Sunday, November 30, 2014

Pre-war debt securities on display at the Warsaw Stock Exchange

The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) is one of the fastest-growing exchanges in Europe. In 2013, 450 companies were listed, including 47 foreign companies. The WSE ranked #2 in Europe by the number of IPOs, and #5 in terms of their value. 

The WSE and the Collectors' Association of Historical Securities (Stowarzyszenie Kolekcjonerów Historycznych Papierów Wartosciowych) have set up an exhibition Debt securities listed on the pre-war exchange - Papiery dłużne notowane na przedwojennej giełdzie. On display are about 100 pre-war bonds and debentures, issued in Poland by credit societies, private corporations, and the Polish State Treasury.

Image source : Warsaw Stock Exchange

Practical info

  • Location : Warsaw Stock Exchange, ul. Książęca 4, Warsaw.
  • Duration : 29 September 2014 – 31 January 2015
  • Opening hours :  From Monday to Friday 10:00 - 15:00.
  • Entrance : free


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Friday, November 21, 2014

What is scripophily ?

Take a little test
What is the oldest and the youngest word in the following list ?
  1. scripophily
  2. computer
  3. android.
I bet you are wrong ! I was too. I'll give you the answer right away.

The word scripophily is a contraction of 
  • the English word “scrip”, a certificate entitling ownership right, 
  • and the Greek word "φίλος" (philos), meaning "friend".

Scripophily is about collecting old securities and related items
Securities can roughly be divided in :
  • debt securities, such as a bond, which represents a debt of a company, a society, a federal, statal or municipal authority, or a non-governmental organization
  • equity securities, such as a stock certificate (also known as a share certificate), which represents part ownership of a company, society or association.




More than just collecting
Scripophily involves also the study of stock and bond certificates and their related history. One can be a scripophilist without owning a single stock or bond. 

Did you know that antique stocks and bonds are easy to find ?
Many certificates are common and can be easily and cheaply acquired on bourses and online platforms like eBay. More interesting material is found at dedicated auctions. Some certificates, like this one, are very rare and have a great historical importance and reside only in museums

Why collect ?
There are tens of reasons why scripophily items are appealing : security engraving, artistic design, particular vignettes, a pioneering activity, the name of a company, historical background, the name of the holder, a signature of a famous person, and many more reasons.


Indochina share of the Société Agricole et Industrielle du Thap-Muoi, Vietnam
Société Agricole et Industrielle du Thap-Muoi
Share of 20 French Indochinese piasters, Saigon, 1928, printed in Paris by Chaix
The piaster was the currency of French Indochina between 1885 and 1952.
Tháp Mười is a rural district in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.
double-click image to enlarge


Is it really important to make a distinction between true and untrue scripophily? 
Absolutely not. Scripophilists may also collect other related papers, often not regarded as true scripophily, for instance : insurance policies, membership certificates, invoices. The issuers used these papers in their daily business processes. This contrasts with securities that were issued only occasionally during the lifespan of the issuer. Hence, ordinary lottery tickets, drawn on a weekly basis, belong to the former group, and lottery loans to the latter. Combining both types of documents in a collection only contributes to the fun and learning possibilities.



The Ericsson Shipping Company, Ltd, 1915
Printed by Andrew Reid & Co., Newcastle, UK.
The company owned the S.S. Willingtonia, a steel hulled steam cargo ship, built in 1918. 
In the very same year the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UC27. 
A weird coincidence, the company's shipping flag depicts a swastika, 
in many cultures seen as a sign of good fortune.





Do you know the word in your language ?
In other languages, scripophily is often translated in a similar sounding word
  • Escripofilia (Spanish)
  • Scriptophilie  (French)
  • Scripophilie (French, German)
  • Scriptofilie (Dutch)
  • Scripofilie (Dutch, Romanian)
  • Scripofili (Norwegian)
  • Scripofilia (Italian)
  • Skripofilija (Lithuanian)
  • Skrypofilistyka (Polish)
  • Скрипофилия (Russian)
Is the word for scripophily in your language not listed here? Please let me know, I’ll make sure it deserves its place in the list.


How old is the word scripophily ?
The word scripophily is actually a relatively modern word, as you can see here in Google’s Ngram chart. This tool lets you trace the usage of a word or phrase during the past five centuries (!) by seeing how often it's appeared in books over that time span.


Google Ngram Viewer chart of the word scripophily
The word Scripophily started appearing in books halfway the 1970s.
Source : Google Ngram  Viewer

As  you see, the word Scripophily started appearing in the 1970s, which is pretty modern when compared to words like android (17th century) and computer (16th century). 


F.L.

Tip : The more (online) scripophily friends you have, the more you will share knowledge and have fun. You should join a club or participate in a social media group !

PS : Scripophily is also the name of the magazine issued by the International Bond & Share Society (IBSS), see more here .

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Can you help me to reach more people by sharing this post ? 

Friday, November 14, 2014

CTC displays its history in ... a tramcar

The Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) is the oldest electric tram in Asia, running since 1902, and currently the only tramway in India. Its service is known as the Kolkata tram.

Electricity replaces horses and steam during the early years
CTC is registered in London 1880. A horse-drawn tram track between Sealdah to Armenian Ghat is inaugurated on 1st November of the same year. Already two years later steam locomotives are introduced. By the end of the nineteenth century the company owns 186 tramcars, 1000 horses, 7 steam locomotives and 19 miles of tram tracks. In 1900 electrification and simultaneous reconstruction of one meter gauge tracks to the standard gauge (4'-8½ '') is initiated. The entire system is electrified within five years. When the tram network connects to the suburb of Howrah in the 1940s, the company's total track length reaches 67km.



The official anglicised name Calcutta was changed in 2001 
to Kolkata in order to match Bengali pronunciation.
Picture by Claude Waddell, military photographer, dated 1945-1946. 
At the left the Mohammddan mosque, Juma Masjid. 
Source : By Clyde Waddell , via Wikimedia Commons
double-click image to enlarge

Kolkata and CTC struggle with demographic stress, economic decline and political troubles 
In 1947 independent India is partitioned in the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. Many Muslims leave Kolkata and hundred thousands of Hindus flee into the city. The city will experience a steady economic decline in the following decades due to steep population increases and a rise in militant trade-unionism. In 1965 CTC must deal with infrastructure damages and agitations from Marxist–Maoist groups against the rise of its fares. Furthermore, Kolkata undergoes power shortages and many strikes and CTC wrestles with lack of investments and financial pressure. In 1967 the Government of West Bengal takes over the management. Four years later, the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 will lead to a massive inflow, again, of thousands of refugees.

CTC fights a fierce competition
In the 1950s the automobile sector becomes competitor number one for the Calcutta Tramways Company. Buses, trucks, taxis and private cars claim their share in the city's transport services. Other traffic rivals are auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws and hand-pulled rickshaws. All of these vehicles compete for the same road space. The slow-moving tram services are restricted to certain areas of the city. In 2004 the city's "road space" will turn out to be only 6% compared to 23% in Delhi and 17% in Mumbai. Over time CTC looses its reserve right of way. Further decreases of its passenger numbers lead to lack of profitability and unavoidably inadequate maintenance. In 1982 the Bengal Government will reincorporate CTC as The Calcutta Tramways Company 1978 Limited, a privately owned state government company. At that time 275 tramcars carry 0.75 million passengers per day. Two years later, new competitor The Kolkata Metro starts its services. In 1992 the Calcutta Tramways Company introduces bus services. Modern looking-trams, including air conditioned tramcars, have been introduced recently.

Taxis, buses, cars, rickshaws near Sealdah train station 
blocking the tram rails.
Picture by Arne Hückelheim
Source : Wikipedia

The future remains uncertain
CTC's bus fleet has been increased from an initial 40 to 400 buses but the number of trams operating every day has dropped to 100. The number of tramcar passengers fluctuates around 160,000 people per day; unlike the Kolkata Metro which today attains a daily ridership of 0.65 million passengers. CTC survices with an annual subsidy of nearly Rs 200 crore (26 million Euro). Who knows what the future will be bring. Yet, the company's tramcars have some trumps. They stand for a clean and environment-friendly mode of mass transport. The cars are more spacious than buses and the fares are cheap. In a fast evolving city like Kolkata, the trams lend character to the city and may give the city extra pride.

A museum in a tram
On 29 September 2014, CTC has inaugurated a museum in a tram stationed at the Esplanade depot. The museum may help bridge the gap with between the fast-paced urban life and its slow-moving vehicles. On display are
  • old archives
  • replicas of various trams
  • old tickets, passes and coins
  • pictures of great men who travelled in trams
  • badges, uniforms, caps and tassels worn by company staff
  • and much more
You can enjoy the museum along with a cup of tea or coffee with snacks in a tram originally built in 1938 and refurbished earlier this year. Open to visitors between Monday and Sunday, except Thursday, from 3.00 pm to 8.00 pm. Location : Curzon Park at CTC's Esplanade junction.

Horse-drawn trams in Kolkata, India 
(life-size model at City Centre arcade)
Notice the 'cTc' company logo at the front of the car.
Picture by  L N Roychoudhury
Source : Wikipedia

Call to action for the Kolkata readers !
Except for a few examples, scripophily of Indian tramways is rarely seen. As far as I know, I don't remember seeing any certificates from the Calcutta Tramways Company. Are there shares certificates on display ? I don't know, but this online article from The Times of India, says that "Also on display are cancelled share certificates of CTC ".  Aha !
I tried to find out more on this, but so far without success. So, to the readers from Kolkata : when you visit the CTC tram museum, take pictures of the share certificates and mail them. I'd love to include them in this post.

F.L.

Reference links