HWPH's 66th auction

Happy New Year! 2024 kicks off with Matthias Schmitt's 66th auction. It takes place as an online-only auction and includes almost 600 lots of antique shares and bond certificates.

For the time being this will be the auctioneer's last auction. The prime part of HWPH's business, Russian scripophily, is badly affected by the war of Russia against Ukraine. The auction offers mainly unsold items from previous auctions. With all lots starting at €5, you may strike a bargain!

Part of the sale is a section of roughly 100 lots of American railroad stocks and bonds. Illustrated here is L(ot) 171, a bond from the Savannah and Charleston Rail Road Company, South Carolina, issued in 1869. 

The sale features several shares designed by artists of the time. L224, a share in the Goedkoope Antwerpsche Beenhouwerij, literally translated: 'cheap Antwerp butchery', was designed by one of Belgium's most talented sculptors: Jef Lambeaux. Among the other artists to be hammered are Hermann Gradl, L452, and Demetrios Galanis, L239. 

About 100 lots span three centuries of German insurance activities. Shown here is, L476 a 1961 specimen share certificate from the Allianz Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft. Allianz, one of the largest insurers in the world, is part of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. 

All major themes are represented such as railways, mining and government bonds. By means of the online search features you can find the lesser obvious themes as well. A few examples: 

• Bridges, L121 The Main Street Bridge Co, Indiana 
• Music, L242 EMI Ltd 
• Ceramics, L79 Ceramica Industrial de Osasco (Brazil)
• Casino, L461 Casino im Frankfurter Hof 

Another example is a share from the Tsingtao Brewery Company Ltd, China. The company originates from the Germania-Brauerei Tsingtao brewery founded in 1903 by English and German entrepreneurs. In 1993 it became the first Chinese firm listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. L23 was issued in 1996 to scripophily pioneer Wilhelm Kuhlmann. 

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

• Location: this is an Internet only auction
• Date: 18 January 2024 
• Further info : online catalog see here on the auctioneer's website, or via the Invaluable platform, see there  

F.L.

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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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Auctioneer Boone celebrates 40th anniversary in Antwerp: oldest stock exchange building houses international scripophily auction and bourse

Mario Boone's 70th scripophily event spans 4 days! On Saturday May 6, a live auction with nearly 800 lots of historic and splendid antique shares and bonds takes place at the "Handelsbeurs" in Antwerp, the oldest stock exchange building in the world.

An international scripophily bourse with free entrance for any visitor is organized at the same location on Sunday May 7. A great opportunity to see antique securities in the center of Antwerp.

On Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 May, roughly 1500 more interesting lots will be sold through the Invaluable platform (live internet auctioning) or via the usual absentee bidding options.

This 1884 share in the Fabrica de Faianças das Caldas da Rainha, a porcelain factory from Portugal, is superbly designed and printed. Against a background of tiles the drawing combines a still life with more than 10 animals. Can you find them? L(ot) 463 starts at €1000. 

Saturday morning kicks off with a section of some 200 lots from Belgium Congo, Ruanda-Urundi and Belgium, including a 1899 Banque Coloniale de Belgique share certificate showing African scenes, L(ot) 6, and L34, a brewery share in the Brasserie de Stanleyville from 1949, both starting at €50. 

Noteworthy in the Belgian chapter are:  L82, Exposition Internationale Coloniale et d'Art Flamand Anvers 1930, a share subscription for the colonial exhibition in 1930, start price €50, and L84, a $500 gold bond from the City of Antwerp. Not to be missed is L97, Compagnie Internationale des Telephones, the oldest Belgian telephone share, 1881, with a large underprint of an early telephone. 

The Société de Zoologie in Antwerp, one of the oldest zoos in Europe, was founded in 1843. Its shareholders could enter the zoo for free on showing their share, hence the folds. Printed in 1843 by Joseph-Ernest Buschmann and designed by his brother and painter Gustave Buschmann. L299, €300 

More Belgian's, and this applies to other countries too, can be found in a mammoth World Highlights section, lot range 193-775. Some examples :

• The Société Anonyme d'Horticulture et de Botanique de Gand was founded by botanists who started holding botanic exhibitions known as "Gentse Floraliën". Its share from 1835, decorated with flowers, is extremely rare, L294.
• A top object in any art collection is the 1897 share from the Compagnie Fermière des Eaux Minerales de Genval. It is designed by Art Nouveau architect, painter and designer Paul Cauchie, known for his sgraffito technique. Only three certificates were found in the 1990s, and this is the last one available. L310 starts at €10,000 and can be seen in detail on the auctioneer's brand new website here.
• The world famous Lotus Bakeries is listed on Euronext Brussels and run by Jan Boone, the grandson of founder Jan Boone sr. This specimen founder share of the Banket- en Peperkoekbakkerij "LOTUS" voorheen "Boone Gebroeders" dates from 1934 and is the only one known to the auctioneer, L318.

Then part of of the French colonies, the Mekong delta with its shallow waters was the perfect place to use "de Lambert hydroglisseurs", aka airboats. This 1920 share from the Société Anonyme des Hydroglisseurs "de Lambert", L228, starts at €200. 

In the Australasia, Asia and Africa sections I spotted these items:

• Bank of Australia, Sydney, 1833, early share printed on vellum, L193
• L205 is a nominative share from the Société Provinciale Privilégiee du Fokien - Hoa-Hu, China, 1902, company set up by diplomat Paul Claudel, Chinese landscape.
• Opium shares are rarely seen. L226 is a nominative share from the Société Fermière de l'Opium au Tonkin, issued in Hanoi, 1887.

Lot range 271 through 279 comes from a diamond collection and includes scarce items such as a 1889 share from The Borneo Diamond Exploration Syndicate. 

This 100 soles share in the Compañia Explotadora de Perlas de Sechura, Lima, 1902, is part of a collection of 214 bonds and shares from Peru, L676. 

The European chapter is the largest one with over 300 lots, L280-L595. This blog format doesn't lend itself for enumerating all lots. Here are some of many astonishing historic securities:

• L375 and L376 are two Eiffel companies: Société de Constructions de Levallois-Perret and the Société de la Tour Eiffel both showing the Eiffel tower.
• Christiana Bye og dens Oplands Korn-Selskab, freely translated as Christiania Town and its Upland Grain Company: extremely early Norwegian share, dated 1810, from the time when Denmark ruled Christiania, today Oslo, L451
• A Swiss watch collection, L563 through L574, includes names like LeCoultre, Tissot and Longines.

L338, Compagnie Générale Maritime, 1856, signed by politician and financier Emile Pereire, gorgious design by painter and engraver Melchior Péronard, €3000 

Over 50 lots of securities and related documents are featured in the 16th-18th century section, including:

• A 1679! bond from the city of Enghien, Haunaut province, in need for financial resources under French occupation, 4 wax seals, L596
• On Aug 27, 1701, Philip V, King of Spain and Louis XIV signed a treaty granting France the exclusive privilege to supply the Spanish colonies in the Americas with African slaves. This right was called the "Asiento". Issued in 1703 for 3000 Livres this share in the Compagnie Royale de l'Assiente, is an important evidence of imperialistic slave-trading practises in the 18th century and extremely rare, L607.

Rio de Janeiro Tramway Light and Power Company Limited, 1 share, text in English, French and German, 1909, facsimile signature of electrical engineer and entrepreneur Frederik Stark Pearson, L664, €200

The Latin America chapter, lots 657 through 677, include several remarkable collection lots. Each of these will be offered as a single group, and only when no bids are made, each collection will split and offered into single item lots in the online sessions on the following Monday & Tuesday:

• L658 collection of Brasilian government bonds
• L659 collection of Brasilian state bonds
• L660 collection of Brasilian railroad certificates
• L661 collection of Brasilian port/shipping certificates
• L662 collection of Brasilian Industrial securities
• L670 collection of Mexican scripophily
• L676 collection of bonds and shares from Peru 

More Latin Americ scripophily, as is the case for other themes, will be auctioned on the two online sessions on 8 & 9 May 2023.

L682, New Jersey Southern Rail Road Company, $1000 bond, 1873 signed by railway tycoon Jay Gould, extremely rare, €12000

The American section of the Saturday highlights is divided in three chapters : Jay Gould , railroads, and various themes. To name a few:

• The 50 cents bond, 1841, from the Ocmulgee and Flint River Rail Road Company is not only small in size and value, but rare as well. L689
• L763 is stock certificate from The Kansas City Distilling Company, a whisky maker, view of the distillery, 1889
• The World's Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago in 1893. It's share shows a lovely vignette of an allegorical woman and an underprint of the exposition site. L765

A tip for American railway collectors, you should check out Coxrail on this auction, see here. 

Société Hydro-Electrique de la Réunion, founder's share, 1928, map of Réunion in underprint and border with a pattern of volcanos, likely the Piton de la Fournaise, L927, €50 

The online sessions of this event are scheduled the days after the bourse on Sunday. These offer another 1500 lots of scripophily (or a bit less when the Latin American collections are hammered on the preceding Saturday - see above). Use the catalog's indexes or the search functions on the auctioneer's new website to find what you need.

The weekend of 6 & 7 May is a chance to see some great antique securities. The venue is the Handelsbeurs Antwerpen. 

Here are the auction details :

• Location : Antwerp, Belgium
• Dates
• 6 May 2023, Boone's 70th live and internet auction
• 7 May 2023, bourse of historic bonds and shares
• 8 & 9 May 2023, online auction sessions
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding, see here on the auctioneer's new website, 
• or via the Invaluable platform (large images), see there 

F.L.

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Boone's 69th auction spans now 2 days. Among the stars are Ferdinand de Lesseps Suez Canal certificates and a 16th century loan from Antwerp.

Mario Boone scheduled its next sale of antique stocks and bonds for 5 and 6 November 2022. That's right, the auctioneer applies a new event format which starts in Antwerp with an international bourse on Saturday morning. The live auction kicks off at 2 PM in the same venue. On Sunday, the second part comprises of a internet/mailbid auction. 

Altogether more than 1700 lots will be hammered in Boone's upcoming auction.  This is an opportunity to see many stunning certificates like this one. Noted security printer Charles Crabbé produced this 1902 share from the Paris-based Crédit National Assurances. L(ot) 353 starts at €100.

Latin America is excellently represented. More than 300 lots fill several chapters : Latin America lot range 534-556 , The Carribbean Collection L729-861, Venezuala Collection L862-965. All of these are scheduled on Saturday, and then there is another Latin America chapter, L1518-1580, on Sunday.  

Some of the interesting items are :

• The Cuban Central Railways Ltd £100 debenture from 1899 shows two small vignettes and is rare, L544.
• Lots 806 through 828 includes several Panama Canal certificates.
• L887 shows a frontal view of a steamship on a Orinoco Steamship Company bond printed in 1902 by the International Bank Note Co. from New York.
• The Société de Recherches de Temascaltepec (Mexique) was organized to mine for silver in Temascaltepec. L1569

L548 in the auction is a share in the Syndicat des Placers Guyanais. The company was formed in 1913 to dig for alluvial gold and diamonds. An overseas department of France in South America, French Guiana's currency is the euro. Gold mining, often done illegally, is still one of its main industries today. Bidding starts at €200.

Included in the sale are several certificates signed by or issued to historic figures, such as:

• members from the Rothschild banking family, L402 through 415, 
• Paul Kruger, President of the South African Republic, L296
• L499 shows the signature of Robert Surcouf, the French slave trader and privateer who raided British ships
• A Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij share issued to the Dutch King Willem III, L441.

The auction catalog's Autographs index refers to many more personalities, including Ferdinand de Lesseps !

On March 23, 2021, container ship Ever Given gets stuck in the Suez Canal and disrupted global trade for six days. The consequences were incalculable: industries were impacted with shortages, e.g. of semiconductors. The non delivering of food resulted in price rises and livestock shipments were suspended.

The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It was constructed by Ferdinand de Lesseps' Suez Canal company between 1859 and 1869.  

Boone offers a set of printer proof bonds from the company's 1879/80 loan, all different and unique. One of these is corrected by Ferdinand de Lesseps himself, and personally signed by him. His handwritten signature in scripophily is of the highest rarity. The set of certificates deserves a place in any top collection highlighting France, Egypt, Canals & Transport, and even World History. Start price €10,000 .

The 16-18th century chapter counts more than 50 lots of shares, bonds and related financial documents. Among these "prehistorics" are 

• bonds from the Flemish cities Antwerp, Aalst and Oudenaarde (L480, L482, L484)
• a 1759 share in the Compagnie Royale Prussienne de Bengale , L511
• whaling and canal companies, L486 & L514
• 18th & early 19th century French privateer companies, L489 through L499, and an American one, L533
• a collection of 108 French lotteries issued between 1699 and 1828, L501
• a put option certificate of the Bank of England as early as 1730, L516

An amazing discovery is L480, an Antwerp city bond for 100 Carolus Guilders from 1558. Issued on vellum, it has a large Antwerp city seal in red wax showing 'Het Steen', the still existing 13th century castle. The bond was part of a loan granted in 1555 by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.

At the start of the 16th century Antwerp belonged to the Habsburg Netherlands, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. The city was a major shipping base for Spanish and Portuguese merchants importing sugar and raw produce from overseas. Antwerp became the main business centre around the Atlantic. Its wealthy bankers lended money to governments in Europe.

Between 1555 and 1556, Charles V split his empire into an Austro-German and a Spanish branch. As a result of Charles's abdications, the Habsburg Netherlands were left to his son Philip II of Spain. Thus became Antwerp part of the Spanish Netherlands. 

During these decades war with France was never far away. Also the Catholic Church in the Spanish realm had to be defended against the upcoming Protestant Reformation. The loan was raised to finance the construction and maintenance of the fortifications of Antwerp, the so-called 'Spaanse omwalling' (Spanish ramparts). These were built on order of Charles V from 1542 onwards.

€5000 is the start price for this top item that has witnessed a florishing but turbulent Flemish and Spanish 16th century.

As usual the sale includes a large chapter of USA scripophily, presented in both the Saturday and Sunday sessions of the auction. 

• There is an opportunity to buy a Southern State Bonds Collection as a single lot (L649-L728). When there is no buyer then the collection will be regrouped by state, each one then offered as one group lot. In turn, these, when not sold, will be split into single item lots. 
• US railways are plenty. You can find an interesting review on this chapter on Coxrail News and Announcements, see here     

The National Glass Company from Pittsburgh, Pa., was a short-lived glass trust. It owned several factories in places like Dunkirk, Ind., Cumberland, Md. and Marietta, Oh. They specialized in colored table glassware and decorated lamps. This $1000 bond from 1901, a Western Bank Note print, starts at €50. L1708

It is impossible to address all items in this sale, but there is a way to find out more about them. Here are the auction details :

• Dates
• 5 November 2022, Antwerp Crowne Plaza Hotel
• International Bourse 8h30-12h 
• Live auction 14h-18h30
• 6 November 2022, mailbid and online auction
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding, see here 
• or via the Invaluable platform (large images), see there 
• and the PDF version of the catalog can be found here 

Even if you are not a collector 5 November 2022 is an opportunity to see some great antique securities. The venue is the Antwerp Crown Plaza. The public bus stops right outside the place and takes you in 10 minutes to Antwerp Central Station. 

F.L.

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The Compagnie des Indes Orientales : Boone reveals the oldest share ever auctioned in upcoming international collectors event

Mario Boone is a major player in the field of antique share certificates and financial documents. The auctioneer scheduled his 67th scripophily auction and bourse on 16 and 17 October 2021. On the agenda are about 1400 scripophily lots that will go on the block in Antwerp.

Boone succeeded in compiling exceptional rare and beautiful stocks and bonds from all continents, such as the oldest share to be auctioned, the oldest French railway share, a share purchased by Nobel prize laureate Max Planck, and many more amazing historic securities like this one.

Prior to the late 1890s color photography was the domain of a small number of researchers that build their own equipment. This share from 1897 is signed by the Belgian color photography pioneer Louis Ernest Dugardin who invented one of the first commercially available color cameras in the world. He founded in 1897 the Paris based Société Nationale de la Photographie des Couleurs et de Reproductions Artistiques Procédés L. Dugardin. This share was designed by the French Belle Epoque artist Lucien Métivet and printed by Imprimerie G. Richard. An amazing document, L(ot) 557 in the sale starts at €2000.

I'll point of out some more highlights of the sale in a moment, but first I'll say something about the bulky auction catalog that counts over 200 pages of data and images. Auction lots are grouped first by region, then by country. The main index lists over 90 countries. Large sections include Belgium, France, Russia, Germany, USA, Spain, Egypt, China, Great Britain and Italy. Collectors of scripophily from seldom-seen places like Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Ghana, Monaco, Martinique, etc, will be surprised by what's going under the hamer.

The Monte Toro Fábrica de Quesos operated on the island of Menorca. This share shows scenes from the town of Es Mercadal at the foot of the Monto Toro, the highest point on the island, a woman making cheese, and grazing cows. The certificate was printed in 1901 in Barcelona by Imp. Luis Tasso. L1075 in the auction, bids accepted from €100 onwards. 

So, what about the top item of the sale ? Well, it's a share from the Compagnie des Indes Orientales issued more than 350 years ago in 1665. That was an eventful year :  the Second Anglo-Dutch War begins, King Charles II of England leaves London fleeing the Great Plague, the Qing invasion of Taiwan fails due to a typhoon, and the Compagnie des Indes Orientales sends twenty settlers to start the colonisation of Réunion.

 

The Compagnie des Indes Orientales was founded by Jean-Baptiste Colbert on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English and Dutch colonial trading companies. The company was granted a 50-year monopoly of French trade in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits of Magellan, with a concession in perpetuity for Madagascar and ‘all other islands and lands it could conquer’ (*).  The company also had to build churches and train priests in its territories. Several ‘comptoirs’ were established in various parts of India such as Puducherry and Chandannagar. 

This share of 6000 French Livres, 2000 Livres been paid, unique and of great historic importance, is the earliest share ever auctioned. Bids for L467 start at €44,000 

(*) The Compagnie des Indes, by Howard Shakespeare, Journal of the IBSS, Feb 1997 

At the end of the printed catalog, you'll find a list with over 100 indexes on themes, Belgian provinces, famous signatures, artists and printing companies. On top of that you can search through the online version with keywords.

There is nothing as fascinating as antique securities produced in gold print. A search through the digital catalog on keywords like "gold print", "printed in gold" and "gold, black" (co-occuring colors), yield some great results. You should see these. I've listed them by start price in ascending order : 

• €30, L440 Basilique de Sainte Thérèse de l'Enfant-Jésus à Lisieux, 1933, Lisieux, Calvados
• €40, L1173 The Port Rowan and Lake Shore Railway Company, 1880s, Port Dover, Ontario
• €80, L702 Cooperative des Médecins et Pharmaciens de Grèce, 1924, Athens (see image below)
• €200, L230 Szegedi Kereskedelmi es Iparbank, 1909, Szegeden, Hungary
• €200, L524 Compagnie L'Union Service par Bateaux à Vapeur et Autres, 1840, Rouen, France
• €1000, L459 Casino et Concerts Paganini, 1837, Paris
• €1200, L1274 The Gold Mining Company, 1888, registered in West Virginia, mines at Mojave County, Arizona
• €2000, L758 Barkschip: Grootmeester Nationaal, 1857, Dordrecht
• €2000, L1169 Great Cariboo Gold Company, 1905, New York, but operations in British Columbia, Canada

L702 is a wonderful 5 shares certificate in the Cooperative des Médecins et Pharmaciens de Grèce. Issued in 1924, Athens, and produced in gold print. 

Boone auctions always include scripophily related to that little country somewhere near the center of Europe, Belgium (about 220 lots). Here are some interesting lots from that chapter in the sale :

• L234 Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt, a Dutch share from 1825 to finance a new canal between Pommeroeul and Antoing (Hainaut province) 
• L241 the oldest certificate seen, a bond, from A.C.E.C., and highly decorative too
• L245 Société Européenne d'Automobiles, 1898, far ahead of its time targeting the European market, rare and prehistoric automobile manufacturer 

I didn't know that Belgium once tried to colonize Guatemala, did you ? Here's a share, L292, in the Compagnie Belge de Colonisation, Communauté de l'Union, issued in 1844. The company was founded with the help of King Leopold I of Belgium to administer Santo-Thomas de Guatemala, today known as Santo Tomàs de Castilla, Puerto Barrios. Leopold's goal was not only to exploit rich natural resources, but also to reduce crime in Belgium by sending the unemployed, the underprivileged and adventurers to the "promised land of Verapaz".  Many colonists died in the harsh conditions and the project was given up after 20 years. A rare object of Belgian international history, bidding starts at €200.

There is a lot more to discover in the auction. I almost forgot, if you are into Russian scripophily, then don't forget to check out that chapter as well. It includes interesting railway certificates but also a large section of Russian banking and credit securities. 

Before giving you further details and links for the event, I'll end this post with an incredibly beautifully produced work. Extremely rare and of historic economic importance, L451 is a share in the Chemin de Fer de Paris à St. Cloud et Versailles - Rive Droite de la Seine, the oldest French steam-powered railway. The share dates from 1837 and is signed by politician and financier Emile Pereire.

The auction catalog fully describes the history of this French railway company, the Chemin de Fer de Paris à St. Cloud et Versailles. Click the image above and below to see more details of this wonderful print. In the detail below, you see two angels below a column. They present the coat of arms of Paris. Above and at the left of the figures you can detect two light grey rosettes. All those details are produced in such a way that it gives the viewer a feeling of depth just like the raised relief on a medal. But that is only an optical illusion. In fact, the only color used for this print is black. The certificate's design was created by the best engraver of its time, Jacques-Jean Barre, who designed and engraved the first postage stamps of France. He was master engraver at the Monnaie de Paris producing designs for coins and medals. Absolutely stunning. Start price of L451 is €12,000.

Even if you are not a collector the weekend of 16 and/or 17 October is an opportunity to see some great antique securities. As for me, I am looking forward to meet again collector friends that I haven't seen for a long time. Here are the details :

• Location : Antwerp, Belgium
• Dates
• 16 October 2021, Boone's 67th live and internet auction
• 17 October 2021, bourse of historic bonds and shares
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding, see here 
• or via the Invaluable platform (large images), see there 
• and the PDF version of the catalog can be found here 

F.L.

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Exhibition : From Peking to Hankow

Train World is the official museum of the NMBS/SNCB, the National Railway Company of Belgium. It is situated in the old but renovated Schaerbeek railway station in the Brussels-Capital Region.

Until 10 October 2021, the museum hosts an interesting temporary exhibition about the history of one of China's most remarkable railways, the Peking–Hankow railway. The exhibit includes several antique government railway bonds.

From Peking to Hankow : a Belgian adventure in China tells the surprising story of China’s longest railway line, from Peking (Beijing) to Hankow (today Wuhan), connecting the North to the South in the early 20th century.

Thousands of people laboured on this immense operation for seven years. This feat was achieved by engineers, technicians and workmen, and Western and Chinese diplomats and financiers. Jean Jadot, a Belgian engineer coordinated and implemented this massive project.

During your visit, the main players in the saga, embodied by talking figures, will tell you some fascinating tales and take you back in time so that you can relive grand moments in the history of the railway.

The exhibition also showcases the impressive development of China’s current high-speed railways. Original works relating to the construction of the Peking-Hankow line and created by artists Li Kunwu (China) and François Schuiten (Belgium) add a contemporary artistic touch to the exhibition. 

Train World is over 8,000 square metres and displays 22 locomotives, royal train carriages, 1/10 scale models and 1,200 other railway related objects, including an original 19th century railway bridge. One of the principal objects to see is the oldest preserved locomotive (1845) in Continental Europe.

A large format hardcover catalog has been published in French and Dutch. The volume counts more than 270 pages and depicts some large illustrations from antique securities. The museum has these scripophily objects on loan from various lenders such as the National Bank of Belgium and BNP Paribas-Fortis. A small number of bonds and shares are actually on display.

Practical info :

• Opening hours : 10:00 - 17:00, but closed on Mondays, the Peking-Hankow exhibition runs till 10 October 2021
• Location : Princess Elisabeth place 5, Schaerbeek
• More info here in English, in Dutch, in French and in German  

F.L.

Previous posts

• Watermarks in Scripophily - part 2 Paper manufacturers 
• Hidden image emerges from Télémécanique stock certificate 

Collectibles from the undersea world and other rarities emerge in Boone's scripophily auction

The 66th auction of Mario Boone takes place online with an exceptional wide range of scripophily collectibles. More than 1,100 antique stocks and bonds span 4 centuries of financial history.

The sale includes several historic items and a number of old collections have been consigned for this occasion. Very special, and unseen before, is a scripophily collection of the undersea world. The companies represented here had goals that captured our imagination. Their shares often featured fantastic vignettes.

During the American Civil War hundreds of ships  were destroyed. This share from the Life Saving Raft Company, was issued in 1866 just after the war. The amazing vignette shows the company's life raft with shipwrecked sailors. Early lithograph produced by Henry Seibert and Brothers, New York, and part of the Diving/Submarines collection 

The Diving/Submarines collection consists of about 90 certificates from companies involved in diving operations, the ship wreck salvage business, underwater treasure hunting, production of submarines, insurance of maritime losses, diving and life saving equipment and maritime archaeology. The collection, L(ot) 1051, offered as a whole, starts at €4,000. In case no bid is received, it will be offered again in smaller lots. 

I'll come back to the other collections consigned for this sale but let me discuss first some of the top items in the sale.

One of the highlights in the auction is this previously unseen share from 1747. Formed in 1720 the Compañia Real de la Havana organized the trade between Spain and Cuba. The company controlled the export of tobacco, sugar, wood and other Cuban products but also slaves, as well as all import of European products needed in the colony. L771 in the auction starts at €5,000. Detailed image provided on the auctioneers Invaluable.com portal, see link below.

Here are some more lovely items from the Spanish chapter in the sale :

• L772, an early copper engraving on vellum, boundless vignette all over the design, is a share from the Real Compañia de Comercio Establicida en Barcelona, dated around 1748 but unissued which explains the moderate start price of €400! 
• Printed with a "gold" vignette of a mining operation, the San Juan Bautista (Teruel) silvermine share, 1857, belonged to the Duke of Rianzares, second husband of Queen Maria Cristina de Borbon, L775 
• A great example of Art Nouveau design, L782, a share in the Nueva Plaza de Toros, shows off the bullring of Barcelona

Let's jump to the present. Everyone knows how to download a PDF auction catalog and read it with the Acrobat Reader application. Both PDF and Acrobat Reader were developed by Adobe Systems. The company was founded in 1982 by ex-Xerox PARC employees John Warnock and Charles Geschke. This specimen stock certificate bears the facsimile of Charles M. Geschke. In 1992 he was kidnapped from Adobe's parking lot. Four days later the FBI found and saved Geschke. L1043, a very interesting collectible from the software industry, starts at €50 

Regarding American scripophily there is lots more to find. This auction chapter includes a top collection of ninety early USA (1816-1860) certificates, lot range 884 through 976. A few examples :

• L886, Thomaston Coal and Mineral Company, 1819!, then part of Massachusetts, today Maine
• L910, Philadelphia Museum Company, previously Peale's American Museum, share from 1840
• L943, West End Land Association, 1854, vignettes of villa and native Americans

The American 'regular' section, lot range 977-1044, has some more surprises, so don't forget that part. 

The Russian chapter consists of nearly 100 lots and kicks off with another highlight :  L678, a share in the Warsaw-Vienna Railway Company. In 1814 Alexander I of Russia was made king of Poland at the Congress of Vienna. His succesor Nicholas I approved the construction of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. Its 1839, unissued, share shows the vignette of the Russian imperial double-headed eagle. Besides tsarist era scripophily, the chapter includes several soviet certificates as well.

The Azoff Steam Ship Company, founded in 1871, serviced the harbors at the Sea of Azov and the River Don. In the Soviet period the company became an asset of the Ministry of the Maritime Fleet (Minmorflot). This 1895 specimen share was printed by Typography Brothers Schumacher. The printing house finds its origins in the 18th century print shop of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The shop was founded by Johann Daniel Schumacher, secretary of the academy and librarian to the Tsar, and his brother Johann-Jacob, professor of architecture at the St-Petersburg university. L691 

Here is an overview of the other collections that will go on the block in this auction : 

• L5, Collection of 16 Red Cross certificates
• L187, Collection of 46 Austrian World War I bonds 
• L321, Collection of 84 royal loans of France under the form of life rentes (cfr. the catalogue France, The Royal Loans by Howard Shakespeare), period 1689-1787 
• L322-333, Corsica collection
• Lot 625-677: Rolf Büchsenschütz collection of Romania (part)
• L1080-1117, Fire fighting collection

The printed catalog contains several indexes to help you find what you are looking for.  The online versions can be searched by keywords. 

At the start of the 20th century, Ghent, Ypres, Bruges and other Flemish cities still counted many female lace workers. During WWI, war lace was bought by soldiers as a gift for the home front in England or America. This handicraft would disappear, partly because in the Congo, then a Belgian colony, nuns taught lace-making techniques in the missions. The Congolese women and children produced large quantities of lace at very low wages. De Vrouwelijke Beroepsbonden, in English: The Women's Occupational Unions, was a cooperative from Ghent founded in 1914. This unissued share shows vignettes of a lace worker and two seamstresses. Printed by Litho. F. & R. Buyck Frères. L229 

It is impossible to mention all items in this sale, but there is a way to find out more about them. Here are the auction details :

• Location : Internet only
• Date : 10 April 2021
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding here, 
• or via the Invaluable platform (large images), 
• PDF version of the catalog there 

F.L.

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Scripophily Puzzle No. 4 - solution

In Puzzle No. 4 we were looking for a novel. This time, three scripophily detectives gave the correct answer. "A bit too easy" I was told. 

In order to solve the puzzle, I provided you two visual cues : details from the designs of a bond and a share certificate. Let's have a look at them.

The first image shows a logo consisting of the interlaced letters W and L flanked by two lions and a banner underneath. The banner shows some words. Click the image to enlarge it. You can't distinguish all the words but Compagnie, des, Lits and Européens must be clear.

Googling these words brings up links to the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. In the Google Images results pane you'll find a similar logo, and likely, an image of one of the company's bond certificates like the one shown here.

The Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Européens, in short CIWL, was founded by the Belgian Georges Nagelmackers in 1872. His business pioneered in luxurious on-train catering and sleeping car services. CIWL operated the famous long-distance Orient Express that originally ran from Paris to Constantinople (Istanbul).

The second image shows a fragment from a share certificate. We can read [H]ôtel de Constantinople, and you can also detect a stamp that mentions Société Française des Grands Hotels Internationaux. All-knowing Google tells us that we are talking about the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul. 

The Pera Palace was built in 1892 for the CIWL. The company needed a suitable hotel at the final destination of its Orient Express. Among its famous guests were : Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Ernest Hemingway, Queen Elizabeth II, Alfred Hitchcock and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Using the words Wagons-Lits and book, or even novel, in your next Google search yields many results to multiple publications. So does Pera Palace combined with the words book or novel. Obviously, both are popular subjects.

A better idea was to search for the combination of all these words : Wagons-Lits, Pera Palace and novel, or, even better, Orient Express and novel. The outcome leads you to the solution : Murder on the Orient Express, a novel written by the English writer Agatha Christie.

Christie's famous book appeared in 1934. It brings the story of Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective, who returns from the Middle East on the Orient Express. The train is stopped by heavy snowfall and a murder is discovered. Poirot's trip home to London is interrupted to solve the murder.

Agatha Christie stayed on several occasions at the Pera Palace from 1926 through 1932. It is said that she wrote there Murder on the Orient Express in her favored room, 411. Did you know you can still book her room for your stay in Istanbul ? 

Did Agatha Christie ever travel on the Orient Express ? As a matter of fact, yes, she did, more than once. Her first journey on the Orient Express was in late 1928, only a few months before a blizzard, near Cherkeskoy, Turkey, stranded another Orient Express for six days. And in December 1931, when Christie returned from her husband's archaeological dig at Nineveh, aboard an Orient Express, sections of railway track were washed away by heavy rainfall flooding. 

In scripophily, we have seen bonds and shares that were issued to or signed by famous authors like Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain. Wouldn't it be a baffling mystery if a share issued to Agatha Christie would turn up in suspicious circumstances ?

To conclude, scripophily detectives DB and RS provided a correct answer, but is was SC who was the first to solve puzzle no 4.  Great job everyone. You are now entitled a portion of "eternal fame".

F.L.

PS 

• A nice collection of Wagons-Lits scripophily can be seen here on Scripocollections.com 
• Read about the Royal Mint's commemorative coin of Agatha Christie on CoinsWeekly 

 

Previous posts

• Poll results - Collecting motives 
• Watermarks in scripophily - introduction 

King of the Netherlands owned the Belgian economy : spectacular royal share in the Société Générale de Belgique auctioned in Antwerp

Mario Boone's 65th auction is set for Saturday 31 October and takes place live on the internet. Over 1,300 lots of antique stocks and bonds from all over the world span four centuries of financial history. Part of an extraordinary collection and highlight in the auction is a unique share in the Société Générale des Pays-Bas pour favoriser l'Industrie Nationale that once belonged to Willem I, King of the Netherlands. 

With the help of bankers from Brussels, Willem Frederik (1772-1843), King of the Netherlands, created in 1822 an investment bank, the Société Générale des Pays-Bas pour favoriser l'Industrie Nationale. Belgium was still under Dutch rule at that time. In 1830, when Belgium became an independent state, the Société Générale des Pays-Bas took the name Société Générale de Belgique. 

The Société Générale de Belgique played a major role in the industrial development of the country and its former colony Belgian Congo. After the independence of Belgium the company became the official banker of the kingdom until the National Bank of Belgium was formed in 1850. Under Leopold II, the investment bank financed industries in China, South America, Egypt and Russia. The Société Générale is now a part of the French multinational Suez. This certificat d'inscription was issued in 1841 for 4300 shares of 500 Dutch Florins to Willem I, King of the Netherlands. Lot 332 in the sale is expected to realize at least €12,000. 

The 'Willem I' share offered here is part of a set of rare and early Société Générale items, lots 329 - 347 in the auction. Each one of these are opportunities to enrich any serious Belgium scripophily collection. Included are the 1822 company statutes from the Alg. Ned. Mij. ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt (the company's Dutch name), a provisional share from 1837, a 500 Ned. Guldens share dated 1847, a Bradbury Wilkinson specimen, parts de reserve, and the like. 

The Compagnie du Chemin de Fer du Bas-Congo au Katanga was registered in Elisabethville, today known as Lubumbashi. This specimen share from 1949 is part of the Belgian Congo railway collection. Lot 204 

The sale includes more noteworthy collections. The Belgian Congo section counts about 80 lots, more than half of these come from a railway collection. The Dutch Indies consists of 40 lots, some of them group lots, and will interest collectors of sugar, tobacco, spices and rubber scripophily.

Northern Steamship Company Kotlas-Archangel-Murmask 

200 Roubels share, 1916, lot 1062, click the image to enlarge 

A large Russian section counts over 90 lots. Many of these antique securities were issued during the reign of tsars Alexander III and Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov. Some of the highlights :

• Northern Steamship Company Kotlas-Archangel-Murmask, gorgeous vignette, see image above, L(ot)1062 
• City of Arkhangelsk, 5000 Rbls bond, 1916, large denomination, L1064
• Baku-Tiflis Oil Industry and Commerce Company, company operated in today's Azerbaijan and Georgia, temporary share for 1000 shares amounting to 1 million roubles, serial number 1, extremely rare, L1060
• L1061, share from the Chinabad-Andijane Feeding Railroad Line, Uzbekistan, 1916
• Kursk-Charkov-Azov Railway, £500 bond, 1888, L1002

The French city of Reims hosted in 1909 the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne, the first international aviation meet. Aviation pioneers such as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Blériot, Louis Paulhan and Henri Farman participated. This share in the Aérodrome de la Champagne - Terrain d'Aviation de Reims-Bétheny was issued in 1910.  The artist Gournay may have attended the event and added different types of early aircraft to the design of the share. L643 

The catalog's comprehensive country index lists about 100 countries. In particular large sections are Dutch East Indies, Belgian Congo, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, Spain and the USA. Scripophily from less obvious, often exotic places, like Papua New Guinea, Burma, Ethiopia, Monaco and El Salvador is present as well.

Printed by Imprenta Casa Misericordia this Minas de Cala share was issued in 1901, Bilbao. Its ingenious design of a carving incorporates all the important headings of a share certificate (company name, share capital, ..) as well as the arms of Huelva and Bilbao. L1108 starts at €50 

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

• Location : Internet only
• Date : 31 October 2020
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding here, or via the Invaluable platform 
• PDF version of the catalog there 

F.L.

The share from the Compañia de Seguros Maritimos de la Habana, dated 1857, features this stunning vignette. Click to enlarge. L1210, see the Cuban section of the auction

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