Over 1400 lots of scripophily will be auctioned at HSK's headquarters in Wolfenbüttel

Hanseatisches SammlerKontor für Historische Wertpapiere (HSK) plans its next auction of stocks and bonds on June 1, 2024 at its headquarters in Wolfenbüttel. More than 1400 lots are described in full in a 230 pages counting auction catalogue. All lots can be viewed online as well.

Briar root wood (heather, bruyère in French) is a type of wood used for making smoking pipes. It is known for its heat and fire resistance. Due to its hardness the wood surface can be smoothed and polished, while at the same time its porosity absorbs the smoking condensates. This share in the Bruyère-Pfeifen Aktiengesellschaft from Hamburg was issued in 1921. Printed by Jagdmann & Bohm, its stunning Art Deco design is adorned with more than one hundred Bruyère pipes. Extremely rare, L(ot) 518 starts at €1400. 

The auction includes several German chapters: Bremen und Niedersachsen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany before 1945, German railways securities issued in Reichsmarks, Germany railways securities issued in Deutsche Mark and Germany after 1945. 

Leonhard Fanto (Vienna, 1874 - Dresden, 1940) was an Austrian artist known for his costume paintings and genre scenes from the Balkans. He became director for costume and set design at the Dresden Semper Opera. In his composition for this scrip receipt in the German 6th war loan of 1917, Fanto included an emerging submarine. L706 starts at €100.  

The auction features scripophily from all over the world with strong sections of European and American stocks and bonds. 

L35, stock certificate in The Berkeley Athletic Association, New York, 1891. Start price €380 

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

• Date : 1 June, 2024 
• Further info, see here; and live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com as well   

F.L.

HWPH's 66th auction

Happy New Year! 2024 kicks off with Matthias Schmitt's 66th auction. It takes place as an online-only auction and includes almost 600 lots of antique shares and bond certificates.

For the time being this will be the auctioneer's last auction. The prime part of HWPH's business, Russian scripophily, is badly affected by the war of Russia against Ukraine. The auction offers mainly unsold items from previous auctions. With all lots starting at €5, you may strike a bargain!

Part of the sale is a section of roughly 100 lots of American railroad stocks and bonds. Illustrated here is L(ot) 171, a bond from the Savannah and Charleston Rail Road Company, South Carolina, issued in 1869. 

The sale features several shares designed by artists of the time. L224, a share in the Goedkoope Antwerpsche Beenhouwerij, literally translated: 'cheap Antwerp butchery', was designed by one of Belgium's most talented sculptors: Jef Lambeaux. Among the other artists to be hammered are Hermann Gradl, L452, and Demetrios Galanis, L239. 

About 100 lots span three centuries of German insurance activities. Shown here is, L476 a 1961 specimen share certificate from the Allianz Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft. Allianz, one of the largest insurers in the world, is part of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. 

All major themes are represented such as railways, mining and government bonds. By means of the online search features you can find the lesser obvious themes as well. A few examples: 

• Bridges, L121 The Main Street Bridge Co, Indiana 
• Music, L242 EMI Ltd 
• Ceramics, L79 Ceramica Industrial de Osasco (Brazil)
• Casino, L461 Casino im Frankfurter Hof 

Another example is a share from the Tsingtao Brewery Company Ltd, China. The company originates from the Germania-Brauerei Tsingtao brewery founded in 1903 by English and German entrepreneurs. In 1993 it became the first Chinese firm listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. L23 was issued in 1996 to scripophily pioneer Wilhelm Kuhlmann. 

There is lots more to discover in the auction. Here are the auction details :

• Location: this is an Internet only auction
• Date: 18 January 2024 
• Further info : online catalog see here on the auctioneer's website, or via the Invaluable platform, see there  

F.L.

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Booneshares offers rare US railroad and South American certificates in December scripophily auction

Mario Boone is a major player in the field of antique share certificates and financial documents. The auctioneer scheduled his 71st scripophily auction on 2 December 2023. This auction will take place live on the internet via the Invaluable platform. On the agenda are more than 1000 lots of bonds and shares.

The auction features stunning shares from all parts of the world. This founders share from the Banque de Cochinchine was issued in 1907 and printed by the well-known security printer Crabbé. The share is signed by Noël Pardon, who previously was acting governor of Cochinchina and New Caledonia, and then governor of Guadeloupe and Martinique. L(ot) 46 starts at €400.

For this occasion, auctioneer Mario Boone has compiled a strong section of US railroad certificates. To give an example: L777, starting at €300, comprises a 1877 bond from The Cheraw and Chester Railroad Company, South Carolina. Only two examples known and coxrail.com reports no sales recorded within the last ten years. 

The US railroad section counts over 200 lots. A few more examples:

• 5% First Mortgage Gold Bond $1000 from The Canon City and Cripple Creek Electric Railway Company, mountain vignette, 1897, L762
• L949, The Western Virginia and Kentucky Rail Road and Coal Company, $1000 bond, 1857, several vignettes, amazing scrollwork and very rare
• L769, The Central Union Depot and Railway Company, $100 shares, 1885, vignette of Cincinnati building and street scene 
• A rare print from the American Bank Note Company is L876, Nevada Southern Railway Company, First Mortgage 5% 30 Year Gold Bond of $1000, 1893 

The auction catalog includes stock certificates from companies involved in all types of activities. Such as this CELTA share. This cooperative was founded in 1931 to compete with Sudam, a private company providing electricity to the city of Tres Arroyos in Argentina. The still existing cooperative expanded its activities over the years also including telephone, funeral, health and dental services. This share, issued in 1939, presents a bold Art Deco scene conceived by the artist T. Menna. 

Often these old securities have been designed by the artists of the day. The auction catalog lists a special index of the artists and engravers featured in the offerings. The certificate illustrated below depicts a Congolese woman with basket, an elephant tusk, a village, a map of the Basankusu region and the Star of Congo in the underprint. 

The early 20th century share shown here is from the notorious ABIR. The company harvested rubber in the Congo Free State, then private property of King Leopold II of Belgium. ABIR forced the local population to pay taxes and to harvest rubber under inhumane conditions. Those who failed where beated, mutilated, killed or their relatives were kidnapped or raped. This share from 1904 is a testament to Belgium's awful low point in history. 

It was Frans Hens who made the design of the certificate. He was the first Belgian artist to travel in the 1880s through the Congo and paint its nature, villages and people. He became known as a painter of the Belgian coast and the Schelde river. L82 is listed with a start price of €50. 

Another major topic in the sale is South America. The auction includes several single-item lots but also group lots from most South American countries. Collectors have the opportunity to acquire several certificates in these lots at reduced average item prices. However, in case no group bids are received most of these groups will be split into single-item lots during the auction.  

Illustrated above is L1002 a 1909 Banco de Guatemala share. Printed by Waterlow & Sons it shows several vignettes and many guilloches. Very lovely printed is the Resplendent Quetzal - featured in the coat of arms of Guatemala: the country's national bird representing freedom and independence.  L1002 is part of the Guatemala group lot, L992.

There is lots more to discover in the auction. Here are the auction details :

• Location: this is an Internet only auction
• Date: 2 December 2023
• Further info : online catalog, PDF file & bidding, see here on the auctioneer's website, or via the Invaluable platform, see there  

F.L.

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Predecessor FC Bayern München to be sold at HWPH auction

Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH) has scheduled its next double-session sale for 9 and 11 September 2023. Specialist Matthias Schmitt and his team brought together some 1,900 lots of scripophily and related documents for this occasion. Included is an ultra rare and stunning share certificate from FC Bayern München's predecessor, Munich's gymnastics club MTV.

One of the most iconic football clubs FC Bayern doesn't need an introduction. With an average of 75,000 attendees its Allianz Arena mostly runs at 100 per cent capacity level. The club originates from the Männer-Turn-Verein München (Men's Gymnastics Club Munich) when 11 members of the football division left the club and founded Fußball-Club Bayern München in 1900. This share certificate dates from 1886 and is one of only two known. L(ot) 591 in the auction starts at €2,800. 

The first part of the sale is a public auction at Zorneding, Germany, followed two days later by an online auction. Both parts offer historic and beautiful antique stocks and bonds from all continents. 

specimen share certificate from 1953 in the Rheinisch-Westfälische Eisen- und Stahlwerke, L566

To give an idea, here's very small selection of what will go on the block:

• L139, La Hispano Suiza Fábrica de Automóviles, share from 1905, great design by the Spanish painter Ramon Casas
• L592, Boston American League Base-Ball Club, stock certificate, 1911, issued to and signed by centre fielder Jim R. McAleer
• L594, Flamingo Films, Inc., stock certificate, 1933, issued to and signed by actor comedian Buster Keaton 
• L793, Akcionarsky Pivovar na Smichove, 1939, splendid share certificate of this brewery from Prague
• L1737, Republic of El Salvado, $1000 bond,1923 

L27 is a 10 shares certificate from the Toyo Automobile Company, issued in 1912 and a rare example of how Japanese artists became influenced by the Art Nouveau movement. Bidding starts at €400.

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

• Dates
•  9 September 2023, Zorneding, Germany, public auction
• 11 September 2023, online auction
• Further info and catalogs, see here on HWPH's site, as well as there on the Invaluable platform . 

F.L.

HSK presents American scripophily, bonds and shares from Northern Germany and the H-W Schmidt collection of German banking securities

Hanseatisches SammlerKontor für Historische Wertpapiere (HSK) plans its next auction of stocks and bonds on June 3, 2023 at its headquarters in Wolfenbüttel. Over 1200 lots are described in full in a 200 pages counting auction catalogue. All lots can be checked out online as well.

This 1000 mark share from the Landbank, Berlin, featuring a Jugendstil design, was printed in 1897 by the Reichsdruckerei. Only a handfull of these certificates are known. This one is part of the H-W Schmidt collection. L(ot) 762 in the auction starts at €800. 

The Hans-Werner Schmidt Collection of German banking securities forms a major section in this auction. This collection consists of lots 677 through 816 and has been assembled over several decades. A few examples:

• Rarely seen is the bold industrial artwork of the 10000 mark share in the Ostbayerische Industrie- und Handelsbank AG, Furth i.W., 1923, L778.
• L751, Herzogl. Sächs. Landrentenbank in Coburg, 100 mark bond, issued in 1911.
• One of the most spectacular typographical designs in scripophily is the multicolor share certificate from the Preussische Boden Credit Actienbank, Berlin, 1873. L783

The 1873 founder share of the Stadttheater-Gesellschaft zu Hamburg is the top highlight in HSK's auction. The new stone building of the Hamburg State Opera was inaugurated in 1827. In 1873 the building was renovated in Gründerzeit style, as illustrated in the large underprint of the certificate. Gustav Mahler was the company's musical director from 1891 to 1897. In World War II Hamburg was an easy to find target and the opera house was destroyed by fire-bombing. Rebuilt in the early 1950s by Bauhaus architect Gerhard Weber, the Staatsoper reopened in 1955 with Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. L515 starts at €10,000. 

About 900 lots of German scripophily are presented in several sections:

• L315-446 Bremen and Niedersachsen, for example L348 Deutsche Petroleum-Bohr-Gesellschaft, 1881, illustrated with an oil field vignette 
• L447-519 Hamburg, e.g. L515 Stadttheater-Gesellschaft zu Hamburg, image see above 
• Lot range 520 through 645 consists of a collection of Hamburg related zero numbered specimen certificates from the Deutsche Mark period. 
• L646-676 Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, such as L650, two shares in the Flensburg-Ekensunder Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft, based in the very north of Germany.
• L677-818 H-W Schmidt collection of German banking securities, see above
• L817-1046 Germany before 1945, including L817 a 1852 share from the Aachen-Mastrichter Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, bilingual in German and Dutch, two coat of arms 'Gott mit uns' and 'Je Maintiendrai', elaborate floral design.
• L1047-1239 Germany from 1945 onwards, e.g. L1110 Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft, Köln, 1997, illustrated with a world map vignette

Polish Auschwitz survivor Jack Tramiel - who later formed Atari Corporation - founded in 1954 the Commodore Portable Typewriter Company. In 1955 the company was reincorporated in Canada as Commodore Business Machines, Inc., and went public on the NYSE under the name Commodore International Limited in 1962. Already in the early 1970s the company produced electronic programmable calculators. Reorganized in 1976, CIL moved its financiel headquarters to the Bahamas. Launched in 1977 the Commodore PET personal computer helped to bring personal computers to widespread use. L63 starts at €100. 

The American section counts 200 lots including several certificates signed by or issued to Thomas A. Edison, L79, L196, L197 and L78.  A Pan American Airways Corporation stock certificate from 1945, L155,  is issued to Sherman M. Fairchild who also signed it on reverse.  

Some other examples:

• L106 is a bond from The Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Rail Road and Coal Company, large railway bridge vignettte, issued in 1862.
• A lovely banking vault vignette adorns a Lowry Banking Company stock certificate, Georgia, 1894. L120
• L26 The American Quick-Transit Steamship Company, 1882, Boston, Mass., depicts a large ocean steamer.

The European section in HSK's 42nd auction includes objects such as this 1904 share from the Société Anonyme du Théatre-Concert du Moulin-Rouge. Located in the Boulevard de Clichy, Paris, this cabaret became a world famous attraction with its can-can danse. Bids start at €200 for L292.

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

• Date : 3 June, 2023 
• Further info, see here; live bidding is possible through https://connect.invaluable.com/dwa/ 

F.L.

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Auctioneer Boone celebrates 40th anniversary in Antwerp: oldest stock exchange building houses international scripophily auction and bourse

Mario Boone's 70th scripophily event spans 4 days! On Saturday May 6, a live auction with nearly 800 lots of historic and splendid antique shares and bonds takes place at the "Handelsbeurs" in Antwerp, the oldest stock exchange building in the world.

An international scripophily bourse with free entrance for any visitor is organized at the same location on Sunday May 7. A great opportunity to see antique securities in the center of Antwerp.

On Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 May, roughly 1500 more interesting lots will be sold through the Invaluable platform (live internet auctioning) or via the usual absentee bidding options.

This 1884 share in the Fabrica de Faianças das Caldas da Rainha, a porcelain factory from Portugal, is superbly designed and printed. Against a background of tiles the drawing combines a still life with more than 10 animals. Can you find them? L(ot) 463 starts at €1000. 

Saturday morning kicks off with a section of some 200 lots from Belgium Congo, Ruanda-Urundi and Belgium, including a 1899 Banque Coloniale de Belgique share certificate showing African scenes, L(ot) 6, and L34, a brewery share in the Brasserie de Stanleyville from 1949, both starting at €50. 

Noteworthy in the Belgian chapter are:  L82, Exposition Internationale Coloniale et d'Art Flamand Anvers 1930, a share subscription for the colonial exhibition in 1930, start price €50, and L84, a $500 gold bond from the City of Antwerp. Not to be missed is L97, Compagnie Internationale des Telephones, the oldest Belgian telephone share, 1881, with a large underprint of an early telephone. 

The Société de Zoologie in Antwerp, one of the oldest zoos in Europe, was founded in 1843. Its shareholders could enter the zoo for free on showing their share, hence the folds. Printed in 1843 by Joseph-Ernest Buschmann and designed by his brother and painter Gustave Buschmann. L299, €300 

More Belgian's, and this applies to other countries too, can be found in a mammoth World Highlights section, lot range 193-775. Some examples :

• The Société Anonyme d'Horticulture et de Botanique de Gand was founded by botanists who started holding botanic exhibitions known as "Gentse Floraliën". Its share from 1835, decorated with flowers, is extremely rare, L294.
• A top object in any art collection is the 1897 share from the Compagnie Fermière des Eaux Minerales de Genval. It is designed by Art Nouveau architect, painter and designer Paul Cauchie, known for his sgraffito technique. Only three certificates were found in the 1990s, and this is the last one available. L310 starts at €10,000 and can be seen in detail on the auctioneer's brand new website here.
• The world famous Lotus Bakeries is listed on Euronext Brussels and run by Jan Boone, the grandson of founder Jan Boone sr. This specimen founder share of the Banket- en Peperkoekbakkerij "LOTUS" voorheen "Boone Gebroeders" dates from 1934 and is the only one known to the auctioneer, L318.

Then part of of the French colonies, the Mekong delta with its shallow waters was the perfect place to use "de Lambert hydroglisseurs", aka airboats. This 1920 share from the Société Anonyme des Hydroglisseurs "de Lambert", L228, starts at €200. 

In the Australasia, Asia and Africa sections I spotted these items:

• Bank of Australia, Sydney, 1833, early share printed on vellum, L193
• L205 is a nominative share from the Société Provinciale Privilégiee du Fokien - Hoa-Hu, China, 1902, company set up by diplomat Paul Claudel, Chinese landscape.
• Opium shares are rarely seen. L226 is a nominative share from the Société Fermière de l'Opium au Tonkin, issued in Hanoi, 1887.

Lot range 271 through 279 comes from a diamond collection and includes scarce items such as a 1889 share from The Borneo Diamond Exploration Syndicate. 

This 100 soles share in the Compañia Explotadora de Perlas de Sechura, Lima, 1902, is part of a collection of 214 bonds and shares from Peru, L676. 

The European chapter is the largest one with over 300 lots, L280-L595. This blog format doesn't lend itself for enumerating all lots. Here are some of many astonishing historic securities:

• L375 and L376 are two Eiffel companies: Société de Constructions de Levallois-Perret and the Société de la Tour Eiffel both showing the Eiffel tower.
• Christiana Bye og dens Oplands Korn-Selskab, freely translated as Christiania Town and its Upland Grain Company: extremely early Norwegian share, dated 1810, from the time when Denmark ruled Christiania, today Oslo, L451
• A Swiss watch collection, L563 through L574, includes names like LeCoultre, Tissot and Longines.

L338, Compagnie Générale Maritime, 1856, signed by politician and financier Emile Pereire, gorgious design by painter and engraver Melchior Péronard, €3000 

Over 50 lots of securities and related documents are featured in the 16th-18th century section, including:

• A 1679! bond from the city of Enghien, Haunaut province, in need for financial resources under French occupation, 4 wax seals, L596
• On Aug 27, 1701, Philip V, King of Spain and Louis XIV signed a treaty granting France the exclusive privilege to supply the Spanish colonies in the Americas with African slaves. This right was called the "Asiento". Issued in 1703 for 3000 Livres this share in the Compagnie Royale de l'Assiente, is an important evidence of imperialistic slave-trading practises in the 18th century and extremely rare, L607.

Rio de Janeiro Tramway Light and Power Company Limited, 1 share, text in English, French and German, 1909, facsimile signature of electrical engineer and entrepreneur Frederik Stark Pearson, L664, €200

The Latin America chapter, lots 657 through 677, include several remarkable collection lots. Each of these will be offered as a single group, and only when no bids are made, each collection will split and offered into single item lots in the online sessions on the following Monday & Tuesday:

• L658 collection of Brasilian government bonds
• L659 collection of Brasilian state bonds
• L660 collection of Brasilian railroad certificates
• L661 collection of Brasilian port/shipping certificates
• L662 collection of Brasilian Industrial securities
• L670 collection of Mexican scripophily
• L676 collection of bonds and shares from Peru 

More Latin Americ scripophily, as is the case for other themes, will be auctioned on the two online sessions on 8 & 9 May 2023.

L682, New Jersey Southern Rail Road Company, $1000 bond, 1873 signed by railway tycoon Jay Gould, extremely rare, €12000

The American section of the Saturday highlights is divided in three chapters : Jay Gould , railroads, and various themes. To name a few:

• The 50 cents bond, 1841, from the Ocmulgee and Flint River Rail Road Company is not only small in size and value, but rare as well. L689
• L763 is stock certificate from The Kansas City Distilling Company, a whisky maker, view of the distillery, 1889
• The World's Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago in 1893. It's share shows a lovely vignette of an allegorical woman and an underprint of the exposition site. L765

A tip for American railway collectors, you should check out Coxrail on this auction, see here. 

Société Hydro-Electrique de la Réunion, founder's share, 1928, map of Réunion in underprint and border with a pattern of volcanos, likely the Piton de la Fournaise, L927, €50 

The online sessions of this event are scheduled the days after the bourse on Sunday. These offer another 1500 lots of scripophily (or a bit less when the Latin American collections are hammered on the preceding Saturday - see above). Use the catalog's indexes or the search functions on the auctioneer's new website to find what you need.

The weekend of 6 & 7 May is a chance to see some great antique securities. The venue is the Handelsbeurs Antwerpen. 

Here are the auction details :

• Location : Antwerp, Belgium
• Dates
• 6 May 2023, Boone's 70th live and internet auction
• 7 May 2023, bourse of historic bonds and shares
• 8 & 9 May 2023, online auction sessions
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding, see here on the auctioneer's new website, 
• or via the Invaluable platform (large images), see there 

F.L.

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Jigsaw Mayombe

According to The New York Times jigsaw puzzles improve skills like spatial reasoning. Jigsaws can even help to avert anxiety. (Enjoy More 'Eureka!' Moments with Jigsaw Puzzles, NYT, Alexis Soloski, Dec 12, 2020)

So here is a new scripophily jigsaw depicting one of the most appealing Belgian Congo share certificates:  http://leeuwerck.blogspot.com/p/puzzle.html . 

Have fun !

This 1899 share from Les Produits du Mayombe was produced by Félix Wylands, a well-known photoengraver. Wylands started his career as a pharmacist but was soon fascinated by the possibilities of the chemical photoengraving process. As owner of the Société Anonyme Les Arts Graphiques he made several prints for artistic publications. 

F.L.

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Boone's 69th auction spans now 2 days. Among the stars are Ferdinand de Lesseps Suez Canal certificates and a 16th century loan from Antwerp.

Mario Boone scheduled its next sale of antique stocks and bonds for 5 and 6 November 2022. That's right, the auctioneer applies a new event format which starts in Antwerp with an international bourse on Saturday morning. The live auction kicks off at 2 PM in the same venue. On Sunday, the second part comprises of a internet/mailbid auction. 

Altogether more than 1700 lots will be hammered in Boone's upcoming auction.  This is an opportunity to see many stunning certificates like this one. Noted security printer Charles Crabbé produced this 1902 share from the Paris-based Crédit National Assurances. L(ot) 353 starts at €100.

Latin America is excellently represented. More than 300 lots fill several chapters : Latin America lot range 534-556 , The Carribbean Collection L729-861, Venezuala Collection L862-965. All of these are scheduled on Saturday, and then there is another Latin America chapter, L1518-1580, on Sunday.  

Some of the interesting items are :

• The Cuban Central Railways Ltd £100 debenture from 1899 shows two small vignettes and is rare, L544.
• Lots 806 through 828 includes several Panama Canal certificates.
• L887 shows a frontal view of a steamship on a Orinoco Steamship Company bond printed in 1902 by the International Bank Note Co. from New York.
• The Société de Recherches de Temascaltepec (Mexique) was organized to mine for silver in Temascaltepec. L1569

L548 in the auction is a share in the Syndicat des Placers Guyanais. The company was formed in 1913 to dig for alluvial gold and diamonds. An overseas department of France in South America, French Guiana's currency is the euro. Gold mining, often done illegally, is still one of its main industries today. Bidding starts at €200.

Included in the sale are several certificates signed by or issued to historic figures, such as:

• members from the Rothschild banking family, L402 through 415, 
• Paul Kruger, President of the South African Republic, L296
• L499 shows the signature of Robert Surcouf, the French slave trader and privateer who raided British ships
• A Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij share issued to the Dutch King Willem III, L441.

The auction catalog's Autographs index refers to many more personalities, including Ferdinand de Lesseps !

On March 23, 2021, container ship Ever Given gets stuck in the Suez Canal and disrupted global trade for six days. The consequences were incalculable: industries were impacted with shortages, e.g. of semiconductors. The non delivering of food resulted in price rises and livestock shipments were suspended.

The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It was constructed by Ferdinand de Lesseps' Suez Canal company between 1859 and 1869.  

Boone offers a set of printer proof bonds from the company's 1879/80 loan, all different and unique. One of these is corrected by Ferdinand de Lesseps himself, and personally signed by him. His handwritten signature in scripophily is of the highest rarity. The set of certificates deserves a place in any top collection highlighting France, Egypt, Canals & Transport, and even World History. Start price €10,000 .

The 16-18th century chapter counts more than 50 lots of shares, bonds and related financial documents. Among these "prehistorics" are 

• bonds from the Flemish cities Antwerp, Aalst and Oudenaarde (L480, L482, L484)
• a 1759 share in the Compagnie Royale Prussienne de Bengale , L511
• whaling and canal companies, L486 & L514
• 18th & early 19th century French privateer companies, L489 through L499, and an American one, L533
• a collection of 108 French lotteries issued between 1699 and 1828, L501
• a put option certificate of the Bank of England as early as 1730, L516

An amazing discovery is L480, an Antwerp city bond for 100 Carolus Guilders from 1558. Issued on vellum, it has a large Antwerp city seal in red wax showing 'Het Steen', the still existing 13th century castle. The bond was part of a loan granted in 1555 by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.

At the start of the 16th century Antwerp belonged to the Habsburg Netherlands, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. The city was a major shipping base for Spanish and Portuguese merchants importing sugar and raw produce from overseas. Antwerp became the main business centre around the Atlantic. Its wealthy bankers lended money to governments in Europe.

Between 1555 and 1556, Charles V split his empire into an Austro-German and a Spanish branch. As a result of Charles's abdications, the Habsburg Netherlands were left to his son Philip II of Spain. Thus became Antwerp part of the Spanish Netherlands. 

During these decades war with France was never far away. Also the Catholic Church in the Spanish realm had to be defended against the upcoming Protestant Reformation. The loan was raised to finance the construction and maintenance of the fortifications of Antwerp, the so-called 'Spaanse omwalling' (Spanish ramparts). These were built on order of Charles V from 1542 onwards.

€5000 is the start price for this top item that has witnessed a florishing but turbulent Flemish and Spanish 16th century.

As usual the sale includes a large chapter of USA scripophily, presented in both the Saturday and Sunday sessions of the auction. 

• There is an opportunity to buy a Southern State Bonds Collection as a single lot (L649-L728). When there is no buyer then the collection will be regrouped by state, each one then offered as one group lot. In turn, these, when not sold, will be split into single item lots. 
• US railways are plenty. You can find an interesting review on this chapter on Coxrail News and Announcements, see here     

The National Glass Company from Pittsburgh, Pa., was a short-lived glass trust. It owned several factories in places like Dunkirk, Ind., Cumberland, Md. and Marietta, Oh. They specialized in colored table glassware and decorated lamps. This $1000 bond from 1901, a Western Bank Note print, starts at €50. L1708

It is impossible to address all items in this sale, but there is a way to find out more about them. Here are the auction details :

• Dates
• 5 November 2022, Antwerp Crowne Plaza Hotel
• International Bourse 8h30-12h 
• Live auction 14h-18h30
• 6 November 2022, mailbid and online auction
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding, see here 
• or via the Invaluable platform (large images), see there 
• and the PDF version of the catalog can be found here 

Even if you are not a collector 5 November 2022 is an opportunity to see some great antique securities. The venue is the Antwerp Crown Plaza. The public bus stops right outside the place and takes you in 10 minutes to Antwerp Central Station. 

F.L.

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Over 1500 lots of historic securities go on the block in FHW's upcoming sale, including an amazing share from Frederick the Great's Chinese trading company !

Freunde Historischer Wertpapiere (FHW) has scheduled its next sale for October 8, 2022. This time the auctioneer selected more than 1500 lots of historic bonds and share certificates. Major sections have been reserved for scripophily from Germany, the German DM era, USA and a series of more than 200 lots from other countries worldwide.

One of the highlights in the sale is this share in the Hippodrom-A.-G. Frankfurt am Main. The company was founded in 1897. Its main building was used to promote equestrian sports in public events and festivities and had the largest indoor riding arena of Germany. Allied bombing destroyed the hippodrome during WW II. Reportedly only four of these shares were discovered in the 1980s. L(ot) 756 in the auction is expected to realize €2,800. 

The German chapter presents over 750 lots from the pre-DM period and covers all regions and branches. A dedicated Deutschland Top 20 section, lot range 748-767, bundles the high-end items.  The auction also includes the Klaus H Reifenrath Collection consisting of 69 rare Kux and mining shares from the Siegerländer Erzrevier mining area.

The auction includes several shares designed in Art Deco. This one, issued in 1922 by the Mechanische Buntweberei J. Sim. Fleißner Aktiengesellschaft, a textile company from Münchberg, illustrates one of the company's modern fabric designs. L730 starts at €100. 

All lots are well-illustrated with high quality images on the Invaluable online platform. However, the Top 20 section includes even more in-depth information with extra illustrations in the catalog's PDF version (links see further below). 

Some examples from the German chapter  :

• The Central-Afrikanische Seeen-Gesellschaft operated gold mines and saltworks in the African Great Lakes region, then part of German East Africa. Seeen is German for lakes. This 1000 mark share was issued in Hamburg, 1902 and starts at €900, L384.
• The 1855 share from the Steinkohlenbau-Verein zu Rochlitz, a coal mine company, shows the city of Rochlitz, gnomes at work and an explosion in their mine, mined rock with imprints of fossilized plants and lots more. Extremely rare, this is in my opinion the most awesome German share certificate. L763, a top item, starts at €9,000.
• L926 starts at €320. The share from the Sundwiger Eisenhütte Maschinenbau-Actiengesellschaft displays a lovely Jugendstil design.

Time to highlight the absolute top item in the auction.

Four years after Frederick the Great became King in Prussia he annexed in 1744 the independent city-state of Embden (Emden), then the most important trade port on the North Sea. Eager to give Prussia a share of the Asian trade similar to the V.O.C. or the British East India Co., Frederick the Great granted the privilige in 1751 to found the Emden Trading Company. 

The company, also known as the Königlich Preußische Asiatische Compagnie in Embden nach Canton und China (Royal Prussian Asiatic Company in Emden to Canton and China) was allowed to conclude contracts with foreign Asian rulers in the name of the King of Prussia. The Emden company owned four ships that made six voyages to Canton bringing back tea, porcelain and other goods. 

The company operated independently - the king's main interest was filling the Prussian (war) treasury - and became the first modern German stock corporation, i.e. without state influence.

The share, L760 in the auction, issued in 1752 for 500 Reichsthaler in Friderichs d'Or is the oldest German share known. 

It is also the oldest share in the German language. A complete translation of the text on the obverse, as well as a hint on its non-German provenance, can be found in the latest issue of Scripophily magazine, No. 119 August 2022. 

The clipping shown here says [..the Company's ships which shall sail] to Canton in China as well as other places in India .. . The document must be the oldest known share mentioning the word China as well. Start price €50,000.

The sale's Deutsche Mark section comprises of more than 230 lots, including a Top 20 chapter. To mention a few : L1146 is a 20 shares certificate in the Erste Kulmbacher Actienbrauerei AG (EKU), 1990, showing the company's logo with crown and prize medals, €75; L1249 Teutoburger Wald-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, Hamburg, 1951, unissued share, starts at €200. 

The Aachener Kleinbahn-Gesellschaft and the Rheinischen Elektricitäts- und Kleinbahnen AG merged in 1942 into the Aachener Strassenbahn und Energieversorgungs-AG (ASEAG). The company provided local public transport in the Aachen city region. During the Battle of Aachen, 1944, Allied troops used tramcars loaded with explosives and ammunition as rolling bombs on the sloping routes from Siegel and Grundhaus to the city center, which, however, caused little damage. This share, from 1954, shows a high voltage power pole and tram car in the underprint. Bids for L1088 are welcome from €40 onwards. 

The USA section features more than 200 lots. Here are some interesting examples to look for:

• L1429 is stock certificate in the Lamb's Run Oil Company coming from an old collection. Printed by Chandler from Philadelphia, 1865, it shows two vignettes of early oil derricks. The company was incorporated in Venango County, Pennsylvania where the biggest oilboom sparked only a few years earlier. €100
• Confederate States of America, 8% $100 bond from 1862, large vignette of the city of Richmond and portrait of C. G. Memminger, L1378, €300
• €380 may buy you a Laramie, Hahns Peak and Pacific Railway Company 100 common shares certificate issued in 1912. The company was incorporated in Wyoming. The shares of this company are illustrated with 3 vignettes of a locomotive, lumberjacks and miners at work, Cox cat nr LAR-083-S-51. L1430

This share from the Compañia Ron Bacardi can be found in the sale's Ausland section (foreign countries). The company was founded in 1862 in Cuba and became worldwide known for its white rum and derived cocktails such as the Cuba Libre and the Daiquiri. The share depicts bats, the company logo, a bottle of Bacardi rum and many of its prize medals won at contests. It is issued to Emilio Bacardi y Rossell, great grandchild of Facundo Bacardi Massó, founder of Bacardi, and grandchild of Emilio Bacardi Lay, mayor of Santiago de Cuba. Note that the certificate was issued in 1955 during the Cuban Revolution. The Bacardi family left the country in 1960 after the government confiscated the company's assets in 1960. L102 starts at €150. 

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

• Date : 8 October, 2022
• Location : Wolfenbüttel 
• Further info, see here; PDF catalog see there; live bidding is possible through https://connect.invaluable.com/dwa/  

F.L.

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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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