IBSS surprises members with full publications of Drumm & Henseler scripophily catalogues

The International Bond & Share Society is an association of people interested in scripophily. The society was founded in 1978 as a non-profit organization with the aim to promote, encourage and develop all aspects of scripophily. 

With members all over the world, the society publishes its flagship publication Scripophily three times a year.

Over a timespan of several months a small group of members cooperated in obtaining the copyrights of the pioneering Drumm & Henseler catalogs, digitizing those works, and making them available to its members as downloadable publications.  

The following catalogues can now be found on the IBSS site :

Italian Railways, by Drumm, Henseler, Witula

Ottoman Empire and Turkey, by Drumm, Henseler, Glasemann

Russian City Bonds, by Drumm, Henseler

Russian Railway Bonds, by Drumm, Henseler

You can find the publications here, but you must be logged in as a member to access this information. Still not a member ? Then this will help you out. 

F.L.

Collecting antique stock certificates ? Go to the next level with Scripophily magazine !

Scripophily magazine is the world’s most comprehensive and insightful publication for passionate collectors and researchers of antique securities. Its 2022 April issue brings over 50 pages of scripophily news, in depth articles, book reviews, pictures of collector friends, auction reports and quality images of stunning, historic and rare stocks and bonds.

Scripophily magazine is illustrated with tons of gorgious stock certificates. This one from The Cincinnati Edison Electric Company is featured in the Deutsche Bank trilogy (© HIWEPA). The company was incorporated in the state of Ohio. Its $1 million capital was represented by 10,000 shares of $100. This certificate, issued in 1892 to the Deutsche Bank of Berlin, for 3,333 1/3 shares, represents a third of the capital. Image by Horst Klophaus 

Compelling tales, business plot twists and memorable personalities keep you spellbound. Scripophily magazine uncovers the stories of historic and artistic securities. In addition, reports from the auction markets help you to stay up-to-date. This periodical is the flagship of The International Bond and Share Society (IBSS) and appears three times a year.

Here is a summary on the topics brought in the latest issue :

• Piers and Seaside Entertainment, interview with a collector 
• Book review : Stamp Taxes in Nevada I. Silver Fever! Nevada Territory Stock Certificates, 1863-4, author Michael Mahler 
• Book review : Michigan Copper Mining Stocks and Bonds, Part II, author Lee Degood
• El Partido Revolucionario Cubano, a rare but fake bond emerged 
• The Insanity Spreads, NFT technology flirts with Scripophily 
• Dispatches from the Front, Bits and Pieces, market concerns with the Russo-Ukrainian War 
• The Greenawalt Donation : Interview with David Mihaly of the Huntington Library 
• Charles V Bond with phenomenal Face Value emerges (Spain)
• Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, Terry Cox reflects on his US railway project coxrail.com 
• The Howe Sound Co, copper mining in British Columbia 
• Selling the Security, member contributions with share certificates promoting the business 
• Studebaker, the family, stocks and bonds, and legacy
• Deutsche Bank Part I : The History of "Deutsche Bank AG"
• Boomtimes in the German Sugar Industry : 1850-1885 

On top of that the issue brings results and analysis on more than 20 auctions that took place during the preceding period in Germany, USA, China, Switzerland, UK, and other countries. You'll find out which auctions took place, what collecting themes are currently in demand and what price results are achieved for top pieces.

Subscribing to Scripophily magazine brings you valuable free extras: 

1. The IBSS Directory brings you in contact with fellow collectors. Many of those are experts in their field, often share common interests with you, and possibly live nearby. The Directory contains members from more than 40 countries. 
2. Upcoming events : Learn which auctions, collector bourses and society meetings will take place.
3. Locate dealers and auctioneers : The Membership Directory also contains a list of dealers and auctioneers with further contact details. Most  auctioneers and dealers publish their catalogues either online or on paper.
4. Access to the Experts : Being part of the International Bond and Share Society (IBSS) has provided me access to a network of experts in a variety of specialties related to the collection of Stocks and Bonds, always willing to led a hand and point me in the right direction.
5. Access to all content on the IBSS website, including digital versions of previous issues of Scripophily magazine, the online forum, special theme galleries, and the like. 
6. Newsflashes on the website focus on hot topics that can't wait for the next issue of the magazine. 
7. Get extra credibility : being listed as a member is a good reference in any deals made remotely with parties previously unknown. 

A 1-year subscription only costs £25 or $35 or €28. The magazine is published by IBSS. More info : https://scripophily.org/membership/join/ 

F.L.

Related links

• International Bond and Share Society 
• What is Scripophily, a quick introduction 

HSK's upcoming auction in Hamburg features more than 1100 lots of historic securities

28 May is the day when HSK's 41st auction takes place in Hamburg. This time HSK brought together more than 1100 scripophily lots. Bonds and shares from Berlin real estate developers, the Wolfgang Tartz collection, are part of many top-quality items included in this sale.

The event starts with a talk by Claus Müller titled The beginnings of the Russian mining industry in Ukraine, financed with foreign capital. After the auction a collector's bourse precedes a joint dinner.

From the American auction section,  L(ot) 62 is a rare bond from The Colorado Bonanza and Union Tunnel and Mining Company issued in 1891. The company was founded that year to dig for Colorado gold in Gilpin County. The upper vignette shows its mining operations near Bates Hill and Maryland Mountain. Remarkable, a cross-section of that same view tells us about the Bonanza and Union tunnels that were to be excavated. 

Scripophily from all continents is represented in the auction. Major sections are dedicated to America and Germany with in particular Bremen & Niedersachsen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein & Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Some noteworthy items from the European section :

• L256 is a 1886 share in the Compagnie Générale des Bateaux Parisiens with riverboat vignette. The company operated commuter riverboat services around Paris. 
• Illustrated with a Roman! pyramid, L298 is a lovely share certificate from the Public-Auto SA per il Servizio delle Automobili da Piazza in Roma e Altrove, a public transport company in Rome.
• The Manchester Race Course Association share from 1848 features a detailed vignette of the company's grandstand, L287. 

The Eidgenössische Bank AG, aka Banque Fédérale SA, Zürich, was one of the most important Swiss commercial banks. It became part of the Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft (SBG) in 1945 (later UBS). The sale features two of the company's sought-after share certificates. L260, dates from 1893, see image, and  L261, from 1917. 

Before I discuss the Berlin real estate developers collection, let me point out some interesting German certificates :

• L881, a "Stamm" (Kux, mining share) in one of the earliest mercury mining companies from Germany is a top item in HSK's auction. The share in the Quecksilberwerke am Lemberg, issued in 1846, shows excavation activities, the smelting of mercury ore, and is adorned with leaf scrollwork in beautiful blue printing. Check the word 'STAMM' in detail : each letter is designed as a trunk (another meaning of the word STAMM). A very rare, small work of art.
• Carosseriewerke Schebera Aktiengesellschaft from Berlin dealt in automobiles and produced car bodies. The 1922 specimen share, L692, illustrated with a horse carriage and two of the company's automobiles, bears the facsimile signature of Jacob Schapiro, car dealer, taxi entrepreneur and stock market speculator, who became a large shareholder of Daimler-Benz.
• Art Deco enthousiasts will love L941, a 1923 issued share from the Textil-Kunst Aktiengesellschaft from Dresden.

Architect Ludwig Richard Seel designed the city hall for Königsberg, known today as the Russian city of Kaliningrad. Seel is known for building the Parliament and Ministry of Justice in Tokyo. Königsberg's city hall, completed in 1912 and illustrated on this Stadthalle Königsberg share from 1907, included concert halls, a restaurant and a cafe. During the Nazy era, many artists lived in Königsberg to work independently of state control. The building was destroyed in World War II. Restored in the 1980s, it is now home to the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts. L930 

The Wolfgang Tartz Collection counts over fifty bonds and shares from Berlin real estate development and property companies.  The collection was assembled over a period of many decades. Lot range 570 through 624.

Between 1750 and 1850 Berlin's population tripled to over 400,000 people. In 1871 Otto von Bismarck unified Germany. Berlin, the capital of the new German Empire, became the center of politics on the European continent. Von Bismarck created a favorable investment climate for the city's development. A large numbers of industrial workers and their labour unions, bankers, entrepreneurs, scientists and artists made Berlin a thriving but fast growing city. By 1910 the number of Berliners amounted to 2,000,000. 

The public square and transport hub of Alexanderplatz is recognizable from afar thanks to Berlin's nearby 368m heigh Fernsehturm. With hundreds of thousands of passers-by and visitors  Alexanderplatz is the most visited area of Berlin. 

Founded in 1912, the Aktiengesellschaft Alexanderplatz managed a number of houses at Alexanderplatz and nearby, including Hotel "Alexanderplatz". This 1000 Reichsmark share from the same year is part of the Wolfgang Tartz collection. L572 

There is a lot more to discover in the sale, so here are the details :

• Date : 28 May, 2020
• Location : Hamburg
• Further info, see here; PDF catalog see there; live bidding is possible through connect.invaluable.com/dwa 

Though called a share certificate (Anteil-Schein) this is an interest-free lottery bond from the still existing Ski-Klub Oberstaufen. It was issued in 1920 for "the purpose of building a first class ski jump". Since the 1960s several international slalom competitions were held in Oberstaufen won by champions like Vreni Schneider and Ingemar Stenmark.  Note the logo with skis. L902 in the auction. 

F.L.

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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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HWPH kicks off '21 with large scripophily auction

Auctioneer Matthias Schmitt has compiled pretty much as 2000 lots of mainly antique bonds and shares for his 58th sale. The online event runs till 30 January, 10 AM. 

Collectors seek these genuine securities for their historic values or artistic features. I'll show you an Italian example from the auction of the first type later, but to start with, here is one of the latter type.

The SA Italiana per l'Impianto e l'Esercizio del Giardino Zoologico in Roma was founded in 1909. Today it is known as Bioparco di Roma. Its shares feature a gorgious vignette of wild animals, and sixteen others interacting with exuberant scrollwork and foliage. Click the image to enlarge. Creator of this Stile Liberty work was Giambattista Conti, aka Giovanni Battista Conti (1878-1970). He was known for his religious works and as an illustrator of children books. He became Director of the Vatican Restoration Institute. This rare certificate for 10 founders' share , lot 773 in the auction, starts at €1,000. 

HWPH is known for its Russian offerings and starts the feast with more than 250 lots from Russia and the former USSR. Two examples : 

• L(ot)116 A 5-shares certificate, 1898, from the Rigaer Commerz-Bank, unusual large underprint  the imperial double-headed eagle holding the arms of the city of Riga, then still part of the Russian Empire.
• A specimen bond from the Soviet Union's 1925 Internal Loan for the Reconstruction of the Economy, multicoloured Art Nouveau design, three vignettess, L151.

One of the Russian highlights is L154, a specimen bond from the 9% railway loan of 1927. The loan was issued to finance railway extensions connecting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan with the Trans-Siberian Railway. The bond has a denomination of 25 Chervonets, a currency, fully convertible and backed by the gold standard, that was introduced by the Soviet Union to stabilize the hyperinflation. 

A major part of the sale consists of scripophily items related to Germany. Actually there are 700 of them. These can easily be queried online by means of key words like 'Freiburg', yielding 3 results, or 'Leipzig', 16 results. 

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft, AEG, originated in 1882 when Emil Rathenau acquired licenses to use some of Thomas Edison's lamp patents in Germany. This extremely rare share from 1890, L917, bears Rathenau's facsimile signature. L918, a share in another Berlin company, has Rathenau's original signature. Rathenau died in 1915 when AEG pioneered in the development of aircraft and soon thereafter in film projectors as well. 

Nearly 300 lots represent scripophily from the USA, some picks :

• L1714 shows a share number 1 in The Magirus Corporation of America, issued in 1926, and with vignette of a fire engine. Conrad Dietrich Magirus, born in Ulm, Germany, was the inventor of the mobile fire ladder. Today, the Magirus M68L is the fire engine with the highest turntable ladder in the world with a range of 68 meters.
• The Los Angeles, San Diego and Yuma Railway Company, 1890 stock certificate, L1711, rare
• The tracks of the Virginia and Tennessee Rail Road, a company that played a strategic role for the Confederacy, were destroyed during the American Civil War and later rebuilt. Its $1000 bond from 1853, shows off some of the finest vignettes on US railway securities. L1801, interesting start price at €40.
• A section of 27 Confederate States of America bonds with start prices at €20 to €40, L1618 through 1644

The auction counts no less than eight 'piano' lots : 563, 1023, 1139, 1213, 1567, 1578, 1773 and 1886. This share in the Schomacker Piano Forte Manufacturing Company was issued in 1894. Pianists and high society figures like President Ulysses S. Grant preferred these fine and award-winning instruments. Schomacker pianos were called the “Gold String” pianos. H. W. Gray, who signed this share as President, patented a technique wherein the piano strings were gold plated through a process called electro-plating. The other signature we see here is the one of Henry C. Schomacker, son of Johan Heinrich Schomacker, founder of the business. L1773 

The offerings present bonds and shares from many more countries. Let me further mention some more noteworthy collectibles :

• UK : One of the oldest Cunard Steam-Ship Company shares seen, 1888, with ship vignette, L532
• Italy : Gucci Group NV, Dutch Gulden specimen stock certificate , vignettes of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, and Gucci craftsman inspecting a Gucci handbag, L598
• Czechoslovakia : L727, Prvni Pražský Měštanský Pivovor, freely translated : The First Prague Civic Brewery, 1930, multicolor print with brewing vignetttes and of course, a drinking King
• The sale includes a nice selection of Egyptian scripophily.

The Monte di Pietà, a church-run lending institution founded in Italy's 15th century, became a model for many charity institutions. Called “Monte’s” these organizations obtained their funds by means of bonds called “Luoghi di Monte” and evolved into banks and lending institutions. The bonds were registered, and guaranteed the investor a type of life annuity. This Monte non vacabile del Sale della Città di Firenze was issued as early as 1699! The loan was guaranteed by income from taxes on salt (Sale) and bears the arms of the House of Medici. L895 

Of course, there is much more to tell, but the best way is to see for yourself. Here are the auction details:

• Date : 30 Januari 2021, online auction
• Further info and catalogs, see here on HWPH. 
• Live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com, see here, where you can find high quality images of the lots.

F.L.

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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 

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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2400 scripophily lots coming up at HWPH's home base

Matthias Schmitt has scheduled its next double-session sale for 12 and 13 September 2020. With his team he brought together over 2400 lots of scripophily and related documents.

The first sale is a live auction held this time at Zorneding-Pöring, HWPH's home base. The next day an online auction takes place. Both sales offer historic and beautiful antique stocks and bonds from all continents.  

La Bourse - Journal et Banque Édouard Blée et Cie.

Édouard Blée and Pierre Nicolai founded this company in 1883 to operate a bank. The company also published a financial journal "La Bourse". The share's underprint shows a large crowded scene in front of the Paris stock exchange. This rare 2 Parts d'Intérêt certificate dates from 1884. Lot 153 in the auction welcomes bids from €250 onwards.

The emergence of the stock exchanges made a great impact on modern life. No doubt, historic shares and bonds related to bourses are fascinating. HWPH's upcoming sale includes several of these : 

• L65, Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., common shares certificate, specimen, 2001
• L90, Bourse Khédiviale du Caire, Lstg. 10 share, 1903, at the time the most important bourse in the Middle East and Africa
• L195 / L196,  £100 / £1000 debenture, The Stock Exchange, London, 1899
• L153 La Bourse, with large vignette of the bourse de Paris, see image above

The South Sea Company was founded in 1711 as The Governor and Company of Merchants of Great Britain Trading to the South Seas and other Parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery. It obtained a monopoly to trade slaves from Africa in the Spanish colonies across the Atlantic. This share was issued in 1720 at the peak of the South-Sea-Bubble when for the first time in history many small and large investors lost everything in a speculative rush at the stock market. L626 is expected to realize €3,000. 

The sale features a significant number of securities from the earliest joint-stock companies. Some examples : 

• Sparking the Industrial Revolution the Iron Bridge Company "for building a Bridge across the River Severn" was founded in 1777. Its share is signed by ironmaster Abraham Darby III who played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution. A rare and top scripophily item, L628 starts at €18,000.
• L631 consists of one of the oldest German shares, a share in the Compagnie Royale Prussienne de Bengale, 1759. It is one of the earliest shares related to the Indian subcontinent as well.  
• An amazing copper print with vignettes of ships at sea and a view on the city of Sevilla is presented as L632. This share from the Real Compañia de San Fernando de Sevilla dates from 1748.

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra gave its first concert in 1781 in the Gewandhaus. The ensemble would welcome performers such as Mozart and Liszt. From 1835 to 1847 Felix Mendelssohn was the orchestra's music director. This share from the Neues Gewandhaus in Leipzig was issued in 1884 to finance the building of a new concert hall.  It was designed by architect Martin Gropius, a friend of Mendelssohn. The new premises are illustrated in the vignette. A memorial for Mendelssohn was unveiled in front of the concert hall in 1892. Because Mendelssohn came from a Jewish family the Nazi regime ordered the removal of the statue. A bombing destroyed in 1944 the New Gewandhaus. The city of Leipzig opened again a new Gewandhaus in 1981. A bronze replica of the original Mendelssohn statue was presented in 2008. L452, a multicolor printing feat by Giesecke & Devrient, starts at €400. 

Both auctions include together more than 900 German scripophily lots  :

• Interested in German automobile history ? What about Porsche, see lots 284, 285, 286, 358 and 1856. A rare Megola-Motoren-AG share from the 1920s, L341, may find a new owner at €270.
• The Königlich Bayerisch privilegirte Krystallglas-Fabrik Theresienthal was the first joint-stock company in Niederbayern. Theresienthal was, and still is, famous for its luxury glass. Founded in 1836 the company counted among its customers King Ludwig II. Its share, issued in 1841, is one of the earliest known glass scripophily objects. Extremely rare, bids invited at €3,500. L637
• There are many flags to see in the auction catalog. The share from the Ruder-Gesellschaft Sparta e.V. Berlin-Tegel is calling with the rowing club's flag. L1753
• A map of West Germany adorns a modern specimen stock certificate, L1900, from the HCA Hypotheken-Computer-Analyse AG

The two auctions count four bonds from the McDonald's Corporation : L58, L59, L2164 and L2165. The vignette shown here is different from what we usually see on McDonald's scripophily. It is a nice example of McDonald's image building capacities. In 2011 the company held a mega job fair in the USA. Business Insider, Apr 28, 2011, wrote "It's Harder To Get A Job At McDonald's Than It Is To Get Into Harvard". McDonald's was looking then for 50,000 new workers. They hired about 62,000 people after receiving a million applications for those positions - an acceptance rate of 6.2%. Enjoy your meal ! 

There is a lot more to discover in HWPH's auction catalogs. The live auction concludes with meeting for EDHAC members. Here are the details of the event:

• Dates
• 12 September 2020, Zorneding, Germany, public auction
• 13 September 2020, online auction
• Further info and catalogs, see here on HWPH. 
• Live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com, see here, where you can find high quality images of the lots.

F.L.

HWPH includes 270 lots of Russian scripophily. A dedicated PDF catalog, in Russian, is available here.  The vignette shown is a detail from L843, a 1902 share in the AG für Walfang und Fischerei im Stillen Ocean Graf H. H. Keyserling & Cie.

Spink London announced its E-auction of world bonds & share certificates

Over 400 lots of scripophily go on Spink's E-block. This online sale already started Jan 9 15:00. The bidding window closes on January 22 11:00. At stake are antique stocks and bonds from many countries. Larger sections include UK, China, Australia, South Africa, and the Confederate States of America.

Henry Bradbury and Robert Wilmot Wilkinson organised in 1856 The Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company in London. The business specialized in the engraving and printing of banknotes, postage stamps and securities. Companies and governments from all over the world commissioned the company to print their bonds and shares. The certificate shown here was produced for the Province of Westphalia 7% Sterling Loan of 1926. The £835,000 loan consisted of 470 bonds of £500 and 6000 bonds of £100. This specimen bond is of the highest rarity. L193 in the auction

The City of Moscow Gas Company Limited obtained a 30-years concession for the gas lighting of Moscow. The contract was signed on January 29, 1865, and the company began construction of a plant on Nizhne-Susalsky Blind Alley, laying of a gas network and installation of gas lamps. By 1867, there were already over 4,000 gas lamps on the city streets. This is £20=500Francs bond from 1867 has serial nr. 1. L237 in the auction

source: Pioneers of the Methane Age, by Alexander Yefimov and Lyudmila Volkova, Oil of Russia, Lukoil International Magazine, http://www.oilru.com/or/23/389/, consulted 16th Jan 2020.

More fascinating scripophily can be seen online. Here are the details :

• Location : this is an Internet only sale
• Date : Jan 9 15:00 - Jan 22 11:00.
• Further info : see here

F.L.

Daimler-Benz auctioned in Würzburg

Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH) has scheduled its next double-session sale for 25 and 27 January 2020. Specialist Matthias Schmitt and his team brought together over 2,000 lots of scripophily and related documents for this special occasion. Included is a unique collection of antique Daimler-Benz securities. 

This 1952 Daimler-Benz AG 1000 DM unissed share brings the portraits of Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz surrounded by a multitude of security printing patterns (click image to enlarge). The only one known, the certificate is part of the Daimler-Benz collection. Lot 635 (or 673, see text) in the auction.

The first sale is a live auction at Würzburg, Germany, followed two days later by an online auction.  Both sales offer historic and beautiful antique stocks and bonds from all continents. More about the Daimler-Benz collection right away, but let me first mention some of the many other lots worth having a look at. 

Flamingo Films, Inc., Florida, $100 share, 1933 issued to and signed by Buster Keaton as President. The acrobatic Buster Keaton became one of the first stars on screen alongside Harald Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin. Lot 626 in the sale starts at €2500

Scripophily from the USA, and from most other countries, can be found in both sales, so make sure you check out both auction catalogs. Movie fans will certainly appreciate a spectacular Buster Keaton share from 1933, L(ot) 626 in the sale, see image above.

Playing in the same top league is a New York and Harlem Rail Road Company stock certificate. Ladies may know all about Gloria Vanderbilt and her perfumes, but this NYHRR share from 1848 is signed by Gloria Vanderbilt's grandfather Cornelius Vanderbilt II, her great-grandfather William Henry Vanderbilt and even her great-great-grandfather Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. L624 starts at €5000.

Éditions de la Sirène - Compagnie Française d'Édition

7% 1000 Francs obligation, Paris, 1922, printed by L. Kaldor, design by D. Galanis

Demetrios Galanis (1879-1966) is one of the greatest Greek artists from the 20th century.  A friend of Picasso, Galanis works received acclaim from the 1920s onwards in Brussels, London, and New York. In 2008 Bonhams sold The Painter's Family for £264,000. Other work can be seen in the Tate Gallery. L102 in the sale

European scripophily is known for some of the most artistic designs seen in this field. L102 is stunning certificate designed by Demetrios Galanis, see image above. Other reknown artists can be discovered on lots 131 & 144, Alfons Mucha, 630, Marcel Duchamp, 997, Kiki Picasso, and 1324 Albert Decaris.

Other interesting securities from the Old Continent are jeweler and watchmaker Cartier, L97, a stunning 1884 share from the Portuguese porcelain manufacturer Fabrica de Faiancas das Caldas da Rainha, L105. Equally marvellous in design, and partly printed in gold ink, is L644, a 1863 mining share from the Mátrai  Bánya Egyesületnél - Matraer Bergwerks-Union, Buda(pest).

Benz & Cie., Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik, AG in Mannheim, 4.5% 1000 Mark bond, 1909 

Part of the Daimler-Benz collection, lot 635 (or 666, see text) in the auction.

Daimler-Benz was formed with the merger of Benz & Cie and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in 1926. Both companies agreed thereafter that all of the factories would use the brand name of "Mercedes-Benz" on their automobiles. The name Mercedes comes from Mercedes Adrienne Ramona Manuela Jellinek. She was the daughter of Austrian automobile entrepreneur Emil Jellinek and Rachel Goggmann Cenrobert. Jellinek became one of Daimler's directors in 1900 and had a new motor racing car built. Its engine had to be named Daimler-Mercedes. The car became famous in motorsports and was later known as the Mercedes 35 hp.

The Daimler-Benz collection contains rare scripophily from the company, its predecessors, related international companies and the successor company DaimlerChrysler. All together counting 176 items, the collection is offered in thirteen group lots (L665-L677), unless the entire collection attracts bidders first, L635.

Some more German highlights : Actien-Verein für den zoologischen Garten zu Dresden, 1861, L634, and Hütten-Actien-Gesellschaft Leopold, 1858, L643. Some DM-era names : Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft 1952, L462, Pelikan AG, 1978, L552, and Volkswagen AG (trio including the "Beetle"), L1769.

Five bonds of 100 Roubles, specimen certificate, from the Internal Loan for the Strenghtening of the Defense of the USSR 1937. L812 in the auction

Collectors of scripophily from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union will be pleased to see more than 170 lots in a dedicated catalog in Russian. One of these is L659, a 500 Roubles share in the First Horse-Tram Company in Moscow, dated 1866.

Companhia Plano Inclinado Pilar da Bahia, Acção 200$000 Reis, 1898

Founded in 1897, the Pilar funicular of Salvador da Bahia has a steep grade of about 80% !

L1828 starts at €100

You can find more of these fascinating stocks and bonds in HWPH's auction catalogs. Here are the details of this event:

• Dates
• 25 January 2020, Würzburg, Germany, public auction
• 27 January 2020, online auction
• Further info and catalogs, see here on HWPH. The Russian catalog can be found there .

F.L.

Razor pioneer for sale at Archives International Auctions

Archives International Auctions' next sale is set for October 10, 2019. This live and online sale counts 1187 lots of American and worldwide banknotes, bonds and shares and security printing ephemera.  More than 500 lots of antique bonds and shares from the USA, China, Russia, Mexico and many more countries are ready to be hammered in AIA's offices in River Edge, New Jersey.

The American Bank Note Company 

"comprising American Bank Note Co, National Bank Note Co, Continental Bank Note Co"

Consolidated Agreement 1904 specimen stock certificate

Lot 584 in the auction, includes a 1859 letter announcing the merger of ABN's predecessors 

Lot 338 comprises a 25,000 Rubles - high denomination - specimen bond from the Imperial Russian Government 5.5% Short Term War Loan 1916.

This event features part 1 of the Stephen Beck Collection of railroad bonds and shares, as well as  additional selections from the John E. Herzog Collection. These items, extremely rare if not unique, have been put together over several decades. 

The Staten Island Railway Company

First Mortgage Gold 4.5% $1000 specimen bond, 1893, lot 1055

from the Stephen Beck Collection

Durham Duplex Razor Company, 1908 specimen stock certificate, vignette of man shaving with text "The Correct Diagonal Stroke". Founded in New York, 1908, the company started manufacturing in Mystic, New Jersey. Two years later another production plant was set up in Sheffield, UK, which still exists today. Ex John E. Herzog Collection, lot 672 in the sale

Many more wonderful antique securities can be seen in the auctioneer's catalog. Practical info :

• Date : October 10, 2019
• Location : River Edge, New Jersey
• More info : see here, live and absentee bidding there, 
• PDF auction catalog : here 

F.L.