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

Precisely 560 lots of scripophily will go on Spink's E-block. This online sale already started at 15:00 Oct 11. The bidding window closes on Oct 25 at 11:00. At stake are antique stocks and bonds from all continents.

Large sections are reserved for scripophily from Australia, Russia, USA Railways, China, South Africa and Canada. More than 200 lots of British bonds and shares are offered representing many themes such as Banking, Canals and Railways, Mining and Shipping.

The Cunard Steamship Company certificate for 5 shares of £20 was issued in 1880. Its two vignettes show an ocean liner and the company's emblem with lion. The share was issued to and signed by William Cunard. L(ot) 261 in the auction 

The British shipping section counts more than 30 lots including this early Cunard Steamship Company share (illustrated). Here are a few of the interesting lots from this part :

• L266, F. B. Woodruff and Co. Ltd., ship and country flag vignettes in color, issued in 1915 and signed by Fred. B. Woodruff
• L288 is a share from The White Star Line, Limited. The company was the owner of the "unsinkable" Titanic that perished with more than 1500 passengers after striking an iceberg. 
• The sale includes three shares of the famous P & O  shipping line, founded as the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation, L276 through L278

The Royal Bank of Scotland was established about 300 years ago, in 1724. The bank invented the overdraft in 1728 which allowed merchants to withdraw money from an empty account. Today the bank counts around 700 branches, mainly in Scotland. L349 comprises of 5 capital stock certificates from this pioneering bank, all issued between 1891 and 1914.

A large British banks section consists of more than 60 auction lots. The Royal Bank of Liverpool is rarely seen on the collector's market: L348 includes two early shares from 1865. With illustrations of the York Minster and city walls, York City and County Banking Company shares are among the prettiest financial scripophily collectibles from the UK, see L357 through L362. Other famous names include Westminster Bank, L356, Midland Bank Limited, L341 and Barclays Bank, L306.

Antonio Salviati was an Italian glass manufacturer. His first company produced the mosaic glass for the altar screen for the high altar of Westminster Abbey, among other. In 1866 Salviati founded the Compagnia Venezia Murano with British capital that became an important producer of Venetian art glass. The Salviati factory in Murano remains a well known brand today. The Venice and Murano Glass Company, Limited (Salviati and Company, Limited) share bears a vignette of the Venetian lion and dates from 1889. L174 in the auction.

There is lots more to discover in this sale, so here are the details :

• Location : this is an Internet only sale
• Date : October 11 15:00 - October 25 11:00
• Further info : see here 

F.L.

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Reference book : Dictionnaire des Patrons en Belgique

• Title : Dictionnaire des Patrons en Belgique, in English: Dictionary of Belgian Business Leaders
• Author : Kurgan-van Hentenryk Ginette, Jaumain Serge, Montens Valérie
• ID : ISBN 2-8041-1581-X; published 1996 by De Boeck Université
• Languages : French
• Number of pages : 729
• Images : about 150 black and white images and 15 color images
• Index : 1. alphabetical index on companies and persons

This comprehensive reference book describes more than 500 Belgian entrepreneurs and financers active between 1830 and 1980 regarding their family background, social status, education, business career, political functions, cultural activities, business networks and interests. Included are descriptions of notable business families. An example is the Solvay family, described in 6 pages including biographical entries of Ernest, Alfred and Armand Solvay.

In many cases these Belgian captains of industry founded companies all over the world. That makes this work a "not only for Belgians" book. The book concludes with a +40 page long mixed index on company and person name. The reverse lookup of a company name can be interesting as it yields one or more entries in the dictionary. Also here an example : the Tramways de Szegedin, which operated in Hungary, is mentioned with the entries of two bankers, namely Léon Cassel and David Van Buuren. 

The book contains many images, mostly portraits, but also ads, photographs and a handful of letterheads and share certifates as well.

A great book for the advanced researcher. 

F.L.

Four rules for online scripophily sellers

Four rules to keep in mind when shipping old bonds and share certificates :

1. You shall wrap them waterproof !
2. You shall not tape them !
3. You shall not fold them ! 
4. You shall not trim them !

Rule 1 : Wrap waterproof 

Certificates are usually shipped in a paper or cardboard envelope or package. The receiver of the package obviously expects a good reception, of course. However, packages are doomed to get wet due to bad weather conditions. Paper and cardboard just love water, they suck water whenever possible. Once wet, the package probably stays wet until its arrival. The contents of the package, a nice stock certificate, is also made of paper. Need I say more ?

Franklin Computer Corporation
Common shares, 1988

Below you can see what happened to this stock certificate of the Franklin Computer Corporation. It was not shipped waterproof. The certificate was simply put in an envelope by the sender.

interior of an envelope

The sender did not notice the nicely printed pattern on the interior of the envelope, and neither he expected his package would have to deal with rainfall, snow or water. The package got wet, the ink of the envelope pattern inside got wet and, under pressure, was transferred to the certificate. Not a nice result, despite three stickers labeled 'FRAGILE: Handle with Care' and a stamp 'DO NOT BEND'.

 

left: detail from the envelope's inner side , right: detail from the received certificate

double-click images to enlarge

Senders can avoid this situation simply by inserting the certificates in one or more plastic sleeves and tape the overlapping sleeves together (don't tape the certificate, see rule number two). This solution may not be 100% waterproof, but at least there is a greater chance that the certificate arrives in good condition.

Rule 2 : Do not tape certificates
This rule is obvious to collectors but believe it or not, some people fix certificates to an extra thin cardboard in the envelope with adhesive tape. Check out what happened to this specimen stock certificate of the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation.

Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation
Common stock of $1, specimen, 1970s

The certificate was attached by tape to a thin cardboard.

This certificate was fixed to a thin cardboard in the envelope by means of ordinary adhesive tape. When the tape is applied with pressure, it sticks just "wonderful". I think the sender pressed the tape firmly, or the envelope must have been tucked away in the postman's bag between hundreds of other envelopes. Whatever .. I tried my very best to remove the tape gently and with the utmost care, but I could not prevent that a piece at the edge was teared away from the paper.

Removing the tape was a failure.

I contacted the seller and talked about this situation and by agreeing to refund a part of the amount paid, he kept a potential customer.