American mines, British rails, and lots more, are going on the block at Spink

SPINK's latest timed scripophily auction went live and ends at 11 AM BST on August 10, 2021. This online sale presents more than 500 lots of antique bonds and shares from all continents.

The Keystone Gold Mining Co. incorporated in New Jersey, 1888. This share, printed by Stewart, Warren & Co., shows a remarkable vignette of an arch with a prominent keystone locking the other stones in place. The company's mines were located at Miquel County, Colorado. L(ot) 474 in the auction 

The sale includes an impressive section of more than 70 American mining stocks and bonds. Some noteworthy examples :

• The Indian Queen Mining and Milling Company, 1881, mines at Esmeralda County, Nevada, vignette of native American woman, L447 
• The Klamath Placer Mining Company, $500 6% Gold Bond, vignettes of mine site and native American on horseback, 1902, L478, only 240 issued 
• The Helena Mining Company, certificate for 3000 shares of $10, 1891, fine vignette of mountain peak with train in valley, mine in Leadville, Colorado, L424

It was Sir Edward James Reed, Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy, who suggested the founding of The Channel Tubular Railway Preliminary Company Ld., in French : Société Préliminaire du Chemin de Fer Tubulaire de la Manche. The company planned the construction of a railway tunnel through the Channel to connect England with France like today's Eurotunnel. The project failed due to political considerations. This 5 Parts de Fondateurs, issued in London, 1892, with Reed's signature, shows the cliffs of England and France, and a train traveling through a tube across the Channel. L151

SPINK's British offerings cover themes like banking, mining, motor cars, but also less obvious ones like golf and horse racing. Here are some interesting certificates from the railway section :

• Parsonstown and Portumna Bridge Railway Company, £10 shares, 1861, then part of Great Britain, a rare Irish railway company with no happy ending (check catalog), L170 
• L148 is a certificate for 40 shares, issued Edinburgh, 1846, in the British and Irish Union Railway Company 
• London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway, 5% preferential £50 share, 1847, L165, rare  

 

The Australian Agricultural Company was formed in 1824 with a capital of £1 million and a grant from the Crown of 1 million acres of land in New South Wales. The company became one of the largest exporters of coal from the Colony and built its own railways - the first one in Australia - to serve its pits. Convicts formed a major employee type of the  AACo. The company still exists today operating feedlots and farms covering about 1% of Australia's land. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as AAC. This early Australian share, with a Golden Fleece embossed seal, is one of the auction highlights. L2 

To conclude this post, here are some interesting items from the catalog's other sections :

• L95, Paarl Kohinoor Developing Syndicate, £25 share, ca 1889, South Africa, diamond mining, rare
• L297, and L298, are shares from The British Honduras Syndicate Ltd, 1890s, banana business, large and gorgious vignette !
• L138 is a 1916 bond from The Holy Synod of The Empire of Russia 
• Watertown and Madison Railroad Company, 2nd mortgage bond $1000, locomotive vignette, fine scrollwork, rare US railroad scripophily, L410

Gustave Doré, born in Strassbourg, France, was a succesful painter and illustrator. The exhibition of his work in London, 1867, led to the foundation of the Doré Gallery in Bond Street, London. The building became later Sotheby's London headquarters ! This share from 1890 shows a vignette of the artist. L251 

You can find more of these fascinating stocks and bonds in the SPINK online catalogue. Here are the auction details : 

• location & date : online only, this timed auction ends on : 10 Aug 2021, 11:00 AM BST
• online catalogue see here  

F.L.

PS : Did you enjoy this post ? Thank you for sharing it on your favorite social media channel !

Watermarks in Scripophily – part 1 Introduction

This article is an introduction into a lesser known aspect of securities : watermarks. If you don’t know what a watermark is then hold a banknote toward a light source. Against the light a design appears, at least this is the case on many banknotes. 

Watermarks can be seen on official documents, banknotes, stamps, cheques and also bonds and shares. When you investigate a new entry for your collection, you want to look for a watermark. 

However, most certificates don’t show watermarks; no wonder that many collectors overlook this feature. Yet, now and then you will be surprised by what emerges from the dark side. 

image 1a. The shortlived Nira Valley Sugar Co had a factory at Malegaon in Maharashtra, India. It operated a narrow gauge railway at its sugar cane mill. This share was issued to Maharaja Ganshyamsinhji Ajitsinhji of Dhrangadhra, Bombay, 1920.  

image 1b. Viewed against a window on a sunny day, the share reveals in the lower border a watermark of the paper manufacturer "STANLEY". The four black dots in the corners of the ‘watermark’ image are the silhouettes of little magnets used to hold the certificate in place on a semi-transparant screen when photographed. Click image to enlarge

Watermarks were first developed as the paper manufacturer’s hallmark. Early Italian paper manufacturers from the 13th century started experimenting with this idea. Watermarks that were created by the paper makers themselves are a first category of watermarks in scripophily. See image 1a en 1b as an example. 

How are these things created ? Watermarks are drawings created in paper during the paper manufacturing process. They are produced by having a design raised on the rolls through which the paper pulp is passed during manufacture. 

The designs applied on the rolls cause density variations in the produced paper. In turn, these density variations make an image or a pattern appear in the paper in the form of various shades of lightness and darkness.

image 2a. The Tambracherry Estates & Wynaad Gold Mining Co Ltd had mining operations in the Indian state of Kerala but eventually purchased estates for the cultivation of coffee, tea, and the like. £1 shares, London, 1882.  

image 2b. Written upwards along the right border, a watermark shows “WATERLOW & SONS”, the printer of this certificate. The watermark image was taken on a cloudy day, hence the darker appearance.

Printers of banknotes realized that watermarks in notes could be used as an extra anticounterfeiting device. Halfway through 17th century Stockholms Banco was the first bank that applied a watermark in a banknote; it revealed the word ‘BANCO’. 

Later, security printers adopted the technique and occasionally applied tailor-made watermarks that identified the printing house. This type of watermarks forms a second category. See the Waterlow & Sons example, images 2a & 2b.

In addition to watermarks from paper manufacturers and printers, governments and companies have issued certificates that were produced with customized watermarks. In most cases these comprise the name of the issuer, or the latter’s coat of arms or logo. This is a third category of watermarks in scripophily. As an example, see images 3a en 3b. 

image 3a. Some issuers of securities ordered their own watermark. Here is a Reserve Bank of India certificate for Rs100 issued in 1935. 

image 3b. The entire watermark design almost forms a share on its own including the name ‘RESERVE BANK OF INDIA’ in front of large sun with rays, and a triple line border, all around the certificate. Click image to enlarge

There is little scripophily literature that addresses these features. I know of two books : World War II Remembered, by C Frederick Schwan & Joseph E Boling, and Alexander Kipfer’s Historische Wertpapiere der Spanischen Königlichen und privaten Handelsgesellschaften des 18. Jahrhunderts. 

The comprehensive Schwan/Boling volume describes numismatics, in the broadest sense, including bonds, issued by the WW II powers, and where applicable watermarks are described or illustrated. You can find more details on this work here.

Kipfer’s book describes the securities of the 18th century Spanish trading companies. Also here a handfull of these have been identified as bearing watermarks. 

images 4a and 4b. The Real Compañia de Filipinas took over the Real Compañia de Comercio Establecida en Barcelona in 1785. As a result the company obtained a trade monopoly with the Philippines. Depending on the paper that was used, some of its 250 pesos shares from 1785 display a watermark, others don’t. Alexander Kipfer spotted the stylishly elaborated letters 'AF' on some shares from this company. 

The Schweizer Finanz Museum provided the left image. The other one  was taken from the Alexander Kipfer's book with permission of the publisher Haag & Herchen GmbH.

I'm planning some follow-up articles for later to illustratie the variety that exists in these watermarks on bonds and shares : 

• Watermarks by paper manufacturers
• Watermarks by printers
• Watermarks by companies & governments
• Watermarks that really stand out

image 5a. and 5b. Examples from the third category, custom watermarks used by companies or governments, can be astonishing. 

This Indian Post Office 5-Year Cash Certificate for 20 Rupees, 1935, shows off its watermarks created in several shades of dark and light. You can detect a repeating pattern made up of the words GOVT of INDIA and the Star of India emblem. Joe Boling, co-author of WW II Remembered, identified the dark letters as the British royal cipher, GRI, which stands for Georgius Rex Imperator, or George, King (of Britain) and Emperor (of India). Click image to enlarge

If you have a certificate with a remarkable watermark, then you can email me an image. But be carefull while handling the certificate. You don't want to end up with a torn corner or a heavy fold.

F.L.

This article was published in Scripophily magazine No. 113, August 2020.

You might be interested to read : Watermarks in Scripophily - part 2 Paper manufacturers 

Previous posts

• (Finnish scripophily) Book : Osakekirjat Kertovat 
• Taxonomy of a certificate : Iowa Union Telephone and Telegraph Company 

Scripophily Puzzle No. 3 - solution

Scripophily Puzzle No. 3 was about a sensational art theft that happend in Belgium during the night of 10 April 1934. As a matter of speaking, you could say that, back then, the news of the robbery went viral.

On Thursday, April 12, 1934, The New York Times reported  :

Thief Steals Panel by van Eycks That Treaty Restored to Belgium

Wrenches It From Altarpiece, 'Adoration of the Lamb,' in Ghent Cathedral During Night — Most Sensational Art Theft Since That of 'Mona Lisa' Is Laid to an Eccentric. Thief Steals Panel by van Eycks That Treaty Restored to Belgium

-- Wireless to The New York Times ---

BRUSSELS, April 11. — One of the panels from the polyptych, "The Adoration of the Lamb," by the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, one of the masterpieces of Flemish art, was stolen last night from the Cathedral of St. Bavon in Ghent. ... The panel stolen is the panel of St. John the Baptist and includes the figures of virtuous judges. It is about 54 inches long and 22 inches wide. The theft was discovered early this morning when the beadle of the cathedral was making his rounds. The thief had evidently hidden in the cathedral last night and had allowed himself to be locked in. ... The polyptych had been complete only since the conclusion of the World War, when Germany was ordered to return two panels, one of them that [was] stolen last night. The theft of a panel of the Ghent altarpiece is the most sensational event in the art world since a thief walked out of the Louvre in Paris with Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" in August, 1911. ...

source: timesmachine.nytimes.com, accessed 2 Sep 2020

The three towers in the old Ghent city center, from left to right :

A) Saint Nicholas Church, B) Belfry of Ghent, C) Saint Bavo Cathedral

Puzzle No. 3 was a multiple-choice question in which you had to indicate one of three towers in a vignette. I also gave you two visual clues that lead to the solution : images of share certificates in these two companies :

1. La Victoire des Flandres SA - Vlaanderens Zege NV
2. Société de Plantation & d'Exportation de l'Elaeis au Kasaï, dite "Plantexel"

Obviously the vignette with the three towers was taken from the former share in a Flemish insurance company. After enlarging the image - by clicking it - you could see that the company was based in the city of Ghent. Searching online for images of towers in Ghent would confirm your first clue: Ghent. 

Registered office in Ghent 

in French : siège social Gand 

in Dutch : maatschappelijke zetel Gent 

The second clue showed a share from Plantexel, dated 1928. This Belgian company cultivated palm oil, aka elaeis, in Belgian Congo. You'll be surprised knowing how this company fits in this story.

First, let us have a look at the painting. It looks like this when all panels are open. The panels have paintings on both sides.

The brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck painted the Ghent Altarpiece, or the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, in Dutch: Het Lam Gods, in the 15th-century. The polyptych altarpiece measures with all panels open 11 ft × 15 ft (3.4 m × 4.6 m). This masterpiece of European art is located in the St Bavo Cathedral, Ghent.

In our story, the stolen panel is the one in the lower left corner. The painting on its front side is called The Just Judges or The Righteous Judges, in Dutch: De rechtvaardige rechters. A notice from the public prosecutor's office, dated 12 April 1934, shows one of the last pictures taken from the paintings on the front and the back of the panel. 

The public prosecutor's office distributed two days after the theft a notice with a description of the panel.
Left : front side painting The Just Judges 
Right : rear side painting St John the Baptist 

attribution : Vdkdaan / CC BY-SA, Wikipedia

At the end of April 1934 the thief demanded from the Bishop of Ghent a ransom of one million Belgian francs in return for the panel. The Belgian government intervened and refused to meet the demand.

The authorities started negociations after receiving a second letter from the thief in May 1934. More letters led to the return of the rear side painting. There was no further trace of the thief.

At this point our main suspect comes in to the story.  On 25 November 1934, stockbroker Arsène Goedertier, once a sacristan of the Bishopric of Ghent, suffered a heart attack. He was dying in the sole company of his lawyer to whom Goedertier declared that he knew the repository of the painting. Goedertier however was not able to disclose it but, so told the lawyer, he referred to documents hidden in the house.

signature Arsène Goedertier 

The documents found were incriminating and included carbon copies of the ransom notes. The  lawyer notified the police only a month later.  The latter concluded that Goedertier had been the thief.

After a while doubts arose whether Goedertier had been the thief, or the brain behind it. Some suggested that somebody else may have put the incriminating documents in Goedertier's home office after the latter's death. Several researchers have tried to prove Goedertier's guilt or innocence or tried to find the painting.

Today the original painting The Just Judges is still missing. What you see today, and also in the picture above, is a copy made in 1945 by Jef Van der Veken. A Ghent police detective is still assigned to the case of the missing painting.

Arsène Goedertier was one of the directors of "Plantexel". He signed many of the company's founder shares (the 2nd clue in this puzzle).

Searching the word 'Plantexel' in Google yields links to the story of the famous theft. The answer for this puzzle is C: Saint Bavo Cathedral, the location of the Ghent Altarpiece by the van Eyck brothers.

I received one correct reply. Well done reader-detective DB ! Why don't they assign you the Goedertier case ! 

 F.L.



Previous posts

• The spectacular collapse of the South Sea Company shares 
• Uncharted : The Buller Gold Mining Syndicate 

Puzzling scripophily - No. 3

Unleash your detective skills !

Here is a vignette showing three towers in a row. Have a good look at it. In this puzzle, I want you to solve the following question : Is it A, B or C ? Now, that's simple, isn't it !

Of course, you need some more inputs to find the solution unless you are a clairvoyant. Here is hint one. The vignette was used on a share from the insurance company La Victoire des Flandres SA - Vlaanderens Zege NV.

courtesy : Mario Boone, The Scripophily Center

And here is hint no. 2, a share from a Belgian Congo company. This is also the last hint that I can give you.

The question is simple. Look at the vignette on top of this post. Choose your answer A, B or C, and tell me briefly why your choice is the solution of this puzzle.

• How to take part ? Submit your reply in the comments section of this post, or in any other way.
• What's in it for you ? The first correct answer yields eternal fame. 
• When will the solution be revealed ? Check this particular blog post .

Good luck !

F.L.

Previous posts

• Uncharted : The Buller Gold Mining Syndicate 
• Did you miss Scripophily magazine in 2019 ? On purpose ? 

Did you miss Scripophily magazine in 2019 ? On purpose ?

Scripophily is the world’s most comprehensive and insightful publication for passionate collectors and active researchers of antique securities. This three-yearly periodical, printed on high quality paper, is the flagship of The International Bond and Share Society (IBSS).

Scripophily magazine discusses hundreds of auction highlights. Issue 109, April 2019, mentioned this certificate in the report on Boone's October 2018 auction. It is a dividend share in The Compagnie Belge-Néerlandaise de Sambas (Borneo). This Belgian enterprise obtained concessions for mining, agricultural and forestry operations from the sultan of Sambas. Its 1899  share realized €180 in the auction. 

courtesy : www.booneshares.com 

If you don't know the magazine then here are 4 takeaways :

1. Enjoy fascinating stories on the people and organizations that issued the old stock and bond certificates. 
2. Read about the latest market and auction reports.
3. Stay up-to-date on important news, and gossip. Scripophily magazine informs you about new discoveries, announcements by collector clubs and scripophily related exhibitions, publication of books, rumours and fait-divers about our hobby, events and bourses, and much more.
4. Scripophily magazine is the only English language journal covering topics from all over the world about any theme thinkable.

The three 2019 issues of Scripophily magazine counted over 120 pages, reported on about 100 auctions, featured around 400 images, and were shipped to over three hundred members on all continents. 

On top of that, subscribing to Scripophily magazine brings you valuable free extras :

• 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.
• The Newsletter, so you may keep up with what is going on
• 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.
• Newsflashes on the website focus on hot topics that can't wait for the next issue of the magazine. 
• Get extra credibility : being listed as a member is a good reference in any deals made remotely with parties previously unknown. 

What's the catch ? 

Well, the subscription fee is ridiculous, that's all. Subscribing to IBSS's magazine costs you only £20 or $32 or €25, true ! I looked it up. The price is still the same as it was in 2013. How much longer will it stay like that. Now that you know it, don't miss this boat.

F.L. 

Related links

• IBSS web site 
• Join IBSS, subscribe to Scripophily magazine 

Previous posts

• Franky's Scripophily BlogSpot exists 10 years ! 
• Star of India  

Selamat pagi ! Boone auctions Indonesian scripophily

Mario Boone's 64th auction takes place on 4 April. The sale offers about 1,700 lots of antique stocks and bonds from all corners of the world. I'll come back to these in a follow up post but now I want to discuss a unique scripophily collection that is part of the sale. 

Boone's upcoming sale features the first part of a unique collection of Indonesian scripophily. This is a 1895 share from the Kediri-Stoomtrammaatschappij. The company, founded in the same year, ran a steam operated tramway service connecting Kediri with Pare and Jombang, East Java. Tens of sugar factories from the surrounding area used the line to deliver their produce in Kedira, a sugar trading hub. Lot 245 in the auction

Boone's upcoming sale includes the first part of an extraordinary collection of bonds and shares related to Indonesia's colonial history. This time almost 250 lots will be auctioned from many economic themes like mining, oil extraction, tobacco, agriculture, coffee, tea, sugar, rubber, forestry, construction & building, banking, insurance, shipping, railroads & tramways, transport, trading, shops, electric-water-lighting utilities, and more.

The Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van de Suikeronderneming Koning Willem II was founded in 1891 with a capital of 492,000 Gulden divided into 984 shares. Its sugar factory was located in Sidoardjo. L117 

Indonesia is a quite impressive country. Its name origins from the Greek words Indos (Ἰνδός) and nesos (νῆσος), meaning "Indian" and "islands". More than 17,000 islands are home to about 270 million people (2018), more or less 1/3rd of the population in Europe. Indonesians use about 540,000 kilometers of roads. The country occupies an area of 1.9 million km2, that is roughly 1/5th of Europe. Unlike Europe, the islands count 400 volcanoes, around 130 are active. Their eruptions in the distant past produced fertile lands, ideally suited for farming and coffee and tea estates. 

Lot 292 consists of a 1949 share and this preference share, 1937, both specimens, from Heineken's Nederlandsch-Indische Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij, Surabaya. The brewery company makes one of Indonesia's most popular beers, Bintang.

The collection covers dozens of locations from different islands, e.g. Java: Jogjakarta, Magelang, Besuki, Japara, Sidoarjo, Surabaya, Madoera, Probolinggo; Borneo: Benkajang, Balangan; Sulawesi: Pagoeat, Belang; and Sumatra: Tjenako, Langkat, Medan, Tamiang. Many more places and districts can be found in the catalog's lot descriptions.

NV "Prauwenveer Kalimas" from Surabaya operated a ferry service with Indonesian proas, L263

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 

From the Indonesia collection : a 1912, Art Nouveau style, share from Les Huileries de Sumatra, a palm oil producer. Lot 212 in the sale.

F.L.
NB : The latter image is for a short period available as an online jigsaw puzzle, check that out here.

Belgian Association for Scripophily exists 40 years

The Belgian Association for Scripophily, in French: Association Belge de Scriptophilie (ABS), in Dutch : Belgische Vereniging van Scriptophilie (BVS), is a non-profit society that was founded 40 years ago in 1980. Ever since, the society's members gather once a month, to share news and discuss findings in our field of collection.

Two years ago member Denis Sagaert took the initiative to publish a free scripophily newsletter. More than reason enough to have a talk with him ! For the occassion, Denis choose the images for this post.

Alfred Van Neste (1874-1969) created the design for the founders share in the Société Anversoise de Cartonnages & Biseautages. The company, founded in 1899, was a book producer and publishing company from Antwerp. Van Neste, a landscape painter, illustrator and engraver, became one of Antwerp's most known poster designers. Click the image to enlarge and discover several illustrations from stages in early book production. The drawings are so prominent that the Art Nouveau elements in the border nearly escape our attention. Just below the rooster in the upper left corner you'll find 'SACB', the company's cypher (an interlacing or placing together of letters).

FL Denis, welcome to our virtual studio. How did you become a collector of antique securities ?

Denis I bought my first old shares in 2004 at a flea market in Brussels. As an  asset manager I was already very familiar with bonds and shares, but I had no clue about 'scripophily'. Two years later, I read a newspaper article written by the chairman of the Belgian society. I then became a member.

FL Do you collect certain themes ? 

Denis Yes, my main themes are Belgian-Russian shares, Belgian tramways and Belgian mining companies.

The Solvay company is a global player in the chemical and pharmaceutical business. The brothers Ernest Solvay and Alfred Solvay founded the company in 1863 to produce sodium carbonate by the Solvay proces. The vignette on the left is derived from the company's 50th anniverary medal made in 1913 by Belgian sculptor and medalist Victor Rousseau. In 1938 a similar, much larger bronze plaque made by Rousseau, was delivered for the Solvay memorial monument in Rebecq, the birthplace of the brothers. This bearer share dates from 1967, the year of Solvay's first public offering of shares to the public.

FL Denis, can you tell something about ABS/BVS ?

Denis Our association was founded in 1980 when scripophily was still a young hobby. ABS/BVS is a non-profit organization. Once a month we gather in Jezus-Eik, close to Brussels, and hold an auction for members. Occasionally, non-members are allowed to take part in a special auction either on-site or through submission of email bids. Also, people who still own some old cancelled bonds and shares, can contact our chairman for value estimations. They can also consign their 'non-valeurs' for sale at the club auction.

FL How many members does the society has ? 

Denis We have about 25 members.

FL I've seen that the newsletter is mainly written in French. Do most members speak French ?

Denis There are a little more French speakers. We have a small group of members from France! But there is no big difference with the number of Dutch speakers.

Banker André Langrand-Dumonceau founded in 1863 the Banque de Crédit Foncier et Industriel. From the 1850s through the 1860s Langrand-Dumonceau tried to build a major Catholic financial group in Europe to counterbalance the so-perceived Jewish dominance in the financial sector. He became manager of tens of financial companies. He founded Royale Belge, one of the largest Belgian insurance companies. Pope Pius IX, King Leopold of Belgium, Napoleon III of France, and other European notables supported Langrand-Dumonceau's activities. However, by 1870, his financial empire collapsed and he fled to the USA. Langrand-Dumonceau signed this 1863 certificate for 20 shares of 500 Francs. 

FL Denis, the society has an interesting website. What does it offer ?

Denis The site hosts a very extensive online database of antique securities (*). Of course, you can find information about our club and our hobby. In case of a 'special auction', we put the auction catalog online as well.
(*) Editor's note: you can search among more than 40,000 bonds and shares

FL You decided to publish a newsletter. What is it about ?

Denis We have a lots of resources on Belgian business histories, like the Moniteur and Recueil Financier year books. We bring topics on Belgian scripophily. In cases where a foreign company has a Belgian connection, eg. through its shareholders, then we might bring topics on foreign corporations too. In all cases, the content should be a combination of financial history and known bonds and shares.

FL Denis, was there a particular reason to start the newsletter ?

Denis Well, in the first place, we hope our members find it interesting, but publishing a newsletter is also a great way to give visibility to our association. The number of collectors in Belgium is diminishing. Hopefully, we can attract new members with this project.

L'Ikelemba was an agricultural and trading company, especially in rubber. The company's assets were located in the Ikelemba river bassin, in today's Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Lithographie du "Messager de Bruxelles" produced this share from 1898, a great example of a chromolithograph. Instead of using techniques like intaglio printing (e.g. engraving) or raised relief (wood-cut), this printing process was based on a flat surface printing method. The drawing was made on a special stone. By means of chemicals, ink was attracted by the drawing and repelled from the surrounding areas. In the case of multiple colors, separate stones were used for each color. A single print went through the press separately for each 'color' stone. The big challenge was to keep the resulting color prints aligned to form a unified image.  

FL I can't resist asking the next question, I'm a bad person, but what is your favorite certificate ? 

Denis Hm ... one of my favorites is a L'Ikelemba, action de dividende, from 1898 and extremely decorative.

FL Denis, I want to thank you for this interview and wish you success with the newsletter. 

Related links

• Interested collectors can subscribe to the free ABS/BVS newsletter by contacting the society at scripophilybe@gmail.com 
• Association Belge de Scripophilie (ABS), Belgische Vereniging van Scriptophilie (BVS) 

F.L.

Societăți pe acțiuni românești în Austro-Ungaria - Hârtii de Valoare Istorice - Colecția Alois Weil

Societăți pe acțiuni românești în Austro-Ungaria is a brand new volume on antique securities from Romanian companies formed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918), more specifically in Transylvania.

The book, a large format, multicolor, hardcover publication was put together by authors Alois Weil, Gabriel Căsap and Ion Chirescu. It is illustrated with share certificates, mainly from financial companies, from the Weil collection.

Transylvania is a region in central Romania. The term is also used to refer to a larger area that includes parts of Crișana and Maramureș, and the Romanian part of Banat. Up through the 19th century Transylvania was an agricultural society. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (Ausgleich) made Transylvania a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. At the end of World War I Transylvania was united with Romania.

Here's a picture from the book's table of contents (in Romanian), click image to enlarge. Notice the bound bookmark produced with the colors of the flag of Romania.

The authors presented their book on February 10, 2020, in the presence of hundreds of Phd students and invited guests, in the „Lucian Blaga” Central University Library, Cluj-Napoca. The event also featured an exhibition of shares of banking companies from Transylvania.

The Allgemeine Versicherungsbank Transsylvania AG is one of the companies that is discussed in the book. This share was issued on Jun 21, 1918, only a few months before Transylvania became a part of Romania Dec 1, 1918. Illustrated are the coats of arms of the seven provinces of Transylvania. 
image courtesy : BooneShares, auction Oct 2018 

Some more details about the book :

• Title :  Societăți pe Acțiuni Românești în Austro-Ungaria - Hârtii de Valoare Istorice - Colecția Alois Weil, in English: Romanian Joint-Stock Companies in Austria-Hungary - Historical Shares and Bonds - Alois Weil Collection
• Authors : Alois Weil, Gabriel Căsap and Ion Chirescu
• ID : ISBN 978-606-93235-9-5, publised by Art Group-România, under the aegis of Museum of Romanian Records, 2019
• Languages : Romanian, with a summary chapter in English and German
• Number of pages : 349
• Images
• nearly 200 large color images of share certificates 
• about the same number of detail images and vignettes from these securities 
• over 200 enlarged images of signatures seen on the securities
• many postcards of company premises, pictures of significant business people, and the like
• Index : no index, but one of the chapters contains a table with the details of 185 banking institutions organized as joint-stock companies

The stunning certificate illustrated on the left is from Plugarul, s.p.a. în Cacova, a credit company that serviced the agricultural sector. 'Plugarul' is Romanian for plowman. The share is signed by Ioan Opreanu, president of the Cacova parish committee (see signature in detail).

Click image to enlarge

Company entries in the book are grouped by historical period. Each company is discussed in its historical context. Most shares are illustrated together with enlarged images of the signatures of the company officers who signed them, each one briefly identified and described.

This is a top work for anyone interested in Romania, Austria-Hungary, banking, and of course, artistic designs in scripophily !


F.L. 

Related link

• scripophily from Siebenbürgen (German for Transsylvania), thank you for the tip Roland !

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Scripophily magazine uncovers the stories of historic and artistic securities

Scripophily magazine brings you into the world of antique stocks and bonds. Buckle up! Compelling stories, business plot twists and memorable personalities won't let you go during your reading journey. You'll find out about today's discoveries. Reports from the auction markets will keep you up-to-date. So, if you are serious about this matter, then this is the magazine you are looking for.

Scripophily was first published in 1982 under the name The Bond & Share Society Journal. On the occasion of the magazine's 100th edition, editor Max Hensley testified :

"The magazine appears on high quality paper, articles are longer and brought with more images in full color. Every issue was produced .. without paying a penny for content".

That's right, all content is created voluntarily by enthousiastic people from the hobby, three times a year.

Issue 108 brings over 50 pages of scripophily news, in depth articles, pictures of collector friends, auction reports and more than 100 high quality images of stunning, historic or rare stocks and bonds. Here is a summary on the topics brought in the latest issue :

• Swiss railway scripophily on Youtube 
• Newsletter about Belgian scripophily 
• Herzog Collection on the IBSS website 
• Mexican scripophily sources 
• New book on US railways by Terry Cox 
• New book on the Wogau Empire (Russia) by Erik Meyer 
• Playwright Neil Simon 
• The shipyard from Gdansk 
• Saved at the last minute, a story on share adventures
• Donating collections, do's and don'ts 
• "A L'Innoviation" inferno (Belgium) 
• Borki train disaster (Ukraine) 
• Cattle ranching in the US 
• Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Co 
• Survival rates on US Mining scripophily 

Is this a free magazine? No. Good stuff is never for free. But a 1-year subscription full of excitement only costs £20 or $32 or €25. The magazine is published by the International Bond and Share Society, the leading international organization for collectors, dealers and auctioneers in this field. More info : https://scripophily.org/membership/join/ 

F.L.

Related links

• What is Scripophily, a quick introduction  
• What is a share, what is a stock certificate ? 
• Scripophily Journals available to the public from the International Bond & Share Society

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Numismatics teams up with Scripophily in Leuven

Interested in antique stocks and bonds from Belgium and Belgian Congo ? Looking for Russian bonds, French railway shares, and lots of other scripophily items ? Then there is a good chance to find what you want at the 52nd International Numismatic Collector's Bourse in the Brabanthal, Leuven, Belgium.

This 1899 share from Les Produits du Mayombe,
designed in art nouveau style by the artist F. Wylands,
can still be found at a reasonable price.

The event takes place on 1 May, 2018 and is an initiative from Numismatica Leuven in cooperation with the Belgische Vereniging voor Scriptofilie (Belgian Association for Scripophily). The bourse attracts hundreds of table holders from nearly 20 countries and will feature up to 40 tables of scripophily dealers and/or collectors.

Many antique securities were illustrated with nice vignettes.
This share from Le Grand Bazar de la Place Saint-Lambert, Liège,
was issued in 1924 and printed by Lith. La Cote Libre from Brussels.
Click-image to enlarge

More details : 

• Place to be : Brabanthal, Brabantlaan 1, Heverlee, Belgium
• Date : 1 May, 2018
• More info : 
• event at the Brabanthal, Leuven 
• Numismatica Leuven vzw 
• vzw Belgische Vereniging voor Scriptofilie or via email guy.bertrand@telenet.be 

F.L.

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Scripophily magazine reveals early Fiji scripophily

The International Bond & Share Society (IBSS) recently launched its 105th issue of Scripophily magazine. IBSS started 40 years ago and since then has been encouraging collecting of antique securities. The society publishes its flagship, Scripophily magazine,  three times a year and also offers a free newsletter.

This time the magazine counts over 50 pages illustrated with more than 100 images of bonds and shares.  An overview of the stories :

• Digging scripophily at the Carrera Marble Quarries 
• "Numismatics, meet Scripophily" exhibit at the American Numismatic Association Convention 
• The Newport Casino 
• Rogues Gallery, extract from Hollender's Financing the World
• Scripophily of the Gold Coast and Ghana 
• Animal vignettes 
• U.S. Presidents on Scripophily 
• Profile and history of the Warner Company 
• Southern Revenue-stamped stock certificates of the Civil War Era, part II 
• "Selling the Stock", about the use of securities as advertising and promotion material 
• The New York Produce Exchange 
• Cox's Corner, the periodical column on our hobby 

Other recurring topics are : society matters, news, bourse reviews, auction reviews, events calendar, member classifieds, book reviews, interviews, letters to the editor and the like. 

The auction section includes tens of reports from sales in Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, UK and USA. Noted top sellers were shares from the Compagnie des Indes, Bank of China and a BMW founder's specimen share. The magazine provides more details on these and hundreds of other lots auctioned over the past months worldwide. One eyecatcher was a Fiji share sold by Downies, Australia, illustrated below.

Downies 324th sale ran from 18th to 20th July 2017. The auction took place in Box Hill, Victoria, Australia, and included a remarkable, early Fijian share certificate from The Polynesia Company, Limited. 

The Polynesia Company, Limited 

certificate for £2 shares, 1869 

An alert collector purchased this early Fiji scripophily 

for (only) A$120, buyer's premium not included. 

image : Downies

Before Fiji became a British colony in 1874, its government was dominated by European settlers. The Polynesia Company incorporated 7th Dec 1868 after purchasing around 200,000 acres of land around Suva in Fiji. The land was bought from local chiefs including warlord Cakobau, a former cannibal before he was christened in 1854. Because of the rising price of cotton following the American Civil War (1861-1865), the company had become interested in acquiring land in Fiji for planting cotton. However, several legal issues arose when it turned out that the land Cakobau had sold was not completely his to give. 

Not a member of IBSS yet ?
Then these links should help you out :

•  International Bond & Share Society 
•  free sample of Scripohily magazine 
•  free newsletter 
•  IBSS on Facebook 

F.L.