Booneshares offers rare US railroad and South American certificates in December scripophily auction

Mario Boone is a major player in the field of antique share certificates and financial documents. The auctioneer scheduled his 71st scripophily auction on 2 December 2023. This auction will take place live on the internet via the Invaluable platform. On the agenda are more than 1000 lots of bonds and shares.

The auction features stunning shares from all parts of the world. This founders share from the Banque de Cochinchine was issued in 1907 and printed by the well-known security printer Crabbé. The share is signed by Noël Pardon, who previously was acting governor of Cochinchina and New Caledonia, and then governor of Guadeloupe and Martinique. L(ot) 46 starts at €400.

For this occasion, auctioneer Mario Boone has compiled a strong section of US railroad certificates. To give an example: L777, starting at €300, comprises a 1877 bond from The Cheraw and Chester Railroad Company, South Carolina. Only two examples known and coxrail.com reports no sales recorded within the last ten years. 

The US railroad section counts over 200 lots. A few more examples:

• 5% First Mortgage Gold Bond $1000 from The Canon City and Cripple Creek Electric Railway Company, mountain vignette, 1897, L762
• L949, The Western Virginia and Kentucky Rail Road and Coal Company, $1000 bond, 1857, several vignettes, amazing scrollwork and very rare
• L769, The Central Union Depot and Railway Company, $100 shares, 1885, vignette of Cincinnati building and street scene 
• A rare print from the American Bank Note Company is L876, Nevada Southern Railway Company, First Mortgage 5% 30 Year Gold Bond of $1000, 1893 

The auction catalog includes stock certificates from companies involved in all types of activities. Such as this CELTA share. This cooperative was founded in 1931 to compete with Sudam, a private company providing electricity to the city of Tres Arroyos in Argentina. The still existing cooperative expanded its activities over the years also including telephone, funeral, health and dental services. This share, issued in 1939, presents a bold Art Deco scene conceived by the artist T. Menna. 

Often these old securities have been designed by the artists of the day. The auction catalog lists a special index of the artists and engravers featured in the offerings. The certificate illustrated below depicts a Congolese woman with basket, an elephant tusk, a village, a map of the Basankusu region and the Star of Congo in the underprint. 

The early 20th century share shown here is from the notorious ABIR. The company harvested rubber in the Congo Free State, then private property of King Leopold II of Belgium. ABIR forced the local population to pay taxes and to harvest rubber under inhumane conditions. Those who failed where beated, mutilated, killed or their relatives were kidnapped or raped. This share from 1904 is a testament to Belgium's awful low point in history. 

It was Frans Hens who made the design of the certificate. He was the first Belgian artist to travel in the 1880s through the Congo and paint its nature, villages and people. He became known as a painter of the Belgian coast and the Schelde river. L82 is listed with a start price of €50. 

Another major topic in the sale is South America. The auction includes several single-item lots but also group lots from most South American countries. Collectors have the opportunity to acquire several certificates in these lots at reduced average item prices. However, in case no group bids are received most of these groups will be split into single-item lots during the auction.  

Illustrated above is L1002 a 1909 Banco de Guatemala share. Printed by Waterlow & Sons it shows several vignettes and many guilloches. Very lovely printed is the Resplendent Quetzal - featured in the coat of arms of Guatemala: the country's national bird representing freedom and independence.  L1002 is part of the Guatemala group lot, L992.

There is lots more to discover in the auction. Here are the auction details :

• Location: this is an Internet only auction
• Date: 2 December 2023
• Further info : online catalog, PDF file & bidding, see here on the auctioneer's website, or via the Invaluable platform, see there  

F.L.

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Crossing Latin America by rail with SPINK

SPINK's Bonds and Shares Department has put its last sale of 2020 online. The auctioneer offers over 600 antique securities including an impressive set of bonds and shares from Latin American railway companies.  This online auction ends at 11 AM GMT on Dec 15, 2020.

Several bonds and shares from South American railroads are ready to be hammered at Spink's scripophily auction. The Central Argentine Railway issued this share in 1911. Railway construction started in 1863 with the building of the terminus in Rosario. Nearly 100 years later the Juan Perón administration nationalized the British owned railways in 1948. L(ot) 394 in the auction was printed by Waterlow and Sons. 

Spink and Son Ltd specialises in the auctioning of stamps, coins, banknotes, medals, autographs, books, wines and more. This time antique stocks and bonds from many countries go on the block. 

The Mexican International Railroad Company was formed in 1882 to link the Southern Pacific to the Mexican Central Railway. In 1910 the business was acquired by the government controlled National Railways of Mexico. This £100 specimen bond from 1897 was printed by American Bank Note Co., L435 

Major sections in the auction include Africa, Asia, Europe, Great Britain, the Americas, and the United States. Special interest themes that can be discovered are : Russian oil, American mining, Norway, British automobile builders, and more. 

The British entertainment section includes some historical items from the theatre, film and television world. Let's take a look at lot 335, a group lot of two specimen bonds from the Alexander Korda Film Productions Ltd company. Film director and producer Alexander Korda (1893-1956) became one of the leading figures in the British film industry. He founded London Films and became owner of British Lion Films. World famous is The Third Man which he produced in 1949.  

The auction features over 60 lots of scripophily from the African continent. This share in the Abyssinian Corporation was issued in 1918. The British company was involved in trading activities with the Ethiopian Empire, then ruled by Empress Zewditu. Frederick Lugard, then Governor-General of Nigeria, signed the share as Director. His wife, the journalist and writer Flora Shaw coined the country's name "Nigeria", derived from the Niger river. Vignette of elephant and lion head, rare, L12 

The sale also provides an interesting cross-section of British motor cars and cycles. Here are some of the highlights with lot numbers : 

• British Motor Company Ltd, preference shares, 1898, signed as director by Harry Hewitt Griffin, cycling journalist, editor of Bicycling News, and director of the New Beeston Cycle Co, L302
• Argylls, Ltd, 1909, Scotland's largest car manufacturer before World War I, motor car vignette, L289 
• Clément, Gladiator and Humber (France) Ltd, £1 shares, 1897, company in 1903 divided to form Clement Talbot in England and Clement Gladiator in France, L310

The British Motor & Engineering Company was based in Caversham, Reading where they produced four models between 1905 and 1907. One of these was a 6.5 h.p. two-cylinder two-seated car that sold at £105.  L303 

There is a lot more to discover! So, here are the sale's details : 

• Location : online auction only
• Date : ends on 15 December, 2020 at 11:00 AM
• Further info : see Spink's online catalogue with full color images here 

F.L.

The Great Northern Central Railway of Colombia was founded in 1907 and planned a first rail section between Puerto Wilches and Bucaramanga. This rare 5.5% £20 Mortgage bond, 1909, one of the South American railway certificates in the sale, illustrates the coat of arms of Colombia and a locomotive. L432 

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SPINK to sell New Zealand stock at online auction

SPINK's next scripophily auction is set for October 17, 2018. This online sale counts about 500 lots of antique bonds and shares from the UK, Russia, China, Mexico, Egypt, USA and many more states. The auction starts with an important range of New Zealand scripophily.

The Land & Loan Company of New Zealand Limited provided credit for farmers and traders in wool and frozen sheep meat. Meat and dairy exports to Britain would form the basis for economic growth in New Zealand. Bids for this rare 1884 share, lot 15 in the auction, can start at £60. 

Detail from the Land & Loan Company of New Zealand certificate above. 
The vignette illustrates the company seal showing a ship and sheep. The vignette's design is skillfully repeated in the company's embossed seal. 
Click image to enlarge. 

Bonds and shares from New Zealand are hardly seen at auctions. SPINK included this time more than sixty lots. Among the highlights you can find a share from the Dunedin Stock Exchange, L(ot) 13. The New Zealand Times Company share, L18 in the auction, issued in Wellington, 1900, may be purchased from £120. Some certificates show a Māori vignette, such as L39 and L40, two different types from The London & New Zealand Exploration Company, but also on a Taitapu Gold Estates certificate from 1899, L54.

From Timaru, located on New Zealand's South Island, this £10 share in the Timaru Landing and Shipping (Limited), L57, was issued in 1868. Equally rare and early, it is estimated at £120-150. 

The Far East section contains mainly lots from China. An uncancelled Shanghai Power Company share, L139, printed by American Bank Note Co, with text in Chinese and English, starts from £180. L141 is a 200 silver dollar share in the Tai Seng Opium Firm from Macau, dated 1918. £400 may buy you this extraordinary topic in scripophily. The section counts many Chinese government loans offered either in group lots or as a single item such as a 1912 5% Gold 'Crisp' Loan, bond for £1000, L99.

L137, two shares from the Shanghai Land Investment Company, incorporated in Hong Kong, show a Chinese workman painting a house at the top of a ladder. Both certificates, signed by philantropist Sir Horace Kadoorie, can be acquired from £80. 

Some twenty lots of African company securities are next, often richly decorated, e.g. L170 Compagnie Impériale des Chemins de Fer Éthiopiens,  L172 Compagnie Générale de l'Afrique Française, French Congo, L174 Charterland Goldfields Limited, Rhodesia.

The Ottoman Company Limited, formed in 1865 to finance the Bank of Turkey, failed the following year as a result of the Panic of 1866. Its £20 share, 1865, printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co, has one of the finest engravings in scripophily. L159, in the auction, estimated at £50-60.

Great Britain contains over 50 lots including several pre-Irish independence ones. L253, The Derby Canal Company share, printed on vellum, with waxed paper seal and rare, was issued in 1793.  L269, a trio, contains a share in The Atlantic Royal Mail Steam Navigation Co Ltd, 1860, wonderful vignette of a paddle steamer and issued to "The Most Honorable The Marquis of Clanricarde of Portumna Castle County Galway" (sic). Another share, from The Boy Messengers and Electric Call Company, L273, is signed by Patrick Bowes-Lyon, uncle of Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who won the mens doubles Wimbledon championship in 1887. Modestly estimated at £40-50.

The Navan and Kingscourt Railway Company opened the section that connected the Irish towns of Kingscourt and Navan in 1875, at that time still part of Great Britain. This £10 share, issued 1871, Dublin, is part of a trio, L297 in the auction. 

The sale covers many other European countries. E.g. collectors of 18th century securities will be impressed by the caligraphy and the fine printing of the company seal on a Canal de Richelieu share from 1753, L206, bids welcomed from £200 onwards. Lots of Art Nouveau, Jugendstil and Belle Époque material ready for the block, such as a Théatre-Concert du Moulin-Rouge share from 1904, with the famous windmill logo's inclusive, £80, L220.

The SPINK auction features scripophily from the Confederate States of America as well. This $100,000 5% treasury note, was issued in the last months of the American Civil War on February 1, 1864, Richmond. Click the image and see the enlarged sailing ship vignette. L381, estimated £120 to £150. 

Matching time zones, scripophily from The Americas tops off the sale with over 150 lots. Bidding can start at £140 for an extremely early Peruvian Treasury Loan issued during the Peru's fight for independence from Spain, L368. A specimen share from the Canadian Western Lumber Company, with felled timber in the vignette, was printed circa 1910 by Waterlow & Sons, L358. Catalogued on Coxrail.com as LAC-360-B-30, the only one known, L422, a $1000 bond in the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Rail-Road Company, 1855, can possibly be snapped up for £80.

Banco de Buenos Aires, share of 10 Pesos, 1911, with a nowadays controversial but mega underprint scene of natives listening to a conquistador with priest. L346 in the auction. 

You can find more of these fascinating stocks and bonds in the SPINK online catalogue. Here are the auction details :

• date : 17 October 2018, 11:00 AM
• location : online auction
• online catalogue and further info, see here  

F.L.

Original British automotive shares for sale at Spink London

SPINK's Bonds and Shares Department has scheduled its next ONLINE only sale for 21 June 2018. Specialist Mike Veissid and his team noticed that most of the buying in the market of antique securities happens online and decided to no longer produce any printed catalogues. Sales will be held entirely online at least four times a year and go live two to three weeks before the sale date. The June sale has 526 lots of world wide scripophily. Included are a unique series of British automotive shares.

Rolls-Royce needs no introduction. Founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce in 1904, the company developed and manufactured the "best car in the world". Did you know that RR was responsible for the cabinets of Ferranti's Pegasus, one the world's earliest (and British) computers. Apart from the modern issues, RR shares from earlier periods like the one offered in lot 333 are extremely rare. Issued in the middle of World War II, 1942, a very modest estimate of £140-180 will certainly attract the attention of many automobile enthousiasts.

More about these British automobile shares right away, but there are many other lots in the sale worth having a look at. The sale starts with a line of bonds and shares from New Zealand and Australia, lots 2 - 14, and includes a Lake Bathurst Australasian Gold Mining Company from the 1850s.

A large Chinese section of government loans counts many group lots, such as lot 34, a group of 9 5% Tientsin Pukow Railway Supplementary Loan 1910 £100 bonds, issued by the Chinese Central Railways in 1911, estimated around £275.

Chinese Government 5% Gold Loan of 1912 £1000, lot 44.

It is the highest denomination of the £10,000,000 loan. Nicknamed the ‘Crisp’ loan because it was floated by C. Burch, Crisp & Co. in London at 95% on behalf of the British & International Investment Trust, Ltd. 

Only 750 issued, it is estimated to fetch £1,400 - £1,800

Twenty-five lots of Chinese company securities are next. Amongst them a group lot of 5 different issues from the Banque Industrielle de Chine, including a blue founders share. These are true classics but are oh-so nice to look at, as you can see here. Estimated between £150-£200.  Lot 86 is a China Portland Cement Co. Ltd. 50,000 yuan share, high denomination, 1926. A group of 7 Manchuria Iron Company certificates from the 1920's and 30's deserves attention. This huge company at some time produced 50 per cent of Japan's wartime steel. Lot 104, £90 mid estimate.

Some other striking Asean certificates : two shares in the Borneo Rubber Company Ltd, 1917, map of Indonesia and Malaysia in underprint, lot 108 & 109, estimated around £55, and a very rare Ottoman 3½% Loan Secured by the Egyptian Tribute, 1894 £100 bond, lot 114 in the sale, is expected to fetch £600.

£60 May buy you lot 238, a stunning Tramways d'Astrakhan share from 1896. The share is designed by the artist Gossart, engraved by Malvaux and signed by the wealthy Belgian entrepreneur and amateur Egyptologist Édouard Empain.

Most countriest from Europe are represented. Some examples : 5000 Pesetas Spanish specimen bond from the Law of August 1899 - Royal Decree of June 1902 Loan, head of the King Alfonso XIII as a boy at top, rare, lot 249, £70 estimate. Lot 153 is a highly illustrated Serbian bond issued by Belgrado's Jewish community. A very large format Danish 5% Loan specimen bond £1000 from 1864, rarely seen, lot 161, is estimated between £80-100.

The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, lot 270 in the Spink sale. 

This specimen 5-Yr  $10,000 Gold Note from 1916 was printed by the American Bank Note Company shortly before the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921). A rare historic piece for any UK and Irish collector, with very attractive estimates between £250 and £300.

Not less than 105 lots are from Great Britain.  A parade of early British canal companies include several certificates from 18th century.  The Glocester and Berkeley Canal Company share, 1794, printed on vellum, yellow paper embossed seal, may be obtained for £300. An unissued bond from the Thames and Severn Canal Navigation, from the 1790s with brown-orange printed vignettes of canal tunnels, is an early example of color security printing (lot 279). From 1762, a £100 share in the River Nene Navigation Joint Stock features nine wax seals and a lead seal. Marvellous to see (here), this museum object, lot 277, can become a highlight in a collection from £600 onwards.

Poseidon with trident at a rough sea, detail from lot 270 (see image above)

Click the image to enlarge it, and see how curved engraving lines make Poseidon' s cloak fold gently. Poseidon sticks his left foot outside the oval frame surrounding the scene, a clever idea from the artist to create extra depth in the artwork. To print a wonderful vignette like this, you need  both a great artist and a top talented engraver. 

Spink's sale provides a remarkable cross-section of British car makers securities. Here are some of the highlights with lot numbers between parentheses : Rolls-Royce (333), Calcott Brothers Ltd (313), Minerva Motors (England) Ltd (327), Lea-Francis Cars Ltd (325), Humber Ltd - with the Humber logo (322 and 323) and Singer & Company Ltd (335). Even early electric automobile companies are not missing the stage, e.g. The London Electrical Cab Company (293, see image). A share from The Electromobile Company Ltd, a manufacturer, dates from as early as 1904 (319).

Pioneering with electric automobiles, this company's cabs had two sets of accumulators suitable for forty miles on one charge. Lot 293, estimates £50-60

The last chapter contains more than 150 lots from North and South America. Almost all countries from this part of the world make an appearance. Some noteworthy items are : Canada Company, 1842 (377), a group of five bonds from The Brazil Great Soutern Railway Company Ltd, 1891 (395) , Saint Helena Whale Fishery Company, 1837 (417), County of Lee-Fort Madison, West Point, Keosauqua & Bloomfield Rail Road Company, 1857 (454)  and Lykens Valley Coal Company, 1837, superb vignette of forge and printed by Underwood, Bald, Spencer & Hufty (488).

City of Rosario 4% Sterling Conversion Loan for £2,000,000 

£500 Sterling bearer bond, series "B", specimen, 1908 

lot 391, estimated £80 to £100

Here are the sale's details, so you can discover much more for yourself :

• Location : online auction only
• Date : 21 June 2018
• Further info : see Spink's online catalogue with full color images, here, and PDF version there 

F.L.

Reference book : Dictionnaire des Patrons en Belgique

• Title : Dictionnaire des Patrons en Belgique, in English: Dictionary of Belgian Business Leaders
• Author : Kurgan-van Hentenryk Ginette, Jaumain Serge, Montens Valérie
• ID : ISBN 2-8041-1581-X; published 1996 by De Boeck Université
• Languages : French
• Number of pages : 729
• Images : about 150 black and white images and 15 color images
• Index : 1. alphabetical index on companies and persons

This comprehensive reference book describes more than 500 Belgian entrepreneurs and financers active between 1830 and 1980 regarding their family background, social status, education, business career, political functions, cultural activities, business networks and interests. Included are descriptions of notable business families. An example is the Solvay family, described in 6 pages including biographical entries of Ernest, Alfred and Armand Solvay.

In many cases these Belgian captains of industry founded companies all over the world. That makes this work a "not only for Belgians" book. The book concludes with a +40 page long mixed index on company and person name. The reverse lookup of a company name can be interesting as it yields one or more entries in the dictionary. Also here an example : the Tramways de Szegedin, which operated in Hungary, is mentioned with the entries of two bankers, namely Léon Cassel and David Van Buuren. 

The book contains many images, mostly portraits, but also ads, photographs and a handful of letterheads and share certifates as well.

A great book for the advanced researcher. 

F.L.

IBSS - Mail bid auction May 2014

The International Bond and Share Society, sets its next (members only) auction date to 23 May 2014. This auctions counts about 200 lots.

Astilleros Escandinavo Argentinos S.A.

freely translated in English: 

Skandinavian Argentine Shipyards Company

One share of 100 Pesos, 1919

vignette of Viking ship

double-click image to enlarge

• Date : May 23, 2014
• Place : not applicable, this is a mail bid auction only
• Practical info, see here 
• Auction catalogue can be downloaded here, and images of the lots are listed there 

F.L.

This was 2013

This little retrospective of 2013 brings an abstraction of 

scripophily on the Internet and looks at this blog's performance. 

The illustrations "between the lines" form a little story on their own.

Snowy peaks and spruce trees form the setting for this proud mountain goat.
Double-click the image to enlarge.

In 2013 scripophily is further exploring the Internet

This week I googled the word scripophily with the objective of getting an idea about the word's spreading on the Internet. An exercise done earlier in July 2012, see here. Now we can compare the outcomes :

• number of web links : 515000 (53% related to eBay), no comparison possible because Google changed its search algorithms since then
• number of images : 170000, or +26% (18 months)
• number of YouTube videos : 217 , or  +540%

Let's take a closer look at the vignette.
Do you see the nice hatching work used to create
shading effects (the rock) and illusions of physical texture
(the paws, the back and the belly of the animal) ?

Associations embrace Facebook

Today, you'll find blogs and photo sharing sites related to scripophily on almost every social media platform : Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram et cetera. The most dynamic one in 2013 is Facebook. Several professionals were already present on Facebook, but this year also associations planted their flag on a strip of Facebook land. 

• Norsk Selskap for Scripofili's page: Aksjebrev
• type: Facebook page
• created in June 2013
• currently counting almost 70 likes
• EDHAC (Germany)
• type : Facebook group, login required 
• created in July 2013
• currently counting about 60 members
• International Bond and Share Society 
• type: Facebook page
• created in December 2013
• currently counting more than 50 likes

In lithography a separate stone was used for each color. Here, you can
see that the stone used for the brown color was not perfectly aligned in the
printing process. When you enlarge this image, double-click it, you'll see
stripes of brown color were printed above the outlines of the animal's back,
left front and left hind paws and its horns. A pity, especially because the
green color was printed neatly.

With about a billion users Facebook grows at a rate of over half a petabyte … every 24 hours (source: The Register). A little bit of math may put this in perspective. One petabyte = 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes = 1,000 terabytes = 1,000,000 gigabytes. One gigabyte of information is about the size of a truck filled with papers. In other words Facebook grows at a rate of 500,000 trucks of papers ... per day ! So if I forgot to mention your scripophily association in the overview, please tell me about it and I'll complete the overview.

Blog statistics of 2013
I consistently round up the year with the statistics of this blog. I used Google Analytics, an online tool for analyzing web traffic, to review the period 1 Jan 2013 - 20 Dec 2013. Between brackets you'll see the corresponding numbers for 2012, see also here.

This year, the threshold of 90,000 page views was exceeded.

In the considered period 6560 absolute unique visitors were visiting this blog (2012: 9779, -33% ). The chart above indicates roughly a more or less stable range between 100 and 270 unique visitors per week (2012: between 140 and 270 per week).

The number of returning visitors to this blog has risen to 34.3 % (24 % in 2012). This comes down to about 2250 returning visitors in 2013 (about 2300 in 2012).

What about the geographical distribution ? The ranking on the subcontinents stayed the same as in 2012.

Western Europe, number one, and Northern America, number two, are responsable for more than 60% of the visits. Especially Western Europe increased its relative part from 30 to 39% percent at the expense of all other subcontinents. Number three and four are still South-Eastern Asia and Southern Asia. Northern Europe decreased its lag behind Southern Asia but is still on number five.

Locations visiting this blog in the period 1 Jan 2013 - 20 Dec 2013

Suggestions for improvements and topics for this blog are always welcome. Thank you for the many visits, and I hope to see you back in 2014. A Happy New Year to all of you !

F.L.

PS: The vignette shown in the first part of the article comes from the Bolsalona share certificate, see below.

Bolsalona Sociedad Anonima Industrial y Commercial
5 Shares of 1000 Pesos Oro Sellado (convertible to gold)
1920, Buenos Aires
Company active in the textile business.

Reference catalogue : Les Tramways Belges

• Title : Les Tramways Belges - Catalogue des Titres de Sociétés Belges de Tramways dans le Monde, in English: Belgian Tramway Companies - Catalogue of Belgian Tramway Companies in the World
• Author : Luc de Voghel, Alain Roba
• ID : no ISBN number; published 1986 by Alain Roba
• Languages : French
• Number of pages : 71
• Images : over 220 small black and white images
• Index : 1. Chronological (main classification), 2. Geographical classification,

This book is the work of two Belgian pioneers in scripophily : Luc de Voghel and Alain Roba. The work consists of a list of Belgian tramway companies operating in Belgium and abroad and their bonds and shares. Bearing in mind that the list was compiled 37 years ago, it counts more than 150 of such companies. More than 220 certificates are depicted in, according to our modern standards, a not so good quality. Interesting to know, entries were derived from the collections of both authors, but also from another scripophily pioneer : collector Erik Boone.

The companies mentioned were operating in the following countries : Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Persia, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Siam, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Yugoslavia. 

The work concludes with an overview of Belgian tramway companies whose certificates were not surfaced yet on the collector's market at the time (1986). 

F.L.

Digest of scripophily readings VI

New online scripophily articles and references, September 2012

AHM brings our mining past back alive

Archivo Historico Minero is an online project, in Spanish. The site contains a large image database related to coal mining in Spain, but also gold and iron mines, marble quarries and lots of other mining sites and related events from all over the world. Numerous photographs are provided by many contributors. You can find here the main link to this project. Also, interesting for scripophily collectors, there is a section Acciones mineras with lots of images of mining stocks and bond certificates. You can find it there. A great initiative and anyone can help contributing images and related stories.

Telephone and telegraph histories from South America

In a series of books, published in the 1920s, Victor M. Berthold of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, discusses South America's telephone and telegraphy history featuring several early telecom companies :

• History of the telephone and telegraph in Brazil, 1851-1921
• History of the telephone and telegraph in Chile, 1851-1922
• History of the telephone and telegraph in Colombia, 1865-1921
• History of the telephone and telegraph in the Argentine republic, 1857-1921
• History of the telephone and telegraph in Uruguay, 1886-1925

And guess what.. at least two of these books are available online! You can find the Argentine part here and the Brazilian part there. On the left, you'll find a link for downloading a PDF version.

Does anybody know if the other parts have been put online as well ?

Why Wall Street, why Bulls and why Bears ?

CNBC has put online some short videos about the history of Wall Street. Find the answers on the following questions in these minute videos :

• Do you know why Wall Street is called Wall Street?
• Why are optimists called Bulls? 
• Why are pessimists called Bears?




double-click to enlarge

der aktiensammler
In addition to the articles above, the latest August 2012 No.4/12 issue of der aktiensammler magazine, contains the following stories (in German) :

• McDonald's : Fast food at its best
• Die älteste Siemens-Aktie: Ein US-Papier aus dem Jahr 1883, in English: The oldest Siemens share (The Siemens' Regenerative Gas Lamp Company)
• Die Rentenmark - der Sanierer der Hyperinflation, English: The Rentenmark - remedy for hyperinflation (part 10 in a series on the evolution of money)
• Dampflok-Tradition: Nordhausen-Wernigeroder Eisenbahn AG, or in English: the Nordhausen-Wernigeroder Railway Company
• Zwischen Wupper und Ruhr: Bergische Kleinbahnen AG, freely translated: Between the Wupper and the Ruhr (river) runs the Berg Light Railway Company
• Trabrennbahn Hamburg-Bahrenfeld: Getrabt wird bald woanders, about the Hamburg-Bahrenfeld harness racing track
• Friedrich Eberts Zwangsanleihe: Verjährte Massenpapiere, English: Friedrich Ebert's Forced Loan - piles of expired bonds
• Die Ebay-Spekulationswelle flacht deutlich ab, in English: Speculation wave on Ebay is clearly weakening
• other periodical topics : Auction Reviews, Book Reviews, Collector's Portrait, Events Calendar, Classifieds

F.L.