Connoisseurs of British railway securities will be thrilled at Boone's next scripophily auction

The 64th auction of Mario Boone takes place online with an exceptional range of high quality collectibles. Nearly 1,700 antique stocks and bonds spanning 4 centuries of financial history represent about 100 countries.

Boone's next auction is set for 4 April 2020. Included are many genuine founder shares from famous companies. This is one from the Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche. 

Following the Napoleonic Wars, Trieste became the main trading port and shipbuilding centre of the Austrian Empire. There insurance expert Joseph Lazarus Morpurgo founded the Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche in 1831. His company provided insurances against risks of marine and land transport, flood, fire, and much more, hence the name GENERALI.  One of its notable employees was writer Franz Kafka who worked for Generali in Prague in 1907 and 1908. This is Generali's share number 1, issued in Trieste, 1832, and signed by Morpurgo. Lot 943 in the auction is a top item for any scripophily collector of insurance companies or Italian/Austrian finance history. 

Connoisseurs of British railway securities will be thrilled. More than 120 lots come from an old collection that illustrates the rich and pioneering history of British railways. Even if you are not into railway scripophily, this is an exceptional opportunity to check out this series (lot range 789 through 914). Let me mention here a few of these gems :

• L793 Blaydon, Gateshead & Hebburn Railway, stunning vignette; 
• from Ireland, L804 River Line, Cork Blackrock and Passage Railway; 
• L803 Clarence Railway, 1828!; 
• L809 Durham and Sunderland Railway, rare, wax seal;
• Another stunning vignette can be seen on a Liverpool and Manchester Railway certificate, 1826!, L845. 
• L877 comprises a share from as early as 1804 - eighteen hundred and four !!! - issued by the horse-operated Oystermouth Rail-Way or Tram-Road. This company commenced to carry passengers in 1807. 

The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company operated a canal and a network of railways in south-east Wales. It started as the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation and opened canals from Newport to Pontypool and to Crumlin from 1796. The unusual large vignette on this 1854 share transfer certificate shows a train and a horse-drawn barge nearing a canal bridge. Click to enlarge image, L869 in the auction. 

Auctioneer Boone provides an extensive catalog for this sale with every lot described in detail (download link see below). Among the nearly 1,700 antique securities you'll find hundreds of little masterpieces. Their designs reflects the art style in vogue and often include vignettes from illustrators. Some examples :

• L422 Comptoir de la Bourse de Bruxelles, illustrated by Charles Posch
• Constand Montald's work can be seen on L443, Grands Magasins à l'Innovation, Bruxelles 
• Oriental elements are abundant on L384 Société Foncière de Syrie
• L691 Gewerkschaft "Deutsche Nickel-Gesellschaft" displays a super mining vignette
• My favorite Art Deco share is the 100 Gulden share from the Nederlandsche Bakkerij-Centrale, Amsterdam, 1917, a work by Johan Rudolf Bonnet created before he went to live in Bali, L972

A little masterpiece is this 25 shares certificate from The Anatolian Rug Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Athens, dated 1924. Printed in multicolor by Aspiotis Brothers, banknote printers from Corfu, the share is adorned with oriental elements and shows carpet knotters at work. Despite their obvious activities, the scene is filled with silence. Click the image to enlarge, one of them noticed your attention. L924 in the sale

The catalog's comprehensive country index lists nearly 100 countries. In particular large sections (each containing between 40 and 250 lots) are Belgium, France, Germany, UK, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Australia, Netherlands Indies and the USA. Scripophily from less obvious, often exotic places, like British North Borneo, Iraq, Djibouti and Suriname is present as well.

Chile's Government Junta proclaimed Chile as an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy in 1810. Eight years later Chile declared its independency in 1818 which would only be recognized in 1844. The Anglo Chilian Mining Association, formed in London, 1825, is one of the earliest companies formed in the new state. L1519 in the auction.

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 : 4 April 2020
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding here, or via the Invaluable platform 
• PDF version of the catalog there 

F.L.

PS This auction also includes the first part of a unique collection of Indonesian scripophily (ca. 250 lots! ). Find out more about this here .

Boone's 64th auction catalog includes also an index of collecting themes (besides countries). The sports entry refers to more than 20 shares, including this French 1911 share in the Olympic Tennis Club de Wimereux, Boulogne-sur-Mer. Lot 610 

Archives International Auctions sells American, Hispanic and World Wide securities in River Edge, New Jersey

Over the last 12 years Archives International Auctions has been offering banknotes, coins, scripophily, autographs and security printing ephemera in more than 50 auctions. Their next sale takes place on Thursday, June 20th 2019 at their offices in River Edge, New Jersey. 

The scripophily part in this auction sale includes about 450 lots of antique stocks and bonds from the USA, Mexico, China and much more. Here are some of these stunning items.

The Jiangxi Soviet, also known as the Chinese Soviet Republic, was established by Mao Zedong and others in November 1931. The short-lived state was made up from discontiguous territories that now belong to China and Mongolia. Issued in 1936, this 1 yuan construction bond bears the name and seal of Mao Zedong. Lot 186 in the sale.

This 1000 Pesos specimen bond, printed in the 1880s, emerged from the American Bank Note Company Archives. The Banco Agrícola was founded in 1868. Its initial headquarters were located at Santiago de Chili in the house of Melchor de Concha y Toro who became a Minister of Finance and a wine-maker. Lot 687 in the auction

The Akron Street Railway and Illuminating Company was incorporated in 1896 with an initial capital of $1.5 million. This $1000 First Consolidated Mortgage Five Per Cent Gold Bond specimen, 1896, is equally rare as it is grandiose in design. Lot 974 

There is much more to tell about this auction, but the most interesting way is to see for yourself. So here are the auction details :

• New Location : River Edge, New Jersey
• Date : 20 June 2019
• Further info : see here, live and absentee bidding here and a downloadable PDF catalogue there 

F.L.

AIA's forthcoming numismatic auction to feature rare American railways

Archives International Auctions will hold this year’s summer auction at Fort Lee, New Jersey on August 8, 2018. Over a thousand lots of US, Chinese & worldwide banknotes, scripophily and security printing ephemera will be auctioned in two sessions. The sale includes about 340 lots with antique bonds and shares.

Lot 212 : Chinese Government, 8% 10 Year Sterling Treasury Note £500 Sterling 
From 1919, a scarce £500 'Vickers Loan' Treasury Note, estimate $130-200 

Chinese government bonds open the scripophily show at L(ot) 170. Two, large-formatted, Imperial Chinese Government Tientsin-Pukow Railway 1908 £100 bonds, both partly redeemed, are estimated from $120, L. 197 and L.198. A Republic of China 1937, $100 bond, vignette of pagoda, in extremely fine condition, is expected to bring $350 to $700, L.217.

The main scripophily program is an almost contiguous section starting at Lot 674. International stocks and bonds are representing countries like Canada, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, France, Sweden et cetera.

I note : Santa Elena Mining Comany, 1887, Honduras, Manhattan vignette (L.723). A great vignette of the Paris Notre Dame Cathedral at the Seine river can be seen on a 1916 City of Paris specimen bond (L.722). Mexican Central Railway Co Ltd, 1889, specimen bond, (L.737), several vignettes, is estimated from $400. The sale includes a 1895 stock certificate from The Nicaragua Company, unsuccesful in completing a Panama canal route (L.769).

Lot 712 : La Sociedad del Canal de Maipo, specimen bond, Santiago de Chile, early 1900s

The portrait shows Domingo de Eyzaguirre y Arechavala (1775 – 1854), a Chilean politician and philanthropist who wanted to revive the abandoned canal project surrounding Santiago. The Spanish government approved the plan, and in 1802 made Eyzaguirre director. The revolution of 1810 interrupted the work, but it was resumed after Chile's independence in 1817. In 1820 the canal of Maipo was opened.

Click to enlarge image

I'll go right away over the many, extraordinary US railroad securities. But first I want to underscore the wide range of American sectors and themes that are covered in this event : automobiles, aviation, shipping, mining, industry, utilities, city & states loans, and much more.  NOTE: Startprices in the sale are significant lower than the lowest estimates printed in the catalogue, therefore check out the lots online.

A Rolls-Royce of America (L.679), 1919, specimen share, very early, may be acquired from $300 onwards. Bensen Aircraft Corporation, established in 1952, developed helicopters like the B-8. Issued 1956, facsimile by founder Igor Bensen, bidding on this share is invited from $110 (L.685).  Bodie Bluff Consolidated Gold Mining Company, 1879, Mono County, California, can be purchased from $240 (L.776). The auctioneer expects a Confederate States blockade runner share from The Consolidated Steamship Company, 1864, South Carolina, to realize $600 or maybe $900 (L.808). From 1921 dates a Standard Oil Company of New York specimen $1000 bond (L.811). Wonderfully designed lettering, vignettes of a native American and the Niagara Falls, and a company seal with a man in a canoe, illustrate a Niagara Falls Power Company specimen bond (L.995), start price $110.

Lot 817 : San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad Company, 1911, $10,000 specimen bond from the American Bank Note Archives

The line, completed in 1905, crossed unpopulated desert terrain between Los Angeles and Salt Lake until the city of Las Vegas began its growth in the mid-twentieth century. A gorgious design with a speeding locomotive flanked by two money spending water nymphs. Rare, estimated $180-280
Click to enlarge image

US Railroad connoisseurs will be delighted to see the many rare securities involved. Several of these come from the American Bank Note Archives, have not been seen in issued form and are probably unique. Here are some picks to illustrate my point :

• A $10,000 specimen bond in the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 1905, woman with child and railway scenes, L.819, can be acquired from $200.
• An Evansville & Richmond Railroad Company bond, 1891, "00000" serial number, appeared 16 years ago at auction. This is the second one offered since then, L.836. Estimated between $450 and $750.
• Unknown in issued form, and last one from two found in the archives, Crooked Creek Railroad and Coal Company, 1911, specimen bond, depicts a coal train and factory, L.841. 
• A stunning and equally rare $10,000 specimen bond from the Central Railroad of New Jersey, 1887, L.893, should interest railway collectors at $425 start price. 
• Tramcars and passengers illuminated by an angel with electric light, two great vignettes on a Akron Street Railway and Illuminating Company specimen bond, 1896, Akron, Ohio, L.915. A bid starting at $500 may bring you home this certificate, the only one known since its discovery in 2002.

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

• Location : Fort Lee, New Jersey
• Date : 8 August 2018
• Further info : see here, AIA's online catalogue with full color images, here, and PDF version there 

F.L.

Over 1000 lots in Archives International Auctions Summer Internet Sale

AIA's 43rd sale features U.S. & worldwide banknotes, scripophily, coins and historic ephemera. The auction includes nearly 800 lots of antique stock and bond certificates largely from the American Bank Note Company Archives. 

For sale are certificates from famous companies like Pizza Hut, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, General Motors and Boeing. Most U.S. themes are represented - automobiles, aviation, mining, navigation, steel, oil, utilities, state & city, and lots more. The railroad section counts over 250 lots. Among China, Canada, Cuba, Israel and other countries, there is an interesting series of Chile scripophily.

Banco Hipotecario de Chile
1000 Pesos, series B 6% specimen bond , early 1900s
printed by the American Bank Note Company
lot 1127 in the auction
click image to enlarge 

Nice engraving work from the American Bank Note Company can be seen on Banco Hipotecario de Chile specimen bonds. Their main vignette show the arms of Chile, which was designed by the Irish-born artist and engineer Charles Chatworthy Wood Taylor (1792 – 1856).  

Charles Wood Tayler emigrated to the United States in 1817. In Boston he earned a living as a landscape painter. The U.S. government hired Wood Taylor in 1819 to embark on a scientific expedition that took him to the coast of Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. The following year he accepted the post of Lieutenant of Artillery of the Army of Chile, and was added to the corps of engineers. After taking part in several military activities Wood Taylor was promoted to the rank of Captain of Engineers. He designed the coat of arms of Chile which was adopted in 1834. Wood Taylor also designed the first stamps of Chile. Other Chilean bonds in the auction show variations in the arms.

Auction details

• Date : 18 July 2017
• Locaton : This is an Internet only auction.
• Further info : see here, catalogue there 

F.L.

Archives International Auctions - New York Summer Auction 2015

Banco Popular

Santiago, Chile, 1910

100 Pesos share, specimen (lot 1040)

-

In contrast with the eagle, the condor appears rarely on vignettes.

From 1834, the condor comprises, together with a huemul (deer), the coat of arms of Chile. 

In the 1950s Condor and Medio Condor coins were struck (1 Condor = 10 Pesos).

Archives International Auctions 

The Rudolph P. Laubenheimer Master Engraver, Die Sinker & Medailleur Family Archives

This auction includes additional consignments of

 U.S. & Worldwide Banknotes, Coins, Scripophily, Medals & Ephemera

This auction contains approximately about 170 lots of scripophily

• Date : 25 June, 2015
• Place : New York
• Further info : see here

F.L.

The Copper Handbook - a manual of the copper mining industry of the world

image by Boone Shares

Following is a list of the elements with which copper is found chemically united in nature. This list includes 29 of the 77 elements known to science at this writing. Following the name of each element is its chemical symbol and atomic weight, as now figured by the best authorities : 

Aluminium Al 27.1

Antimony Sb 120

Arsenic As 75

Bismuth Bi 208.3

Calcium Ca 40.1

Carbon C 12

Chlorine Cl 35.45

Cobalt Co 59

Copper Cu 63.6

Hydrogen H 1.01

Iron Fe 56

Lead Pl 206.9

Manganese Mn 55

Nickel Ni 58.7

Niobium Nb 93.7

Nitrogen N 14.04

Oxigen O 16

Phosphorus P 31

Platinum Pt 195

Selenium Se 79.2

Silicon Si 28.4

Silver Ag 107.93

Sulphur S 32.06

Tellurium Te 127.5

Tin Sn 119

Tungsten W 184

Uranium U 240

Vanadium V 51.4

Zinc Zn 65.4

Excerpt from The Copper Handbook 1903, Vol. III for the year 1902, page 27

More than 2000 copper mines in all parts of the world

Scripophily auctioneers and a few blessed collectors use the book for researching companies. The 1903 issue contains 2207 company profiles. Most of the mines included are located in the USA, others are active in the following countries: Argentina, Austria, Australia, Algeria, Bolivia, Canada, Chili, Cuba, France, India, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Rhodesia, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK and much more, even Sudan and New Caledonia. Many company descriptions span tens of lines, sometimes several pages. As an example, I included the profile of the Parrot Silver and Copper Company:

Parrot Silver and Copper Company
shares of 10 Dollars, issued in 1904, Butte, Montana
printed by Western Banknote Company, Chicago
In the Copper Handbook Vol. III the company
was ranked 25th in the list of largest copper producers.
double-click image to enlarge

PARROT SILVER & COPPER CO. - MONTANA
Mine office: Butte, Silver Bow Co., Montana. Harry A. Galway, superintendent. Has a stock issue of 230,000 shares, bulk of which is held by the Amalgamated Copper Co. This company is mixed up to some extent in the litigation that is so unpleasant a feature of mining operations in Butte. Principal mines are the Little Minah and Parrot, opened circa 1884. Company holds 19 claims in all, mostly well located. A barren zone occurs at a depth of about 1,000' , but good ore bodies are found below. Production is at the rate of about 12,000,000 pounds yearly. The ores carry fair values in silver and gold, as well as copper. Mine employs 300 to 400 men, when working full force. The Little Minah mine has a 1,000' two-compartment shaft connected underground with the Nipper. The Parrot mine is about 1,700' deep, main shaft having 3 compartments to 400' level and 4 compartments below, connected underground with Colusa-Parrot, Never Sweat, Nipper and Original mines.

detail from the Parrot Silver and Copper Company's stock certificate
vignette of a brainy parrot claiming his ingot (I want a parrot like that)

This book is encyclopedic

Do you know the meaning of following terms or expressions? Watch out! I can not pronounce some of these words I. Don't hurt yourself in the act.

• pertenencia: one mineral claim in Mexico; area, one hectare or 2,471 acres
• cutting down: when a shaft is enlarged, work begins at the top, and the work of enlargement is called cutting down
• dognacskaite: a sulphide of bismuth and copper; carrying about 12% copper; from Hungary
• pinching out: the narrowing of a vein to extinction

When was the first copper shipment from the Australian continent ? Answer: 1843

What was the world's largest mine in the early 1900s ? Answer: The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, Butte, Montana, producing more than 100,000,000 Pounds in 1901.

Book : Edouard Empain

Edouard Empain, Belgian captain of industry, is known for building the Paris Métro and the district of Heliopolis in Cairo. In this book, author Jacques Simar brings us the story of Baron Empain and an overview of the industrial empire that Empain built up all over the world.

double-click to enlarge image

from left to right:
Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi
The Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company
Chemins de Fer du Congo Supérieur aux Grands Lacs Africains
Compagnie de Chemin de Fer Métropolitain de Paris

background:
Edouard Empain ( 1852 - 1929 )

• Title : Edouard Empain, Esprit Fécond, Entrepreneur Conquérant, English : Edouard Empain, a first rank entrepreneur from Belgium
• Author : Jacques Simar
• ID : no ISBN number, published by The Scripophily Center, 2013, see here
• Languages : French, but a good summary in English and Dutch is provided
• Number of pages : 107
• Images : about 100 color images

Chapters

1. Premières années et premiers défis 1852 - 1881  (English: first years and first challenges)
2. Développement de l' empire 1879 - 1929 (development of the business empire)
3. Le système Empain ( the Empain system )
4. La collection des titres Empain ( the collection of Empain scripophily )
5. Summary in Dutch
6. Summary in English
7. Remerciements (Thanks)
8. Annexes : sociétés du groupe Empain ( Appendices : companies of the Empain group )
9. Source des illustrations ( source of illustrations )
10. Notes

Chapter 2, being the largest one, gives us an overview of the activities and realizations of Empain's  companies in the Ottoman Empire, Chili, Syria, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, China, Belgian Congo and, of course, Belgium, France and Egypt.

The book is richly illustrated with images of shares and bonds of companies active in railways, banking, metal works, electric power, gas distribution, chemical industry, tourism and hotels, canals, real estate, shipping and mining. Several of the certificates depicted are very rare.

What else is there in the book ? Well, the work includes also : 

• an overview diagram of the Empain family dynasty
• several maps : routes of the Tramways du Caire, the concession of the Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oasis company, the railway network of Belgian Congo, routes of the Lung-Hai railway in northern China
• long term stock charts of companies
• classifications of the companies in the Empain group by country and in chronological order

A reference catalogue as well

Chapter 4 contains a reference catalogue section. Included are the stocks and bonds of the Empain companies surfaced in scripophily so far.  More than 500 securities from about 110 companies are represented  and ordered by country. Interesting, each entry contains a value indication between 1 and 5.

A book that fits in your laptop bag. Top !

Still available from the publisher, see here, at 30 Euro.

F.L.

NB : 
What is your favorite share depicted in the book ?
Mine is the 500 Francs bond from 1895 issued by the Tramways de Kischinew.

The archipelago of the Philippines

7107 is the number of islands in the archipelago of the Philippines. The 11 largest islands make up 95% of the total land area. Their often whimsical coastlines amount up to 36289 kilometers, which is almost as long as Russia's 37653 km.
A typical Philippine island has mountains that are surrounded by coastal lowlands. The islands are volcanic in nature as these are part of the Pacific ring of fire (see here). As a result the islands have rich mineral deposits. The Philippines have the largest gold deposits after South Africa.

Consolidated Mines, Inc.
Certificate for 19000 shares, 1946