates known to me. I like this item because of the vignette of a mine shaft at left that takes up 60% of the height of the certificate.

Lot 1604 is a certificate from the New Jersey Junction Railroad Company, signed by John Pierpont Morgan as trustee. These certificates are relatively common, but because of Morgan's signature, these certificates have been selling for roughly $400 in the last couple years. Having said that, though, let me remark the two highest prices I have ever recorded have occurred in the last two years. ($1,200 in June, 2012 and $1,300 in January, 2014.) Amazingly, both bonds were sold on eBay!!! I mention those prices not to entice you to bid more, but to indicate that Spink's estimate of $300 to $500 is spot-on.

Let me digress for a moment and tell you about a stunning mining-related certificate (lot 1582) from The Gold Mining Company. I can't remember encountering a less informative corporate name. The company was incorporated in West Virginia and issued a certificate for its gold mines in northwestern Arizona in 1895. What makes the certificate special is its size (14.25" x 7.25") and a detailed map in brown underprint covering the entire width. The mining area sits in Mohave County, about halfway between Kingman and the Grand Canyon. The map covers an area from the Music Mountains west to Mineral Park, replete with wagon roads and rail lines. This is a stunning certificate and appears on the back cover of the catalog.

Spink Auction in Switzerland, June 7

Spink has a sale (#SW1012) of "Bond & Share Certificates of the World" scheduled for June 7, 2014 in Lugano, Switzerland. The sale will offer 380 lots. Twenty-four lots represent North America of which eight are related to railroads. Six are illustrated.

Before ordering the catalog, you may want to peruse the offerings online at Spink.com. Descriptive text for all North American lots are in English. Price estimates are in Swiss francs.

Among the American railroad certificates, the standout is probably a French temporary bearer certificate (certificate provisoire au porteur) for a $500 bond of the Central Pacific Railway (lot 367). I have only seen one previous reference to such the certificate (CEN-686-O-35). It is blue and black and was printed in Paris in 1911. It strongly resembles Dutch certificates for the period which were issued to invest in American railroads. I have always called this certificate a "receipt" and feel comfortable with that description.

Another item of interest is a stock certificate from the Louisville New Orleans and Texas Railway Co., dated 1891. Certificates of this company rarely sell for more the $50 these days, but this one (lot 372) was issued to and signed by Collis P. Huntington.

Those of you with more diverse interests will possibly be intrigued by a three-item lot of currency sized stock certificates for the Litchfield Mine, the San Antonio Mine and the Norwich Mine, all owned by American Mining Company. All three were charter by the state of Vermont and issued in the early 1850s. Also notable is a $100,000 bond issued in 1901 upon foundation of United States Steel. This bond was issued to the Carnegie Company, trustee in partial payment of the staggering sum Morgan had promised Carnegie.

Were I a big collector of these things, I'd probably be most interested in an 1869 New York City bond signed by Mayor A. Oakley Hall and City Controller Richard B. "Slippery Dick" Connolly. Both were among the inner circle of Tammany Hall corruption manipulated by "Boss" William Tweed.

Price estimates are very typical of European sales and I suspect most will probably sell within estimated ranges. Although estimates are elevated by comparison to American prices, I personally predict the Central Pacific certificate (lot 367) is not likely to appear again very soon. After, all this is only the second I have encountered since 1990.

Archives International Auction 19

A few days ago, Bob Schwartz released another beautiful, full color catalog for his upcoming 19th auction from Archives International Auctions. This new sale will be held in Fort Lee, New Jersey on Tuesday, May 20.

This particular sale will offer 633 lots, primarily of collectible paper of many different types. The bulk of the sale consists of foreign bank notes in both issued and specimen form. Having said that, the bank notes touch all sorts of U.S. specialties including large and small size U.S. and even a few lots of fractionals.

There are several lots of autographs and handwritten letters, particularly from Francis Spinner and Samuel F. B. Morse. For those of you familiar with "Short Snorters", Bob is offering a $1 series 1935A with 14 signatures, including those of Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, Bradley and Leahy.

There are about 98 lots of stocks and bonds. Of that number, 35 lots are rail-related. Twenty eight lots are specimens, with the standout being a $1000 coupon bond from the Yosemite Valley Railroad Company. That bond is illustrated with an engraved image of Yosemite Valley and one of those sold in a 1997 Harmer sale for $1,100.

Also represented are three Central Pacific Railway bonds ($1,000, $5,000 and $10,000) with a portrait of Collis Huntington at the top. These have historically sold in a range from $140 to $531. While the market is still very low compared to its historic high, I feel obliged to reiterate the obvious, "They aren't making any more of these things!"

Also notable to my eye are bonds from the Los Angeles Railway Company and the San Pedro Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad Company.

You may still have time to get a printed catalog, but if you don't, you can download the entire catalog in flipbook form from the Archives International Auctions web site.

A late entry from Mario Boone!

Wow, I almost missed this one!

I just received another terrific catalog from Mario Boone (Centrum voor Scriptophilie BVBA)  and will need to hurry so I can post this before the sale takes place TOMORROW.

This catalog from sale 52 just appeared, The sale will take place April 5 and 6 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Antwerp. Thankfully, everyone collecting North American certificates will have until Sunday before some great American certificates sell.

I literally don't have time to go through this sale with a fine-tooth comb, so I'll list some of the highlights that caught my attention. I hope Mario will forgive my speed and my tardiness, but occasionally things get slowed down in their Transatlantic journeys.

The certificates that caught me attention include:

Stock certificate from the Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad Company altered to Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad Company, 1881. I am always a sucker for transitional certificates like this that offer glimpses into the short periods between company name changes.

Stock transfer from the New York & Harlem Rail-Road Company. Although not terribly rare, these certificates (this one dated 1835) represent some of the earliest stock related items from any U.S. railroad.

An 1897 stock certificate from the St Charles Car Company. A beautiful and scarce certificate.

A 1908 stock certificate from the Fort Wayne & Springfield Railway Company. One of only five examples known to me from this 19-mile line.

An 1888 stock certificate from the ever-popular Gilpin Tramway Company. This narrow gauge line hauled gold ore from the area around Central City and Nevadaville, Colorado to the stamp mills along Clear Creek near Black Hawk. The company had spurs to almost all the producing mines.

A Northern Pacific stock certificate with a transfer on the back signed by John Pierpont Morgan, 1882. Stock certificates from this company are very common, but high-profile autographs are quite scarce.

Stock certificate from Prosser's Twin Cylinder Car Company dated 1879. This is the only certificate known to me. To my knowledge, it last appeared in an FHW sale in Germany in October, 1997.

As always, Mario Boone's sales are highly entertaining and a joy to review (when I have the time.) Like almost all of Boone's sales, this one represents certificates from every part of the world. Since my focus is North American railroads, that is where I must focus most of my attention. Nonetheless, certificates from other countries and specialties are always fun to consider. While I did not have time to mention them, rail certificates from Canada, Cuba, Mexico and Latin America are also represented.

This catalog continues Mario's tradition of full color presentations in his 202-page auction catalog. Mario tends to spend a lot of time on historical research which he splashes across all of his descriptions. Frankly, I don't know where he gets the time! Fortunately, his bidders are his beneiciaries.

Make sure you get online right now at www.booneshares.com and review the listings as quickly as possible. While you're there, be sure to subscribe to his catalogs so you can receive your own.

Two new HWPH sales in April

Just today, I received two beautiful auction catalogs from Historische Wertpapierehaus AG. These are the latest sales by Matthias Schmitt, one of my long-time contributors. It is always a pleasure to receive his catalogs to see what kinds of rarities he has found. In that respect, these two sales taking place at the end of April are sure to please even the most discriminating collector. This time Herr Schmitt is offering several certificates that American collectors have never seen before. That is, unless they were collecting in the early 1980s!

As usual, both catalogs are well-designed, printed in full color, color-tabbed and indexed. With the exception of large multi-item lots, every lot is illustrated.

If interested in participating in the sale, go online at http://www.hwph.de and look at the catalogs. If you want a physical copy, be sure to order one as soon as humanly possible. The nice thing about viewing the catalogs online is that non-German speakers can readily translate pages using Google Translate.

Here are the highlights as I see them.

Auktion 33 (Apr 26, 2014)

This live auction will be held in Würzburg, Germany. It will feature 795 lots, mostly stocks and bonds along with a few maps and miscellaneous paper collectibles. Certificates come from a huge number of countries. As one should expect, the sale is heavily focused on German and European issues.

While there are only five certificates in this sale to represent American railroads, all are great rarities: Town of Greene (NY) $500 bond in aid of the Greene Rail Road; Town of Peru (NY) $500 bond in aid of the Whitehall & Plattsburgh Railroad; Town of Stephentown (NY) $100 bond in aid of the Lebanon Springs Rail Road; Township of New Providence (NJ) $500 bond in aid of the Passaic Valley & Peapack Rail Road; Troy & Boston Railroad $1000 bond.

If you will look up these certificates in my online database, you will see that four of the five are the only examples ever to come to my attention. This is the first time I have ever encountered the fifth certificate (Town of Greene). The only reason I know about any of these certificates is that the collector who is selling them sent me a list of his collection many years ago. All are owned by a long-time German collector who has been slowly liquidating his collection. If you don't bid on these items in this sale, I strongly doubt you will ever get a second chance.

Auktion 34 (online only, Apr 28, 2014)

This sale features 1,279 lots and, in general, the items are more common. Or more properly, they are generally less rare than those in Auktion 33.

Of particular interest is lot 1406, a 1-sh stock certificate supposedly issued by the Canadian-Pacific-Railway-Company in 1911. A certificate like this was the subject of a November, 1991 article in the International Bond & Share Society Journal. I have reproduced that article on my web site at http://www.coxrail.com/IB&SSJ.htm. While not horribly rare, this is only the fifth example to come to my attention.

Lot 1436 is an example of a £100 bond from the Embreville Freehold Land Iron & Railway Company Ltd. This company was incorporated in England for a project in Tennessee. This item is the first issued example to come to my attention. All certificates from this company are rare.

Lot 1469 is a bond from Madison County, Mississippi issued in aid of the Vicksburg Canton & Yazoo City Rail Road. I have encountered a bond like this only one time, 33 years ago! (See George LaBarre's, Collecting Stocks and Bonds, volume 3, 1981.) Like the example in LaBarre's book, the certificate in lot 1469 is unissued. I suspect it originally come from George. Think this item is common? How many years are you willing to wait for another chance!

While not a railroad or otherwise famous company, I am nonetheless attracted to lot 1514, a 1-share Cuban stock certificate with one of the more unusual company names I've ever encountered: Sanitary Dungcart Company. You certainly don't see that name every day!

Or how about lot 1481? That is a South American certificate with an equally quizzical name: the New Granada Waste Land Certificate. Can't you hear a prospective investor telling his buddy, "Hey, let's invest in waste land. I've heard of a great new deal in New Grenada."

Because of the time they spend in transit, European catalogs usually don't reach Colorado with much time to spare. If interested in this sale, PLEASE contact Matthias Schmitt immediately. Email: auktion@hwph.de. Call Historische Wertpapierehaus AG at +49 8106 24 61 86.

Spink's "Stocks and Bonds of the Americas" sale

Spink Smythe just released catalog 319 appropriately titled ‘Stocks and Bonds of the Americas.’ This is the first catalog in a long time dedicated solely to stocks and bonds.  Over three-quarters of the 585 lots are wonderfully illustrated with full-color images.

 While most countries in this hemisphere are represented, 95% of the lots in this impressive sale come from the United States, Cuba and Mexico. Almost a third of the sale (approximately 413 certificates in 183 lots) is represented by certificates from Cuba. This amazing collection comes from long-time New York collector William Jaume who emigrated as a child from Cuba shortly before the Cuban missile crisis. I’m uncertain whether this is the largest collection of Cuban certificates ever assembled, but it is certainly the largest I’ve encountered.

Since I am a cataloger of railroad certificates, my interest is railroads. This sale offers 288 certificates in 85 lots. Seventy-nine (!) of those certificates (33 lots) are Cuban and all but two of the remaining lots are American. I never enter certificates into my database until after sales close, but I suspect I will end up adding several new Cuban railroad certificates from this sae. If any of my readers collect Cuban certificates, you must consider this sale.

Fifty lots in this sale involve American railroads of which 37 are single-tem lots. All but four of the single-item lots are illustrated, so there is no mistake about the certificates collectors are bidding on. Be aware, there are no great railroad rarities in this sale, but the certificates are also not the kinds of run-of-the-mill items regularly encountered on eBay. Price estimates are realistic and in line with prices I’ve been observing in the last year or two. I expect to see a high percentage of lots sold.

The sale of Stocks and Bonds of the Americas (Sale 319) will take place at Spink USA in New York on January 16, 2014. If you have not already received your catalog, you MUST contact Spink as soon as possible at 212-262-8400 or online at www.spink.com. Don’t delay. And be warned, many of these Cuban certificates may not come up for sale again for a decade or more!

Two more auctions coming up in October from HWPH

October is a busy, busy month for stock and bond auctions. Two more beautiful catalogs just came in from longtime contributor Matthias Schmitt and his company Historiches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH).

Auction 31 will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at Erbprinzenpalais in Wiesbaden, Germany followed two days later by Auction 32 at the same location. Together the two sales will offer 2,302 lots of stocks and bonds from around the world. Most lots are illustrated in full color in both the catalogs and online at www.hwph.de. If interested in participating in these auctions, be sure to contact Herr Schmitt or his staff immediately at auction@hwph.de or by phone at +49-81-06-24-61-88.

The Saturday auction (Auction 31) offers 962 lots of which 16 represent scarce and rare certificates from North American railroads. Several of these come from the collection of world-class collector Tankred Menzel and will not likely appear for sale for another twenty years or so. Since these certificates are being offered in Germany, I must expect most to attract strong bids.

The Monday auction (Auction 32) offers a wider selection of more typical certificates. As I have pointed out time and again, American collectors should remember that some certificates are much, much scarcer in Europe than here. Consequently, some of the certificates we see as common attract very strong bids in Germany. CONVERSELY (and this is the heart of my warning), some certificates are greatly more scarce here in the U.S. than in Germany and therefore sell for less on the other side of the Atlantic. Never assume that certificates are equally common or scarce everywhere in the world!

By my count, Auction 32 offers 1,341 lots, of which approximately 142 are North American certificates. Of that number, 65 lots are railroad-related. At least 11 lots are autographed certificates which normally fetch strong to very strong bids in Europe. Don't forget to look in the back of the catalog (lots 2253 to 2262) for multi-item lots which often represent great deals, no matter where sales take place.

All single-item lots are illustrated in full color and all images show entire certificates. Prices are denominated in Euros and all lots clearly show minimum bid amounts..