Scripophily magazine reports on one million pound treasury note

Scripophily, No. 101, published by the International Bond and Share Society (IBSS), brings plenty of articles on historic stocks and bonds :

• 36 pages
• 82 images of bond and share certificates
• 23 auction reports
• 17 authors and reporters

Among the magazine's news items, was an entry about lot 296 in Spink London’s April auction. The lot featured a £1,000,000 UK Treasury Note from 1948. This one million pound intermediate-term bond was issued in connection with the Marshall Aid plan after World War II. It is not interest-bearing and not negotiable: not paper money but a remarkable scripophily object. The same piece was once sold for £68,000 at Spink London's Oct 2008 auction. Now, it was hammered at £82,000. More information in issue 101 of Scripophily magazine.

£1,000,000 UK Treasury Note (debt obligation issued by the Treasury)
Cancelled, 6 October 1948, Bank of England
printed signature of E.E. Bridges, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury

In the July publication the IBSS further announces the society's new website: it has many sections, just see for yourself at www.scripophily.org. Webmaster Tim Welo did a fine job and aims for even more content. He can be reached at webmaster@scripophily.org. Development of the site was made possible by the financial generosity of Scott Winslow.

What's else in the magazine ? Here's, an overview of the other stories in Scripophily's last issue :

• While the election year rages on, some bull is never forgotten , about Rudolph Jr, a 3-year-old steer
• Advertising securities
• French slave trading company
• Heading for Saudi Arabia on a warship , a story on Arabian gold mining
• Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama
• The palaces of the railroads : major US railroad stations on securities
• Grafton Tyler Brown and the flowering of lithographed mining stocks in the 1870s West
• Cox's Corner : Abandon the "Race to the bottom"

Other periodical topics : society matters, news, bourse reviews, auction reviews, events calendar, member classifieds, book reviews, interviews, letters to the editor and lots of pictures of collector friends and scripophily. 

F.L.

Reference catalogue : Cox's North American Railroads

                                        

2nd Edition, 2003
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• Title : Collectible Stocks and Bonds from North American Railroads - Guide with prices, second edition
• Authors : Terry Cox
• ID : ISBN 0-9746485-0-7, published by TCox & Associates Inc., 2003
• Languages : English
• Number of pages : 546
• Images : about 225 black and white images 
• Indexes : alphabetically, additional index on the key words and phrases from the chapters
• Still available, see here.

This superb reference catalogue covers stocks and bonds from companies that built, or planned to build, railroads in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica and other Carribean Islands. 

Included are: mainline railroads, short line railroads, narrow gauge railroads, horse railroads, tourist railroads, electric railroads, street railroads, traction railroads, subways, tramways. The edition lists about a phenomenal 18000 different certificate entries with price indication. Several "Quickfind Charts" help you to find certificates from companies that issued tens of varieties.

I bought the 1st edition of the book, I believe it was in 1998. When in 2003 the 2nd edition appeared I purchased that one as well without the slightest hesitation. Though I am not a collector of these railroad certificates, I have used the books exhaustively. Just look at the images of both editions, you'll see the fold and cracks in the front covers. Why? Well, the book contains so much more and useful stuff for any  collector of American shares and bonds in general.

What is a CUSIP number ? Do you know the difference between cumulative preferred stock and assessable stock? The answers on these questions and many more are given in the book. You will find information on quantities of certificates, price evolutions, terminology, security engraving, lettering on securities, denominations, paper, underprints and overprints, scams, rarity, autograph aspects, a list of 300 biographical entries, and more ..

Chapters preceding the actual catalogue section :

• Purpose of this guide
• Background on stock certificates
• Background on bond certificates
• Background on railroad-related certificates
• Miscellaneous information about certificates
• General information about railroad companies
• Revenue stamps and imprints
• A discussion of prices
• Use this price guide to your benefit
• What about selling your certificates
• Explanation of catalog numbering system
• Categories of information recorded
• Selected references
• How to help correct and expand this guide
• Glossary of common terms used on stocks and bonds
• Autographs found on railroad stocks and bonds

The book is only a part of a bigger project realized by the author : Coxrail is the online version including a  searchable database on the catalogue entries. Here you find new additions, images, updated price information, serial numbers recorded and again lots more for the railroad scripophily enthusiast. Terry Cox is also working on a third edition, as you can see here , but that meticulous and time-consuming labour is still in progress. 

F.L.

Further information : Terry Cox's Coxrail 

1st edition, 1995
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