Banks in Transition : From Counters to Apps

Last summer the Swiss Finance Museum opened its new exhibition Banks in Transition : From Counters to Apps. 

This special production shows the evolution of Swiss banks and their relationship with private clients. A selection of authentic historical securities showcase Swiss banks, as well as global tech companies that are driving digitization in the financial sector.   

In several parts the exhibition present the roots of Swiss banking, the emergence of the Swiss financial centre, the Internet, and the advent of the smartphone and its huge impact on today's digital payment culture. The latter part features interactive tools and displays.

The exhibition shows several antique share certificates from companies like the Banque Générale Suisse de Crédit International Mobilier et Foncier, Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild SA Genève, Apple Computer, etc.

 This eBay Inc. stock certificate is part of the new exhibit. A success story of the dot-com bubble in the 1990s, e-commerce and online auction site eBay offered online money transfers through its previously wholly owned subsidiary Paypal. 

The Swiss Finance Museum is located at the headquarters of SIX in Zurich. In its Permanent Exhibition the museum explains the origins of the economic system and the role of the stock market. This unique museum is home to a collection of 10,000 historic securities from more than 150 countries. 

Key historical pieces, combined with interactive videos and animations, historical film recordings and interviews, tell the story of the development of our modern financial economy. Since this summer, the permanent exhibition features a new highlight: a share in the French East India Company from 1665.

More info about the museum can be found here .

F.L.

Related links

• All you need to know about your visit, see here 
• The museum's blog 

Previous posts

• Gigantic : Moody's Industrial Manual 
• Sensation at 5 Centimes in Le Petit Journal 

Schweizer Finanzmuseum celebrates its 5th Anniversary

In its Permanent Exhibition the Swiss Finance Museum explains the origins of the economic system and the role of the stock market. This unique museum is home to a collection of 10,000 historic securities from more than 150 countries. 

Key historical pieces, combined with interactive videos and animations, historical film recordings and interviews, tell the story of the development of our modern financial economy. The museum, since 2017 located at the new headquarters of SIX in Zurich, celebrates its 5th Anniversary.

Schweizer Finanzmuseum

view on the Permanent Exhibition 

image courtesy Schweizer Finanzmuseum

The museum welcomes the public to its Open Day on July 2, 2022 from 11 am to 3 pm with a dedicated program : 

• 11 am - 12 pm: Combined tour (permanent and special exhibition), in German
• 12h30-1 pm: Guided tour through the special exhibition Sport & Geld, in German
• 1 pm -1h30 pm: Guided tour through the special exhibition Sport & Geld, in English 
• 2 pm - 3 pm: Combined tour (permanent and special exhibition), in German

Participants of the Open Day should register here. 

This stunning 500 Lire share from Pirelli, printed by the Milan-based security printer Brevetti Calcografia e Cartevalori was issued in 1947. It is one of several antique shares on display in the Sport & Geld special exhibition. Pirelli, one of the top tyre manufacturers in the world, sponsored sport competitions since the start of the 20th century. Its financial backing was/is important to e.g. the FIA Formula One World Championship, football club Inter Milan, the Chinese Super League (football), the Hungarian Grands Prix (motorsport) and the Alpine World Ski Championship. 

image courtesy Schweizer Finanzmuseum 

The current special exhibition Sport & Geld shows why money plays such an important role in sports. Using the sports of Formula 1, tennis, equestrian sports, soccer and skiing, the exhibition gives a glimpse of the financial aspect of physical exercise. Sport & Geld can be seen until July 15, 2022. On display here are a dozen historical shares. 

The museum then closes for the conversion up to and including August 25, 2022. Its new special exhibition Banks in Transition: from Counters to Apps will features securities as well.  The opening of this new exhibition is planned for the end of August.

More info can be found here (German), or there (English).

F.L.

Previous posts

• The smallest company in terms of equity capital, is it ? 
• Use alternative search terms when searching digital publications 

Scripophily Puzzle No. 6 - solution

I'm sure you recognized the Disney vignette as one of the three visual cues from Puzzle No. 6 . Even with the other vignettes provided, solving the puzzle was not straightforward. Yet I did receive one correct answer.

The three visual cues were clippings from three different stock and bond certificates. The common link between the cues was a particular object.

The correct answer for the puzzle was ... (drumm roll in the background) ... the Liberty Bell.

Shares from the American Union Fire Insurance Company from Philadelphia, PA, show the Liberty Bell in front of the city's Independence Hall. Printed by the Security Bank Note Company, this share certificate was issued in 1910. Things were not going well for the insurance company. It liquidated in 1913. 

The Liberty Bell was made in Great Britain by a foundry that became known as Whitechapel Bell Foundry, a producer of many famous bells such as the Big Ben in London.

Pennsylvania commissioned the Liberty Bell in 1751 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of William Penn's Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania's original constitution. After a rough passage across the Atlantic, the bell cracked when it was first rung.

Two Philadelphia workmen, John Pass and John Stow, recasted the bell. Its large distinctive crack, also visible in the vignette above, originated somewhere in the first part of the 19th century. The bell was placed in the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, aka Independence Hall. This leads us to the first cue.

These bonds, issued by the City of Philadelphia in 1866 (upper right image) and 1861, feature the same vignettes, including the city's Independence Hall that housed the Liberty Bell for about two centuries. It is now located in the Liberty Bell Center. This pair of bonds was sold at Holabird Americana's Dec 2020 auction at $50 without buyer's premium. 

The bell became a symbol of freedom. In the 1830s several anti-slavery journals featured the bell in their publications. In 1853 President Franklin Pierce visited Philadelphia. He spoke of the bell as the symbol of the American Revolution and Liberty.

George Lippard writes his "Fourth of July, 1776" in 1847. In that story a young boy instructed an aged bellman to ring the bell on America's Independence Day. But that was not correct. Historians assume that the Liberty Bell rang on July 8th to summon the people to hear the Declaration of Independence read out aloud for the first time. Anyway, Lippard's story was widely reprinted and retold as 'historical fact' for many decades to come.

On the occasion of Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial International Exhibition a replica of the Liberty Bell was cast. It weighed 13,000 pounds (5900 kg), more than six times the weight of the original bell.

The Liberty Bell was not displayed at Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition. But it made several trips to various other expositions and celebrations in the years thereafter. This brings us to the second cue of puzzle No. 6.

The World's Columbian Exposition, aka Chicago's World Fair, took place in 1893 to mark the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492. With 46 countries participating, it attracted over 27 million visitors. This $10 shares certificate from 1893 was printed by the Western Bank Note Company. It sold for $400 excluding buyer's premium in Holabird Americana's 2018 October auction. 

In 1893 the Liberty Bell was sent to Chicago's World Columbian Exposition as a highlight of the festivities. It was not the only big bell on display there.

For the World's Columbia exhibition a much larger Columbian Liberty Bell was casted. Two days before the end of the exhibition, Chicago's Mayor Carter Harrison sounded his "new" bell at his final speech on 28 Oct 1893. A few hours later Harrison was assassinated.

The original Liberty Bell returned from Chicago bearing a new crack. Wherever it went, the bell attracted millions of people, more cracking occurred, and souvenir hunters chipped pieces away from it. After 1915 Philadelphia refused any further requests for having the bell featured in events like that.

There was also a third "bell" present at the Chicago event. It was a full-sized model of the Liberty Bell made out of oranges by the State of California. This brings us to our last cue for this puzzle which showed Walt Disney and several Disney figures.

In Holabird Americana's May 2021 auction this Walt Disney stock certificate went $120 excluding buyer's premium. The company displays a full-sized replica of the Liberty Bell in Walt Disney World, Florida. 

As part of the US Liberty Bell Savings Bond Drive, the US government ordered 55 full-sized replicas of the Liberty Bell in 1950. These were casted by Fonderie Paccard in France. Shipped as gifts to US states and territories the bells were to be displayed and rung on patriotic occasions. 

In 1989 Walt Disney ordered another bell casted by the same foundry from the same mold. It stands now on Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom, Bay Lake, Florida.

The Liberty Bell sometimes appears on coins, stamps, bonds and stock certificates. I'm interested to see other examples from the latter category. Several American corporations have used the bell's name and image, but none so daringly as the restaurant chain Taco Bell.

On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell launched an ad in the newspapers posting that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell". Thousands of outraged people had called Taco Bell headquarters and the bell's caretaker, the National Park Service. By noon it was told that the story was a joke. The company's publicity stunt allegedly led to nearly a $1,000,000 rise in sales that week.

I received one joint correct answer on this puzzle from Randy & Scott. Well done! You are now entitled a portion of "eternal fame".

F.L.

Reference links

• worldsfairchicago1893.com, a great resource on Chicago's 1893 World's Fair 
• National Park Service 

Previous posts

• An Albatros from Ukraine
• Use alternative search terms when searching digital publications 

Exhibition : From Peking to Hankow

Train World is the official museum of the NMBS/SNCB, the National Railway Company of Belgium. It is situated in the old but renovated Schaerbeek railway station in the Brussels-Capital Region.

Until 10 October 2021, the museum hosts an interesting temporary exhibition about the history of one of China's most remarkable railways, the Peking–Hankow railway. The exhibit includes several antique government railway bonds.

From Peking to Hankow : a Belgian adventure in China tells the surprising story of China’s longest railway line, from Peking (Beijing) to Hankow (today Wuhan), connecting the North to the South in the early 20th century.

Thousands of people laboured on this immense operation for seven years. This feat was achieved by engineers, technicians and workmen, and Western and Chinese diplomats and financiers. Jean Jadot, a Belgian engineer coordinated and implemented this massive project.

During your visit, the main players in the saga, embodied by talking figures, will tell you some fascinating tales and take you back in time so that you can relive grand moments in the history of the railway.

The exhibition also showcases the impressive development of China’s current high-speed railways. Original works relating to the construction of the Peking-Hankow line and created by artists Li Kunwu (China) and François Schuiten (Belgium) add a contemporary artistic touch to the exhibition. 

Train World is over 8,000 square metres and displays 22 locomotives, royal train carriages, 1/10 scale models and 1,200 other railway related objects, including an original 19th century railway bridge. One of the principal objects to see is the oldest preserved locomotive (1845) in Continental Europe.

A large format hardcover catalog has been published in French and Dutch. The volume counts more than 270 pages and depicts some large illustrations from antique securities. The museum has these scripophily objects on loan from various lenders such as the National Bank of Belgium and BNP Paribas-Fortis. A small number of bonds and shares are actually on display.

Practical info :

• Opening hours : 10:00 - 17:00, but closed on Mondays, the Peking-Hankow exhibition runs till 10 October 2021
• Location : Princess Elisabeth place 5, Schaerbeek
• More info here in English, in Dutch, in French and in German  

F.L.

Previous posts

• Watermarks in Scripophily - part 2 Paper manufacturers 
• Hidden image emerges from Télémécanique stock certificate 

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 !

POSTPONED : Kolkata displays historic share certificates from India

THE FOLLOWING KOLKATA EXHIBTION IS POSTPONED DUE TO THE CORONA OUTBREAK

On 4 and 5 April, 2020, you can visit "Indian Scripophily 2020", a unique exhibition on antique securities from India. The event takes place at the Nand Lal Bose Gallery, Kolkata.

SCRIPOPHILY is the study and collection of antique bond and share certificates. A specialized field of numismatics, scripophily is an area of collecting due to both the beauty of these documents as well as the interesting historical context of each document. Many certificates are outstanding examples of intaglio and lithographic printing.

The event is hosted at the Rabindranath Tagore Centre in Kolkata, which is the cultural flagship of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).  India's first Minister of Education, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, founded in 1950 the ICCR for promoting dialogue with other nations showcasing the diverse and rich cultural tradition of India.

Place to be is the centre's 3rd floor, the Nand Lal Bose Gallery. The gallery, occupying nearly 400 sq m, has housed exhibitions like 'The Lost Palaces of Delhi', with 18th century paintings by Jean Bapiste Gentil, and a photographic exhibition of film-maker, art historian and photographer Binoy K. Behl. 

One of the artefacts on display is a share from the Imperial Bank of India, today known as the State Bank of India. Legendary economist John Maynard Keynes conceived the idea for a large, regulating bank in India. In 1921 Keynes led the merger of the three Presidency banks, the Bank of Bengal, the Bank of Madras and the Bank of Bombay, into a single bank, the Imperial Bank of India. The bank was 80% privately owned and acted as the central bank of British India prior to the formation in 1935 of the Reserve Bank of India. Click image to enlarge 

Indian Scripophily 2020 is a joint initiative by experts Sanjay Misra and Ravi Sevak. The exhibition presents nearly 300 Indian share certificates from the pre-independence period. It is an excellent opportunity to learn about the many industrial and commercial ventures set up during the British Raj. 

Here's is another example from the exhibit, a share from the Burma Corporation Ltd. First attracted as a mining consultant, the American engineer Herbert Hoover becomes in 1908 director of Burma Mines. Shortly thereafter, the mines at Namtu are absorbed by the Burma Corporation, a business cofounded by Hoover. The company lucratively extracts lead, zinc, copper and silver. After WW I, Hoover starts a career in politics and becomes President of the USA from March 4, 1929 till March 4, 1933. He visits India in April 1946 as Chairman of the US Famine Emergency Commission, and meets Gandhi and Nehru to discuss the problem of famine in the wake of World War II. 

The exhibition also illustrates the evolution of security printing in India. In the 19th century the creation of securities, mostly for British companies, was done in England and followed a British design tradition. Since the 1900s Indian printers developed their own lettering styles and ornaments, resulting in a unique range of bond and share certificates.

Practical info 

• Location : Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Rabindranath Tagore Centre, Nand Lal Bose Gallery, 9 A Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Kolkata 700 701, see here 
• Duration : 4 - 5 April 2020 
• Opening hours : 11 AM to 7 PM
• Entrance fee : no entrance fee

F.L. 

Museums Victoria deliver engaging online experience

The Museums Victoria (MV) manages the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum, Scienceworks and Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building. Its history goes back to the founding of the National Museum of Victoria in 1854.

Today, MV is home to over 17 million historic artefacts and science objects and welcomes more than 2 million visitors per year. Its MV Collections site gives virtual visitors a fresh and adequate experience by means of modern Internet techniques.

Company seal of The Federal Bank of Australia Limited, detail from the certificate below 

image attribution : Museums Victoria, https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1114702 

The many MV collections relate to geology, palaeontology, zoology, and, social, indigenous, cultural, economic and technological history. Its Trade Literature Collection contains over 60,000 business brochures, advertisements, product catalogues and the like. The Numismatics & Philately Collection comprises thousands of coins, paper money, medals, stamps and some scripophily as well.

A considerable part of its records, more than 1 million, together with 150 000 images, has been digitized and put available online on the Museums Victoria Collections site. Here's is one of the listed share certificates, indicated as item 1114702.

This share certificate in The Federal Bank of Australia Limited , printed by Sands & McDougall, Melbourne, was issued in 1887. Established in 1881 this bank started to issue its own banknotes in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. A speculative boom in Australian real estate led to the Australian banking crisis of 1893 and the bank was forced to close down.

image attribution : Museums Victoria, https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1114702

On MV's 'item 1114702' page, see THERE, you can see the image as shown here. But there is more. The page gives you a summary and a description of what you see. And, just as if you were attending a guided tour, an explanation is given on the significance of the displayed item.

The overview concludes with a list of clickable keywords letting you discover more about the related collection, collecting areas and classifications, people, places, dates, articles and images, possibly of other scripophily. Wow! It is from functionality like this where this site's added value comes from. For free, and a few mouse-clicks away.


F.L.

Related links

• Museums Victoria - Australia's largest public museum organisation 
• Museums Victoria Collections 
• MV's search page 

NB: More Australia related posts ? Check these   

Exhibition "Bayerische Werte"

From tomorrow on you can visit "Bayerische Werte", a unique exhibition on scripophily from Bayern. The event takes place at the IHK-Stammhaus für Munich und Oberbayern and presents stocks and bonds from the immense Uto Baader Collection.

Bayerische Werte, "securities from Bavaria", is jointly organized by the Bayerisches Wirtschaftsarchiv (BWA) and its founders, the Bavarian Chambers of Commerce and Industrie (IHK's). In the twenty-five years of its existence, the BWA has collected original documents from more than 2,500 companies. Archives of more than 170 companies have been taken over. 

"Haus für Handel und Gewerbe" in München, 1000 Mk. bond, 1899

The building illustrated on this bond was built by Munich's Chambre of Commerce and the Münchner Börse between 1899 and 1901. It still exists and is located at Maximiliansplatz 8, Munich, just around the corner of the current headquarters of the IHK für München und Oberbayern.

image courtesy : Bayerisches Wirtschaftsarchiv, Uto Baader Collection

On the occasion of BWA's 25th anniversary, Uto Baader, founder of the Baader Bank and Chairman of the Bayerische Börse, entrusted the BWA his tremendous collection of historic Bavarian securities (about 4,500 certificates).

With her team, Dr. Eva Moser, manager of the BWA, carefully made a selection from that collection. These gems, spanning more than two centuries, both illustrate the economic history of Bavaria and the artistry of Bavarian security design. Fifty-six of these have been printed and enlarged in high resolution with accompanying explanation notes on display panels. 

Actienbrauerei zum Löwenbräu in München, 100 Thaler founder's share, 1873

The history of the brewery traces back to the Late Middle Ages. Löwenbräu has been served at every Oktoberfest in Munich since 1810.

image courtesy : Bayerisches Wirtschaftsarchiv, Uto Baader Collection

Practical info "Bayerische Werte"

• Duration : 9 October to 5 November 2019
• Location : Atrium of the IHK für München und Oberbayern,  Max-Joseph-Straße 2, München
• Opening hours : Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Entrance fee: free
• further information : Ausstellung "Bayerische Werte" 

Related link

• Die schönsten Seiten des Kapitalismus, Süddeutsche Zeitung 

F.L.

Denver exhibition shows New York Stamp Taxes on Bonds

" Bonds bearing New York’s Mortgage Endorsement, Secured Debt and Tax on Investments stamps are arguably the most visually stunning items ever to bear stamps. "

Secured Debt 25¢, 75¢, $3.75 and $7.50 issued in 1916 to enable payment of the 75¢ per $100 tax rate 

courtesy Michael Mahler

Author Michael Mahler is an expert in American fiscal philately : "For a century the stunning bonds and the stamps they bore were unknown to philatelists. Only now, one hundred years later, these stamps and the bonds that bear them, have emerged as a significant subfield of fiscal philately."  

Each type of stamp discovered tells its own chapter in the fiscal history of the State of New York. With a unique exhibit of bonds bearing these stamps, Michael Mahler will participate in the 2019 George Brett Cup Competition. 

This $50,000 bond from the United States Steel Corporation was issued in 1901 to Andrew Carnegie. The bond is stamped with Secured Debt $100 (x2) and $50 (upper right corner). The stamps were canceled July 23, 1912, but the bond was canceled only a year later. 

courtesy Michael Mahler

The George Brett Cup competition, for best 20th century philatelic exhibit, is organized at the annual ROMPEX show in Denver May 24-26. 

The New York State Stamp Taxes on Bonds, 1910-1920 exhibit features 40 display panels of about 18x24 inch, each one having one to four bonds. Probably about 120 bonds will be on display. 

New York Stamp Taxes on Bonds, 1910-1920 

book by Michael Mahler 

Michael Mahler wrote also a book on this topic. New York Stamp Taxes on Bonds 1910-1920 counts more than 200 pages and is illustrated with hundreds of color images of bonds and stamps. 

The book can be ordered from Amazon here. But, if you know the International Bond & Share Society, you should check out the IBSS site. For Michael Mahler has provided a PDF version of his latest book there.

Good luck to Michael with the exhibit competition !

F.L.

Related links

• Rocky Mountain Stamp Show (ROMPEX)
• ROMPEX Free entry coupon 
• Michael Mahler has supported IBSS by permitting republication of several of his publications, see here 

Internet Scripophily Museum of Computing in the making

I've been blogging about computing before on this site. Click the label computers in the left margin to find some related content. There is so much to reveal on this field of scripophily. Yet, the nature of a "general" blog like this one doesn't lend itself very well for providing much information at one time. That is why I decided to set up a dedicated website.

Intel Corporation, specimen bond from 1980

Intel is known as a maker of semiconductor chips and became famous 

for its microprocessors like the 8086, 80386, Pentium and Itanium. 

The organization also made early microcomputer kits and since the 1980s supercomputers.

The ISMOC project is about scripophily and computer history. ISMOC stands for Internet Scripophily Museum of Computing. That's right. I'm working on a virtual museum of historical securities from organizations involved in digital computers. Though still in an early stage, you can have a look there. 

So far the following entries have been put online :

• organizations
• Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation
• Gould Inc.
• Idaho Maryland Mines Corporation
• International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
• PolyComputers Inc. 
• people
• Cary, Frank Taylor
• Opel, John Roberts
• Ylvisaker, William Townend

ISMOC has a Site History page informing about further developments. You can also follow along on Twitter, here.

Some concepts in scripophily can not be illustrated with a single image. Here is a video showing an Intel specimen bond and a production model for a stock certificate, both from the Security-Columbian US Banknote Corporation. A specimen is a printed sample of the real thing. An example of that is shown at the right. The item on the left is a production model for a possible design of an Intel stock certificate. Designers of securities used to cut up portions of existing engraved items such as company logos, vignettes, scrollwork, borders, titles, corporate seals, text, et cetera.These items were then reapplied (pasted) in a different design, a new model. When the model was accepted, a proof, basically a printed prototype, could be printed.

In the video you will notice a transparant plastic overlay on the production model. That overlay also contains printing elements. In this case, it contains a standard 'CERTIFICATE OF STOCK' line. The overlay simulates the underprint for the main certificate text. In case the text changes, like in the case of a bond, only the overlay needed to be changed to 'REGISTERED'. 
At the end of the video, I focus on the facsimile signature of Intel's Chairman of the Board. Ever heard of Moore's law. Yep, that's the man. When working as R&D Director at Fairchild Semiconductor, Gordon Earle Moore observed that the number of electronic components in an integrated circuit would double every year. Later he revised the forecast to every two years. 

It will take me several years to complete the ISMOC project. Frankly I hope this turns out to be a neverending story. This is a scripophily venture that will take me on a worldwide journey through modern times. Will you join me on the ride once in a while ?

F.L.

Signed the Guest book yet ?

Related links

• See more about proofs and specimens here.
• Internet Scripophily Museum of Computing (ISMOC) 
• ISMOC on Twitter

Chennai Museum displays historic stocks and bonds from India

The Chennai Government Museum started in 1851. It holds many archeological and numismatic objects including one of the largest collections of Roman antiquities outside Europe. Its founder, Edward Balfour, a Scottish surgeon, orientalist and pioneering environmentalist, housed once the first zoo of Madras on the museum's grounds. At this very moment visitors can admire antique bond and share certificates in a special exhibition through 17 March 2017.

Telegraph to India Company
£2 share certificate, 1862
The company had the extremely difficult task to restore
the undersea telegraph cables between Egypt and India.
Image courtesy Sayeed Cassim

"Scripophily" is a temporary exhibition organized by the Government Museum in Chennai. The exhibtion counts 83 historical Indian stocks and bonds from the collection of Sayeed Cassim and his family. The show, well received in the local press, was inaugurated in the presence of British Deputy High Commissioner Bharat Joshi, Dewan to the Prince of Arcot Mohammed Asif Ali and Museum Director Dr. D. Jagannathan.

In the 19th century the creation of securities, mostly for British companies,
was done in England and followed a British design tradition.
Since the 1900s Indian printers developed their own lettering styles and ornaments,
resulting in a unique range of bond and share certificates.

The collection includes securities issued during India's pre-independence era from companies like the Imperial Bank of India and the Madras Railway Company. Some of the early certificates are printed on vellum and linen. Other scrip on display are full of artwork illustrating the activity of the issuer. Good examples are the shares from The Malabar Forests and Rubber Company Ltd and The Jaipur Bus Service Ltd. Sayeed Cassim, resident from Chennai, explains that this exhibition helps the younger generation to understand how shares and bonds were sold in the past. Visitors not oriented towards business history will be attracted to the artwork.

Visiting the Scripophily exhibition
Edward Green Balfour, founder and first officer in charge of the museum,
had much enthusiasm for collection and education, especially for women.
He introduced special days to encourage women visitors.
No doubt, he would have been very pleased with this initiative.
Image courtesy Sayeed Casseem

Practical info 

• Location : Government Museum, Egmore, Chennai 
• Duration : 3 March - 17 March 2017 
• Opening hours : Monday-Sunday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
• Entrance fee : the special Scripophily exhibition is free

The Cassim collection can be seen in Chennai through 17 March 2017, so don't hesitate to visit the event if you have some time to spend in Chennai.
F.L. 

Related links

• History on paper, The Hindu online, March 6 2017 
• You can currently see some extracts from the local press about the event, and more Indian bonds and shares on Sayeed Cassim's Facebook page.

Exhibition : Sammeln, Sammeln, Sammeln

In the German Ruhr area lies the city of Bochum. The city's Kunstmuseum has set up an exhibition titled "Sammeln, Sammeln, Sammeln". The project was realized in cooperation with the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Rhineland-Westphalia-Lippe (Evangelische Hochschule Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe).

In the Bauhaus style (1920-1930s) "form followed function" :

tight lines and simple forms were the characteristic elements. 

The style concentrated on the new materials of glass, steel, concrete and bricks. 

Detail from one of the historic securities on display in the exhibition.

Courtesy J. Weritz

The German word sammeln means to collect. People collect objects for aesthetic reasons or because of cultural and historical glamor. Some are attracted to collecting on pure scientific grounds. Collections learn us, even as mere spectators, who we were and who we are now.

Earlier this year the Kunstmuseum called upon citizens from Bochum and surroundings to make their collections available. An announcement was placed in the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, a leading German newspaper from Essen. In no time about fifty collectors applied for participating in the event. The result is a collection of collections. On display are Stephen King collectibles, Toothpicks, Snow globes, Toast makers, Death masks, Empress Sissi memorabilia, Pinball Machine Backglasses, and much more.

In 1927 the city of Frankfurt A.M. founded with the Preußischen Elektrizitäts AG (Prussian Electricity Co) the Braunkohlen-Schwel-Kraftwerk Hessen-Frankfurt AG (Hessen-Frankfurt Brown Coal Power and Refining Co). Its 1928 1000 Reichsmark share is designed in Bauhaus style. 

Courtesy J. Weritz

Is there any scripophily represented in the Kunstmuseum ? Sure. One of Bochum's citizens lended his collection of bonds and shares. About 40 artistically designed securities are our eye-catchers here. Themes included : Afrika, Jugendstil, Art Deco, Bauhaus, Germany, Automobiles, Greece, USA, Eastern Europe and Breweries from Bochum.

Sammeln, Sammeln, Sammeln lasts through 5 February 2017.

Click to enlarge the invitation.

Practical info :

• Bochum's Kunstmuseum
• The Sammeln, Sammeln, Sammeln exhibtion 
• Duration : 25 November 2016 - 5 February 2017
• Location : Kortumstraße 147, Bochum, GERMANY 
• Opening hours : Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, Wednesday from 10:00 to 20:00 , closed on public holidays 
• Entrance : €5, free for children and students 

Related link

• Invitation from the Evangelische Hochschule Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe, Bochum
• Sammler zeigen ihre Schätze im Bochumer Museum, Der Westen, 24 Nov 2016

F.L.

P.S. Thanks to Jürgen Weritz who brought the event under my attention. More about Mr. Weritz's project, see here .

Booklet : Gedruckte Werte

Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient founded in 1852 the Typografisches Institut Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig. On the first day of October G&D received an order for the printing of securities from the Kieritzscher Rübenzucker-Action-Verein (English: Kieritzsch Sugar Beet Company). It took only two weeks to deliver the 400 share certificates to the customer.

Gedruckte Werte is the title of the publication accompanying the exhibition with the same name at the Museum of the Printing Arts Leipzig. Besides interesting facts about the history of the bank note and securities printer Giesecke & Devrient, this work tells us how securities were designed and produced in the 19th and 20th century, and much more. 

Booklet from the exhibition Gedruckte Werte

• Title: Gedruckte Werte, in English: Printed Values
• Publisher : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig, 2016
• ID : ISBN 978-3-9817257-1-1
• Languages : German
• Number of pages : 59
• Images : more than 40 color images (12 from shares and bonds)
• Index : no index

Chapters

KANN MAN VERTRAUEN DRUCKEN? AKTIEN ALS MEDIUM DER INDUSTRIEKULTUR, (freely translated) Can trust be printed ? Share certificates as a medium of industrial culture.

DIE HERSTELLUNG VON WERTPAPIEREN AM BEISPIEL VON AKTIEN, The production of securities, illustrated with share certificates 

GIESECKE & DEVRIENT - WERTPAPIERDRUCK IN LEIPZIG, Giesecke & Devrient - security printing in Leipzig 

IKONOGRAPHIE DER WIRTSCHAFT - DAS BILDPROGRAMM AUF WERTPAPIEREN, Iconography of economy - images on securities 

GELDÄHNLICHE PAPIER -  GELDWERTE DRUCK, Money alike papers - the printing of (other) values (such as tickets for the Olympic Games) 

The publication is written in German. Typical technical German terms related to the world of printing and business are used throughout the chapters, so this can be a challenge for non-German speakers, like myself. But a good dictionary, or Google Translate on your smartphone, can help you out. The effort is absolutely worthwhile. I absorbed the publication chapter by chapter right up to the end !

This  Berliner Aquarium 200 Thaler share (printer proof),
dated 1870, is one of the certificates on display.
More on this certificate in a follow up post.
image courtesy : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig

The exhibition runs until 14 august 2016. The accompanying booklet is available from the Museum's shop at 8,80 € (please ask the museum for the shipment cost).

• More about the exhibition, see here 
• Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig, in German, in English 

F.L.

Exhibition: Gedruckte Werte

Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig illustrates the making of securities
The German city of Leipzig has a rich tradition of bookmaking and publishing. Its Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig (Museum of the Printing Arts Leipzig) is home to functioning machines, tools and presses demonstrating the techniques of copperplate printing, lithography and letterpress. Recently the museum has set up an extraordinary exhibition titled Gedruckte Werte (Printed Values).

Grosse Leipziger Strassenbahn
1000 Mark share, Leipzig, 1895
printed by Giesecke & Devrient
image courtesy : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig
double-click image to enlarge

From design to production
The exhibition illustrates the history, design and production of commercial securities. On display are approximately 50 bond and share certificates mainly from Leipzig and Saxony of the last 200 years, together with printing proofs, cheques, stamps, wood engravings, printing plates, guilloche and frame dies, sample and order books, and other historical printing forms. The show also explains how Giesecke & Devrient, Germany's most important printer of banknotes and securities, developed a standardized process for the production of artistic and counterfeit-proof securities. 

Guilloching tool, dated around 1900
source: Giesecke & Devrient, Leipzig
image courtesy : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig

One of the exhibits is a manually operated guilloching tool, see image above, from the Giesecke & Devrient security printing house in Leipzig. A tool like this was used to engrave a guilloché, an ornamental pattern formed of repeating, interlacing lines in a circular design. When printed on securities and banknotes, designs like these were almost impossible to counterfeit. The guilloché pattern shown just below at the left, is a detail from the image beside it, another object in the exhibition : an advertising, ca. 1910, for Giesecke & Devrient, designed and printed as a share certificate.

source: Sächsisches Staatsarchiv Leipzig 

image courtesy : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig

The exhibition is a cooperation between the Museum and the “Firmenhistorisches Archiv” of the Giesecke & Devrient GmbH (Munich). Some loans are also from the State Archives of Saxony in Leipzig.

Giesecke & Devrient printing plate for a share
of the Actien-Brauvereins zu Plauen (see also image below)
image courtesy : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig

Practical info

• Duration : 16 March to 14 August 2016
• Location : Nonnenstrasse 38, Leipzig, GERMANY
• Opening hours : Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ; Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Entrance: 6€ for adults, 3€ for students and 1,50€ children, 4€ for owners of a Leipziger-Card
• Guided tours on the following Sundays at 12:00 a.m. : 8 May, 22 May, 12 June, 26 June, 24 July and 14 August
• Special 60+ tours on the following Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. : 19 April and 21 June.
• Hans-Volkmar Gaitzsch holds an evening talk Leipziger Wertpapiere on Thursdag 19 May at 7:00 p.m. , free entrance
• The Museum also organizes a one-day conference Gedrucktes Vertrauen on Friday 24 June, more info in German, see here.
• Further, there is an accompanying 60-pages book, in German, availble at the price of 8,80€ excluding shipping cost (but more on that in my next article).

Actien-Brauverein zu Plauen
in English : Plauen Brewery Association
1000 Reichsmark share, specimen from Giesecke & Devrient, 1943
One of the original printing plates for this certificate is shown above.
image courtesy : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig

Related links

• Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig, in German, in English 
• Exhibition Gedruckte Werte, in German, in English 

F.L.

PS: Here are some images, from the museum's Facebook page, from the opening of the exhibition.

Vielen Dank an alle Gäste für eine tolle Ausstellungseröffnung zu GEDRUCKTE WERTE gestern Abend!
Posted by Museum für Druckkunst on Wednesday, 16 March 2016