Mario Boone, 54th Auction, Mar. 28 & 29

The latest auction from Mario Boone will take place in Antwerp, March 28 and 29. As usual, the auction will offer certificates from all over the world, totaling 1,381 lots.

Unlike most of Boone's sales, this auction will offer a mere twelve lots related to North American railroads. Nonetheless, the sale offers a global selection of certificates in most other specialties.

As always, I recommend viewing the catalog online where you can see decent-sized images of every lot. (Online images are about twice the size of images in the printed catalog and exceed image sizes offered by almost all of Boone's competitors.)

You may bid in Boone's auctions by mail, internet, telephone or in person. Please contact Mario.Boone@skynet.be for a printed copy of this full-color catalog.

Archives International Sale 23, March 10

I want to let you know about the latest offering from Archives International Auctions to be held Tuesday, March 10 at its offices in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The sale will offer 1,043 lots in a live auction setting, although remote bidders can participate by mail, email, fax, phone and internet. You can access the online auction catalog at https://www.archivesinternational.com/ or you can order your own copy by calling Archives International at 201-944-4800.

The morning session of the sale will feature 778 lots of worldwide bank notes and related ephemera plus 22 lots of Military Payment Certificates. The evening session will auction 151 lots of U.S. banknotes, 64 lots of security printing ephemera and 28 lots of United States bonds, savings bonds and related documents.

Unlike many recent sales, this sale does NOT contain any ordinary corporate scripophily. Nonetheless, I suspect most of my readers will find something of interest among the printing ephemera. Sharp-eyed collectors will also spy a few lots of railroad-related scrip that few have never seen before.

Spink Collector's Series Sale (aka sale 321)

Regular bidders probably have received the January 27-28 "Collector's Series" sale by now. For those of you who collect auction catalogs, this is sale 321, continuing the numbering system of R.M. Smythe catalogs.

Unlike most sales in the Collector's Series, this sale is heavy with certificates. No certificates appear on the cover, but 44% of the lots in the sale (~782 lots) involve certificates. Of that number, 635 lots are from the U.S. Certificates from Cuba, particularly banking, are also well represented.

I count 305 lots involving railroad certificates. Quite a few are on the higher end of the rarity/desirability scale. I would include Alaska Central Railway (lot 1051), California Eastern Railway (lot 1075), California Southern Railroad (lot 1076), Covington Street Railway (lots 1110 and 1111) and Enos Electric Railway Supply Co (lots 1126 and 1127) among a whole host of other lots to consider very carefully.

Autographed certificates are well-represented, both in the catalog as a whole and among railroad certificates in general. In fact, one-third of all railroad certificates (108 lots) in this catalog involve some sort of "celebrity" signature. Some autographs are highly important including items with autographs of John D. Rockefeller, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Eastman, Jay Cooke and James Longstreet.

If there is a downside to this sale, it is the lack of photographs. Only 48 railroad-related lots are illustrated.

Please don't get me wrong. I am wholeheartedly recommending this sale! I am merely pointing out that the lack of images is a really large problem for everyone publishing catalogs – MYSELF INCLUDED. It is a crucial consideration for auction catalogs because illustrations consume so much space and printing is so very expensive.

At the same time, let's accept the evidence. I can't prove it conclusively, but my data strongly suggests that illustrated lots tend to receive better bids. As a benefit to both my readers and to Spink, I suggest you pull up my Coxrail database on your computer while you are browsing the catalog. I cannot show you images of every certificate listed in the Spink catalog, but I have over 13,650 images online.

Spink's sale will take place in New York, January 27-28, 2015. The most important autographed items will go under the gavel on the 27th. This includes three lots of autograph certificates signed by Fillmore, Rockefeller and FDR (lot 812 at left) and great selection of presidential autographs. The remaining 773 lots of certificates will be auctioned on the 28th. You may, of course, bid in person, by mail or online at Spink.com. Everyone is looking for "new material", so please consider contacting Spink today for this catalog. The entire catalog is available in eCatalogue form and PDF form on the Spink site.

Another Fabulous Sale from Fred Holabird

The latest sale from Fred Holabird will take place in Reno, Nevada over three days, starting December 9 at 8am. If you collect anything from the U.S., but particularly from the American West, then I guarantee there is something in the sale for you.

In fact there is so much in the sale that the only good advice I have is to get a catalog for yourself. Contact Holabird's Western Americana Collections at 775-851-1859 or visit Fred's site at FHWAC.com.

This particular sale is titled, The Art, Brewery, & Collectibles Auction, but I have to tell you, even that title does not do the offering justice! The sale includes 2169 lots. The catalog is entirely in color and illustrates essentially every lot – INCLUDING multi-item lots. (I applaud Fred for showing entire lots; I really don't know why other sellers refuse!)

If you will go to FHWAC.com, you will be able to see large views of all lots. By "large", I mean images many times larger than typical auctions. Fred and I are in full agreement on this. Online illustrations cost nearly nothing. It only makes sense to use the whole screen. In other words, show bidders as much as humanly possible. Thanks, Fred!

(Here is a picture of a multi-item railroad lot from my computer monitor, 11 inches tall.)

So what's in the sale?

• Saloon-related artifacts, bottles, artwork, broadsides, bungs, mugs, glassware
• Nevada artwork (prints and oils)
• Historic maps
• Exposition ephemera and souvenirs including badges, postcards, spoons, tickets
• Presidential photos and autographs
• Firearms
• License plates
• Auto stocks
• Air industry stocks
• Books and directories
• Civil War covers and photos
• Alaska photos, brochures, postcards, stock certificates
• Bodie, Tahoe, Donner (Nevada) photographs and ephemera
• Charles M. Russell sketches and photos
• California postcards and ephemera
• Nevada postcards and ephemera
• Green River fish fossil specimens
• Gold balances
• Arizona stock certificates, postcards
• Colorado stock certificates, photos, claim maps, atlases
• Michigan mining stock certificates
• Montana postcards, stock certificates
• Nevada stock certificates, photographs, mine reports, checks
• Oregon stock certificates
• Utah stock certificates
• Oil stock certificates (many locations)
• Coins
• Obsolete currency
• Confederate currency
• Fractional currency
• Colonial currency
• Scrip
• Saloon tokens
• Wells Fargo lanterns, locks, ephemera, bag sealers
• Strong boxes
• Railroad passes (large selection)
• Railroad certificates, artwork, locks, ephemera
• plus gobs of material too diverse for me to list

Again, if you collect anything from the American West, grab a catalog and visit Holabird's Western Americana Collections website as soon as possible.

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/.

HWPH Auction coming up in mid-October

The latest catalogs to arrive come from HWPH (Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG). Once again, Matthias Schmitt is offering some nice certificates including a 40-piece collection of American Express certificates, with about half signed by James Fargo.

The focus of this sale is primarily German material and to a lesser extent, Russian certificates. However, as usual, Herr Schmidt offers a substantial number of North American certificates. Of the 1,996 lots in the sale, 248 are North American (including Central America and Cuba.) Of that number, 63 lots are single-item railroad certificates plus 6 more multi-item lots.

As usual, the sale is divided into three catalogs. Auktion 35 and ’50 Highlights’ is the live auction to be held on Saturday, October 18, 2014 in Wiesbaden. The live sale totals 898 lots. Auktion 36 is the online auction and includes 1,098 lots. You may see the entire sale online at http://www.hwph.de/. Unlike most auctions, HWPH online images are large enough to see details.

To give you an idea of the selection, I have included names of all North American railroads involved in the sales.

Please contact HWPH online or at +49-81-06-24-61-88 to get copies of catalogs from the sale.

Akron Canton & Youngstown Railway Co	New Jersey Junction Railroad Co.
Atlantic Mississippi & Ohio Railroad Co	New York Rutland & Montreal Co
Bedford & Bridgeport Rail Road Co	New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad Co
Bellefonte & Snow Shoe Rail Road Co	New York Westchester & Connecticut Traction Co
Bellingham & Northern Railway Co	New York & Ottawa Railroad Co
Broad Top Improvement Co	Newfoundland Railway Co
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co	Panama Rail Road Co
Chartiers Railway Co	Pecksport Connecting Railway Co
Chartiers Railway Co	Penn Van & New York Railway Co
Chesapeake Ohio & Southwestern Railroad Co	Peoria & Oquawka Rail Road Co
Chicago Brazil & Ohio River RR & Coal Co	Philadelphia & Atlantic City Railroad Co
Cleveland Columbus Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railway Co	Pittsburgh Cincinnati & St Louis Railway Co
Columbus Piqua & Indiana Railroad Co	Port Reading Railroad Co
Compañia del Ferro-Carril Cienfuegos Villa Clara	Potosi & Rio Verde Railway Co
Compañia de Tranvias y Fomento de Ciego de Avila	Pullman Railroad Co
Farmingdale & Squan Village Rail Road Co	Reading Co
Fitchburg & Worcester Rail Road Co	Schoolcraft & Three Rivers Railroad Co
Galveston Houston & Henderson RR Co	South Mountain Rail Road Co
Georgia & Florida Railroad	Southern Pennsylvania Iron & Railroad Co
Government of Honduras	Syracuse Binghampton & New York Railroad Co
Grand Junction Rail Road & Depot Co	Terre Haute & South-Eastern Railroad Co
Illinois Iowa & Minnesota Railway Co	Texarkana Shreveport & Natchez Railway Co
International Railroad Co	Tivoli Hollow Railroad Co
Lackawanna Rail Road Co	Toledo Tiffin & Eastern
Louisville New Orleans & Texas Railway Co	Town of Cherry Creek (NY)
Memphis & Little Rock Railway Co	Town of Schroeppel
Milwaukee Terminal Railway Co	Uniontown & West Virginia Railroad Co
Mobile & Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad Co	Virginia & Southeastern Railway Co
Mobile & Ohio Car Trust	Wabash St Louis & Pacific Railway
Montana Railroad Co	Warren & Ouachita Railway
Naugatuck Railroad Co	Winfield Texas & Gulf Railway Co
New Haven & West Haven Horse RR Co