Book : Osakekirjat Kertovat

Pekka Kantanen and Kari J. Sillanpää introduce the readers into the world of scripophily. They compiled about 100 share certificates, mainly from Finland, in a charming A4-sized hard cover work. 

• Title : Osakekirjat Kertovat - Aktiebreven Berättar - Share Certificates, Past and Present
• Authors : Pekka Kantanen, Kari J. Sillanpää
• ID : ISBN 951-9417-06-0, published by Kustannusosakeyhtiö, 1988
• Languages : Finnish, Swedish, English
• Number of pages : 184
• Images : about 100 page wide images, one third in color
• Indexes : no index

The book is trilingual. Every share discussed has a paragraph in Finnish, Swedish and English which is very interesting to learn the Finnish scripophily jargon. Besides a company background, the authors address various topics such as evolutions in Finnish corporate law, signatures of noteable persons, designs and printing aspects. 

Most of the shares featured are from Finland, or were issued under the Grand Duchy of Finland. The publication can interest also already advanced collectors because the book includes several remarkable shares that are rarely seen at auction, e.g. a Nokia share from 1886, a Suomen Kultaseppä Osakeyhtiö share printed with gold and silver, etc. The book can be found on e-commerce platforms.

F.L.

Previous post

• Taxonomy of a certificate : Iowa Union Telephone and Telegraph Company 
• Referenskatalog Svenska Aktiebrev 

Exhibition : Our mutual debt - Finnish government borrowing 1859-2015

Spending some time in Finland this summer? 

Why not visit the Bank of Finland Museum's new exhibition? 

Can't you make it there? Then you should take the virtual tour !

Coat of arms of Finland surrounded by two Finnish flags.
The flag features a blue Nordic cross on a white
background, which represents Christianity.
Detail from the bond below.
Source & copyright © Bank of Finland

Exhibition on Finnish government bonds

Finland's declaration of independence on 6 December 1917 fails to unify the nation. In 1918 the Finnish Civil War breaks out. The government is in desperate need of funding and its debt rises from below 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP)  before this period, to almost 30%.

Government of the Republic of Finland
6% loan of 1923 for 1,000,000 pound sterling
bond for £100, Helsingfors 1923
Helsingfors is the Swedish name for Helsinki.
Source & copyright © Bank of Finland
double-click image to enlarge

The seasonal exhibition, Our mutual debt - Finnish borrowing 1859-2015, runs from 21 April 2015 until 20 September 2015, and is a joint project of the Bank of Finland and State Treasury. On exhibit are Finnish government bonds beginning with the first railway bond issued in 1859. The exhibition also presents a cross-section of developments in central government debt and its history. Some of the topics addressed : first railway bonds, external market loans (France, Germany, the Rothschild's, US), war loans, internal loans, Finland's modern monetary policy, Euro loans.

4% 50 years loan of 1859 (Helsinki-Hämeenlinna railway)
From 1809 to 1917, Finland is an autonomous
Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire
Source & copyright © Bank of Finland

Bank of Finland Museum

The Museum opened its doors in 2003. Its permanent, partly interactive, exhibition is divided into three sections: 

• I Monetary policy
• II History of the Bank of Finland and of the Finnish money market
• III Banknotes and banknote art.

1903 3.5% 56 Years amortisation bond (railways)
5,000 Finnish marks=5,000 francs=3,600 kronor=4040 reichsmark
Only 200 bonds were issued in this denomination.
This certificate bears the number 1.
Source & copyright © Bank of Finland

Practical info

• Location : Snellmaninkatu 2, Kruununhaka district of central Helsinki
• Duration : 21 April 2015 - 20 September 2015
• Opening hours : Tue-Fri 11:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-16;00, Mon closed
• Entrance : free
• Guided tours : available in Finnish, Swedish and English, to be booked in advance via email 

F.L.

Related links

• Check out the Virtual tour , there is a lot more to see.
• Press Release of the exhibition
• Bank of Finland Museum 

Scripopily.Fi - Auction 16

Aktiebolaget Hotel Restaurant, English: Hotel Restaurant Company

1 Share of 1000 Finnish Mark, 1900, Helsingfors (Helsinki)

double-click image to enlarge

• Date: until 22 September 2013
• Place: not applicable, this is an online event
• Further info, see here

F.L.

Exhibition : Helsinki Stock Exchange 100 Years

My apologies for this very late notice, I found out about it only yesterday, 

but I still wanted to post this topic on the blog.

Until 1 September 2013, only a few more days left, the Bank of Finland Museum presents the 100 year history of the Helsinki Stock Exchange in a seasonal exhibition. On display are

• original documents related to the history of the stock exchange
• a nice collection of share certificates from Finnish companies

Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat Osakeyhtiö, share from 1920
English: United Paper Mills Ltd
source: Bank of Finland Museum
double-click image to enlarge

Practical info :

• location :  Snellmaninkatu 2, Helsinki, Finland, see here 
• duration : 29 January 2013 -  1 September 2013
• opening hours : Tuesday to Friday, 11:00 - 17:00, Saturday to Sunday 11:00 - 16:00, closed on Mondays.
• no entrance fee
• Guided tours are available in Finnish, Swedish and English and are also free of charge

Further reference :

• Helsinki Stock Exchange 100 Years 

F.L.

Scripophily.Fi - Auction 15

Scripophily.Fi online and mail auction 15

image: 

Syvänniemen Puuteollisuus-Osake-Yhtiö

Syvänniemi Holz-Industri-Aktien-Gesellschaft

English: Syvänniemi Wood Products Company

double-click to enlarge

• Date: 14 - 28 April 2013
• Place: not applicable, this is an online event
• Further info, see here

F.L.

Digest of scripophily readings IV

New online scripophily articles and references, June 2012 

Museo Financiero

The Museo Financiero (English: Financial Museum) is an online museum, set up as a blog in the Spanish language. This virtual museum, displaying lots of Spanish shares and bonds, will eventually house three sections :

• Spanish financial institutions
• Hispanic-American financial institutions
• Spanish railways

So far, only the Spanish financial institutions section is finished and open to the online public, but nevertheless it is already impressive. Many old shares and bonds from Spanish financial institutions are listed here together with a historical background note. The material is also browsable in a chronological way. There is further no indication who has been putting together all this great. Maybe you can tell ? You can find this online museum right here. A perfect activity on a Sunday afternoon.  

Our painters and sculptors, engravers, designers

Nos Peintres et Sculpteurs, Graveurs, Dessinateurs is a French book by Jules Martin, published by Ernest Flammarion in 1897. It contains hundreds of portraits and biographies of artists that were noted on artistic events like those from Société Nationale de Beaux-Arts and the Société des Artistes Français. An online PDF version can be found here.

Some of the artists included have been working on the designs of bond and shares: Auguste François Gorguet, Alphonse Mucha, ... Maybe you can recognize others as well. One of the pages in the book refers to a second volume, but I could not locate a digital version of it.

Scripophily from the first canals

During the I.B.S.S. breakfast meeting in Antwerp, 11th March 2012, member Dr Peter Christen gave a very informative talk about the history of canal building and financing, in particular the French Canal du Midi. The presentation can be downloaded here from the IBSS website. Much more on canal scripophily from France, Sweden, Germany, USA, Egypt, Greece and Panama can be found on the speaker's own web pages, see here. Thank you for sharing, Peter !


China to become the world's largest art and antiques market

For the past two years now, and even longer, one of the most popular songs played on the scripophily radio is: China, China, China. Besides the speculation on the redemption of some Chinese government bonds, several international auction results show also that 'true' Chinese scripophily, I mean not related to speculation, has been in strong demand both internationally and locally. Specific auction results in this field are highlighted in the latest Scripophily magazine. You'll understand that it is only a matter of time for China to dominate the scripophily market after reading this article on CoinsWeekly. 

double-click to enlarge

Scripophily Magazine

In addition to the articles above, the brand new April 2012 No.88 issue of Scripophily magazine, published by the International Bond and Share Society, contains the following stories : 

• The World's Oldest (oldest bond dated 1485) 
• Million Pound Bond Sets Price Record 
• Warning: Rampant Speculation Continues (speculation in Mexican bonds and shares) 
• The Ampersat and The Bond (the @ symbol on bonds throughout history) 
• US Savings Bonds De-Materialise 
• Mackay Before He Was Mackay (mining & gold mining USA) 
• Scripophily in Finland 
• Dr Richard C Flower and the Famous Spenazuma Scam (gold mining USA) 
• Cox's Corner #13 - Solving problems with collectibles 
• other periodical topics : News and Reviews, Auction Reviews, Events Calendar, Update Membership Directory Supplement, Member Classifieds 

This time, the magazine includes a 2-For-1 admission coupon for the Checks and Balances exhibition at the Museum of American Finance.

F.L.

P.S. Signed the Guest book yet ?

Digest of scripophily readings I

Scripophily is gaining momentum on the Internet ... again ! I googled the word scripophily today with the following outcomes :

• 470,000 results on web pages (50% related to Ebay)
• 92,900 results on images
• 26 results on videos

Ofcourse not all results are relevant to the serious collector, but still, the numbers are impressive. People are writing more about scripophily on the Internet. This posting will highlight newly discovered notable articles. You can expect similar posts on a  periodical basis.  If you don't like it, just tell me in the comments !

So, let's get on with it, here's the digest.

How I collect scripophily

An experienced and enthusiastic collector tells us about the joys, some why's and how-to's in his article, published as a part of the How I Collect series of The Ephemera Society of America.

Library Scripophily

.. is the latest posting on Larry T. Nix's Library History Buff Blog, see here. More library scripophily is shown here.

North American railroad certificates with price history details

Terry Cox offers an improved reporting page on price history details, see Price history details improved .

Reference catalogue : Zoological garden companies - Development and Finance History

I will occasionally briefly describe a reference book or catalogue in my postings.

• Title : Zoologische Gärten als Kapitalgesellschaften - Geschichtliche Entwicklung und Finanziering
• Authors : Armin Schmitz und Arne Metzger
• ID: ISBN 3-9806401-2-4, published by Verlag der Antik Effekten GMBH, 2000
• Languages : German, English
• Number of pages : 192
• Images : mostly in color, about 100 illustrations
• Indexes : by location

This great work contains images of certificates and descriptions, both in German and English, of zoos in :
Germany, USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, UK, Luxembourg, Italy, Austria