A new page on this blog : Printers

Scripophily, the hobby of collecting and researching antique securities, is blessed with marvellous collectibles. These objects have been produced by all kinds of printing houses, some of them being top notch banknote printers. Others specialized in the printing of artistic posters, or were active as book and newspaper publishers.

Absolutely amazing are the bonds and shares from the B. Sirven company. The detail above is a part from their main vignette, a work made by the artist Luigi Loir. Click the image for more details. 

I went on a discovery tour and checked out the posts from this blog. I searched for printer names that could be recognized from the featured bonds and shares. Much to my surprise I counted over 150 of them.

The B. Sirven printing house originates from a business set up in 1834 by Jean Bernard Sirven in the French city of Toulouse. The company continued through several family generations and excelled in chromolithography. Collectors are after the Belle Époque postcards and posters made by the company. Different bond and shares issues from B. Sirven have similar designs but are produced in different color versions. This 500 francs bond dates from 1911.

You can see the list of the identified printing houses, and the certificates they printed, on the Printers page (hyperlink on top of the site). The world of security printers is a little planet on its own. The list represents only a microscopic fraction of it, but it gives you an idea what's out there. As you'll find out, some printers, like the American Bank Note Company, were extremely productive. 

In many cases scripophily collectors find a reference to a certificate's printing house at or below the bottom edge of the design. You can see an example here. However B. Sirven's certificates do not reveal a printer name. Yet, I believe these certificates were printed on B. Sirven's own presses. There is lots to see, for instance, along the vertical borders, you can spot these small circular elements holding the company's interlaced initials 'BS'. This mini-logo is repeated in all its magnificence in a subtle underprint of abundant scrollwork. Click image to enlarge

I don't recall seeing any other scripophily produced by B. Sirven, the printer who produced the bond illustrated here. Who does? 

Collecting bonds and shares printed by a certain printing house can be a great theme to pursue. You may want to start a side collection of certificates produced by your favorite printer.

Scripophily from the B. Sirven company shows two tiny portraits in the upper corners. Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1400-1468), on the left, introduced the movable type printing press in Europe. Johann Alois Senefelder (1771-1834), on the right, who is also a German like Gutenberg, invented the printing technique of lithography. Founder Jean Bernard Sirven may have known or heard about Senefelder, a contemporary. By paying tribute to these pioneers, the company showed its investors that it was a legitimate successor in the evolution of printing. 

Do you think that a certificate from a particular printing house is missing in the Printers list ? If so, then email me a high resolution image of the certificate at issue. I'd be happy to include it with an accompanying article on the blog.

F. L. 

Previous posts 

• Taxonomy of a certificate : Passoeroean Stoomtram-Maatschappij 
• Scripophily Puzzle No. 4 - solution : Murder on the Orient Express 

Belgian Association for Scripophily exists 40 years

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

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

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

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

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

FL Do you collect certain themes ? 

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

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

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

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

FL How many members does the society has ? 

Denis We have about 25 members.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related links

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

F.L.

Daimler-Benz auctioned in Würzburg

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

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

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

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

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

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

Éditions de la Sirène - Compagnie Française d'Édition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

L1828 starts at €100

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

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

F.L.

Razor pioneer for sale at Archives International Auctions

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

The American Bank Note Company 

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

Consolidated Agreement 1904 specimen stock certificate

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

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

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

The Staten Island Railway Company

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

from the Stephen Beck Collection

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

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

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

F.L.

Puzzling scripophily - No. 1 - solution

Puzzle No. 1 provided you three visual cues that could help you solve it. One reader provided a correct answer and told me about an interesting way to research antique stocks and bonds.

The correct answer was Le Petit Journal, a French daily newspaper that circulated between 1863 and 1944. The visual cues were details from the design of the company's splendid share certificate.

500 Francs share certificate of  Le Petit Journal, 1896

design by Meyer and engraving by Meaulle 

By bringing sensational news, applying clever customer binding techniques, and a newspaper that could be sold for the price of 5 Centimes, Le Petit Journal's circulation rose to 2 million copies by the late 1890s.  

The Dreyfus Affair (1894-1906), in which Alfred Dreyfus, of Jewish descent, was convicted of handing secrets to the German army, contributed to its success but also lead to the decline of the newspaper.

During this lawsuit Le Petit Journal publicly choose side against Dreyfus while repeatedly publishing antisemitic articles. In those days, publishing racist and antisemitic content was not illegal. Despite false evidence, Dreyfus was declared guilty and imprisoned.

It turned out that Dreyfus was framed. Due to public opinion he was released from prison and exonerated. Le Petit Journal however lost many readers to competitors that had avoided taking sides in this case.

There is a lot more to tell about Le Petit Journal, see here. It is now recognized as a pioneer of the sensation press and mass media.  

Reader DB provided the correct answer for puzzle no. 1: It was pretty easy. The cert appeared after I googled for images of "61 Rue Lafayette" (one of the cues). 

Well done DB! You are now entitled a portion of "eternal fame". 

F. L.

Archives International Auctions presents antique securities in upcoming March auction

Over the last 12 years Archives International Auctions has been offering banknotes, coins, scripophily, autographs and security printing ephemera in more than 50 auctions. Their next sale takes place on Tuesday, March 19th 2019 at their new offices in River Edge, New Jersey. The event marks also the launch of Archives International Middle East Auctions, AIA's new division which will specialize in banknotes and coins from Islamic countries.

Scripophily is substantial in this auction sale which includes 300 lots of antique stocks and bonds from the USA, Mexico, China and much more. Here are some stunning items from the American section.

Lot 892 : New York Telephone Company, 1909 $500 specimen bond 

Now part of Verizon, this company was organized in 1896 by the Bell Telephone Company to take over the operations of the Metropolitan Telephone and Telegraph and the Westchester Telephone companies. In 2001 the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center damaged the company's largest exchange building, now called the Verizon Building. 

Lot 583 : Arkansas State Telegraph Company, $50 shares, 1861 

Right from the start of the American Civil War, private telegraph companies played an important role in this conflict. Telegrams were used to transmit information from reconnaissance missions, reports on army units in contact with the enemy, or simply for asking a fellow officer to charter steam boats for troop transport. The Arkansas State Telegraph Company was one of the most important private telegraph companies of the Confederates. This share was issued on 1st of July 1861, only two months after Arkansas left the Union. Historic and extremely rare

Lot 767 : Wired Ventures, Inc., specimen stock, ca. 1993 

"IN THE FUTURE WE TRUST" is the motto printed vertically over the entire width on this Wired stock certificate. Founded in 1993 the magazine focuses on how new technologies affects culture, the economy, and politics. The term "Crowdsourcing" was coined in the magazine's June 2006 issue. More recently Wired discussed the 2018 Atlanta cyberattack in several much talked-about articles about cyberwarfare.  

There is much more to tell about this auction, but the most interesting way is to see for yourself. So here are the auction details :

• New Location : 1060 Main Street Suit 202, River Edge, New Jersey
• Date : 19 March 2019
• Further info : see here , live and absentee bidding here and a downloadable PDF catalogue there 

F.L.

Historic figures and Rumanians star in Boone's next auction of antique securities

Boone's 61th Auction of shares and bonds features more than 1600 lots covering about all fields of scripophily interest. The sale catalogue is available online and as an offline PDF document. Nearly all of its 200 pages include color images and background stories of the certificates to be sold. For easy retrieval purposes, search indexes help the collector on his quest for engravers, artists, security printers, Belgian provinces, more than 80 countries and an equal number of special interest themes. 

I noted several certificates signed by or issued to historic figures in the Autographs index. Here are some dazzling names. The Great Britain section begins with a royal series of financial documents : King Charles I, 1632, L(ot) 521, Queen Anne, 1713, L523, King George I, 1723, L524, King George II, 1745, L525 and King George III, 1790, L526. All, unique, representing the Early Modern Britain period, welcome bids from €2000.

Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez 

Dividend share, 1884, Paris, signed as Director by (Ferdinand) V(icomte ) de Lesseps 
Hercule Catenacci designed the share with pharaonic motifs and Egyptian street views. 

click image to enlarge 

Few personalities have made such an impact on global trade as Ferdinand de Lesseps. Right at the outset of the Second Industrial Revolution, de Lesseps' Suez Canal opened in 1869. Combined with the American transcontinental railroad, it allowed the world to be circled in record time. L182, a dividend share in the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez, 1884, is the only known scripophily with an original autograph de Lesseps. Start price €2000. 

From 1839, a share in the Moulins à Vapeur de Sclessin, a steam-powered grain mill, L218, is issued to industrialist John Cockerill from Lancashire. Cockerill is considered the founder of the Belgian manufacturing industry. Surprisingly, bidding on this extremely rare and one of the most important Belgian scripophily objects can start as low as €800. 

Of course, the Americans are also part of the show. Bidding can start at €500 for an Oroya Leonesa Ltd gold mine share, L1133, signed by Herbert C. Hoover, 31st President of the US. You can find John Paul Getty and George F. Getty II on a duo lot, L1275, comprising a Mission Development stock and a pay roll check. A Northern Pacific Railroad Company share, L1195, signed on the back transfer note by John Pierpont Morgan may be acquired from €100.

Another stunning signature certificate from the Neamul Romanesc Societate Cooperativa, a company formed for the commerce and industry of printing, packaging and publishing. The company printed its own shares. This one, dated 1908, is signed by historian, playwright and Prime Minister of Rumania (1931-32) Nicolae Iorga. A commando of the fascist Iron Guard party assassinated "the greatest-ever mind in Rumania" in 1940. Lot 1591 in the auction. 

The Nicolae Iorga share, L1591, is one of an exciting group of about 360 rare, historic and superbly designed bonds and shares from Rumania. In pole position here is a bond of 100 Austrian Ducats issued by the Principality of Wallachia in 1834. Twenty-five years later, Wallachia would form together with Moldavia the State of Romania in 1859. The certificate, L1281, can find a new owner from €1400.

The Banca "Oborul" is named after the Obor district in Bucharest. Its 50 Lei  share, Art Nouveau style, starts at €200. L1403  

Art Nouveau became also in Rumania a popular style around the 1900s. Decorative elements, inspired by natural forms and the curved lines of plants, found its way on many gorgious security designs like those of the Creditul International, L1410, Banca Grivita, L1406 and Bukowinaer Landesbank, L1390.

This share in the Allgemeine Versicherungsbank Transsylvania A.G. was issued on Jun 21, 1918, only a few months before Transylvania, also known as Siebenbürgen, became a part of Rumania Dec 1, 1918. Illustrated are the arms of the seven provinces of Transylvania. L1420, €100 

The Rumanian sales section consists of the following subsections, between parentheses the number of lots is mentioned to illustrate the extraordinary range of scripophily : State & City Bonds (36), Railroads (27), Oil (23), Banking (138), Various Industries (135).

Soviet related scripophily can often be fascinating. At the end of WW II, the country was occupied by Soviet troops. In Feb 1946, the Uzinelle Metallurgice "Vulcan" issued new shares. In the same year the Communists organized and "won" the elections in Rumania. The company recovered from the war and already at the end of the decade production increased quickly. L1639 contains a duo of these 1946 issued "Soviet" shares and starts at €60.

The Romania Carbonifera certificate for 10 shares of 500 Lei was issued in 1920. Click the image to enlarge and admire the drawing of coalminers at work. L1556, €100 

On top of what has been discussed so far, another 1200 scripophily lots, 1639 in total, will be part of the sale. A few of the many worth looking at :

• L118 Kathiawar Industries, India
• L132 Manufactures Indochinoises de Cigarettes, Indochina
• L150 Nanyo Yashi KK, Southern Coco-Nut Estate & Trading Co, Japan
• L240 Expedition Antarctique Belge, Belgium
• L472 Baden-Baden Co Ltd, Germany
• L580 Agricultural and Commercial Bank of Ireland
• L793 First Society of Silkworm Breeders in Kutaisi Government, Russia
• L861 Stora Kopparbergs Läns Och Bergslags Enskilde Bank-Bolag, Sweden
• L902 Ottoman National Economic Joint Stock Company of Konya, Turkey
• L1075 Cardenas Sabanilla Petroleum, Cuba

One of the French top pieces in the sale, this 100 Francs share in the Société de Constructions de Levallois-Perret, a successor to the Compagnie des Etablissements Eiffel, was issued in 1939 but printed in the 1890s. Only a handful known, this historic piece may be acquired from €1200. L456 in the auction. 

There is lots more to discover from other countries and all kinds of collecting themes in this auction. The day after the sale, Mario Boone organizes his regular scripophily bourse internationally attended by dealers and visitors.

Auction details

• Location : Antwerpen, Belgium
• Date : auction 27 October 2018, bourse 28 October 2018
• Further info : online catalogue  here, and PDF version there 

F.L.

PS : You can find out more about the Americal railroads in the auction in this preview from Coxrail

AIA's 44th Auction features hundreds of early US, Chinese and Worldwide stocks and bonds

Nearly 150 years after issue, a bond from The Franklin Silver Mining Company of Colorado, carrying a high content of American history, turns up in Bob Schwartz' upcoming auction of Banknotes, Scripophily, Coins and Security Printing Ephemera. 

The Franklin Silver Mining Company was established in 1868 near Idaho Springs, Colorado. Its Franklin Lode was a large and rich vein of solid mineral. By 1906 the mine produced over a million dollars. The company's bond, lot 831 in the auction, is signed by Civil War hero Benjamin Franklin Fisher.

Sixty of these gold ink printed $100 bonds were part of a $60,000 loan
 issued in 1869 by The Franklin Silver Mining Company of Colorado.
The bond was "convertible into the stock of the corporation at its par value,
and redeemable at the option of the company at any time after three years."
Signed by civil war hero Benjamin Franklin Fisher as the company's President.
Click image to enlarge

Two months after the outbreak of the American Civil War, Benjamin Franklin Fisher (1834-1915) went into service as 1st Lieutenant, Company H, 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves in June 1861. He was detached to the Signal Corps where he produced intelligence reports from observation posts. Promoted to the rank of Captain, he commanded a detachment of signallers from February 1862 with General Hooker, and on the Peninsular Campaign under McClellan. During the movement to Chancellorsville Capt. Fisher was the first to detect and report Confederate General Lee's movements up the Rappahannock river at the beginning of the campaign into Pennsylvania. 

On June 17, 1863, while tailing Confederate lines near Aldie, Virginia, Fisher was captured and sent to Libby Prison in Richmond. There he was joined by Lieutenant Causten, his future brother-in-law. On February 9, 1864, 109 prisoners tunneled out of Libby Prison, including Fisher and Causten. That night they passed guards unnoticed, hided through the day in the thickets and the swamp jungles of the Chickahominy river, and continued their escape at night time. Both endured a two-day lasting snow storm and evaded search parties for several days. Then on February 18, they ran into the enemy and were shot at. His future brother-in-law was recaptured but Fisher escaped and found his way to Union lines at Williamsburg, February 21 1864. Fisher, Brevetted Brigadier General, resigned November 15, 1866 and started practising law in Philadelphia.

US, Chinese, Middle Eastern & Worldwide Banknotes,
Scripophily, Coins, and Security Printing Ephemera
featuring additional selections from the
Alexander I. Progrebetsky Family Archives of Rare Chinese Banknotes

Archives International Auctions' 44th sale takes place on Tuesday, August 29th, at Fort Lee, New Jersey. The sale includes about 300 antique stocks and bonds spread over several sections such as Chinese government bonds, treasury bills from Russia, US mining, US railroads and much more.

Auction details

• Date : August 29, 2017
• Place : Fort Lee, NJ 
• Further info : see there and PDF version of the catalogue here 

F.L.

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

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

Scripophily magazine 98

It's only a matter of one or two weeks before you can expect the next issue of Scripophily magazine in the mailbox. For those who are not subscribed, here is an overview of the stories from the last August issue :

• The Anderson Motor Company
• $100,000 Denomination Chinese 1937 Liberty Bond print inconsistencies , about counterfeit Chinese bonds
• Rarity Key System , a joined communication by several auction houses 
• The bonds issued under the forced loans of Jérôme Bonaparte , a story on Westphalia Kingdom finance 
• Rafting Scripophily , highlights early timber logging and transport companies in the US
• Embossed British revenue stamps , did you know about the junction between British revenue stamps and stocks and bonds?
• Charles A Stoneham & Co mining curb brokers , a story on a remarkable mining stock brokerage firm
• Sensation at 5 centimes in 'Le Petit Journal', an updated article about this famous French newspaper company 
• An early IBM predecessor company, about the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co
• China's Historic Foreign Bonds, by J M Thompson and M D Perry , book review 
• Pictorial Stock Certificates - Lithography and Engravings for the Graphic Art Collector, by B Brown , book review 
• Cox's Corner : We're not getting any younger , tips about specializing your collection
• other periodical topics : society matters, news, bourse reviews, auction reviews, events calendar, member classifieds, book reviews, interviews and lots of pictures of collector friends and scripophily

Did you know about the previously rare Suez canal company
where about 50 hoard certificates recently appeared?
Read about it in Scripophily magazine Nr 98 Aug 2015
-
image from Wikipedia:
Suez Canal from 1881 Young Persons' Cyclopedia of Persons and Places

Scripophily magazine is a publication from the International Bond & Share Society.

F.L.

Related links

• International Bond & Share Society (IBSS)
• IBSS on Facebook