Scripophily Puzzle No. 5 - solution

There was one scripophily detective that solved Puzzle No. 5. In order to solve the puzzle I provided three visual cues. These were images of an antique stock certificate, a banknote from India and a bronze commemorative coin. The common link between these three is a famous person. 

The correct answer for the puzzle is ... da-dum-da-dum-da-dum ... Steve Jobs.

The first image in the puzzle showed a stock certificate from the Xerox Corporation. The company is known for its multifunction office systems that scan, print, copy, email and fax. In 1973, about fifty years ago, Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was working on a small but groundbreaking computer, the Xerox Alto.  

Three years later Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded the Apple Computer Company. In 1977 the Apple II computer was released. At that time microcomputers were not the user-friendly systems that we know today. The Apple II however offered color graphics. It sold well but attracted mainly computer enthousiasts.

In 1979 Steve Jobs managed to visit Xerox PARC with several Apple engineers to see a demonstration of the Xerox Alto. Xerox granted them three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for the option to buy 100,000 shares of Apple for $1 million.

The Xerox Alto system must have looked phenomenal to the visitors. It supported a GUI (Graphical User Interface) that interacted with a computer mouse. Its innovative software included the first WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) document editing system, an email client, a network-based multi-person video game, and lots more. 

Apple used the Xerox Alto concepts to introduce its next generation of systems, the Apple Lisa and the Macintosh. 

The second visual clue in our puzzle was an Indian banknote. We'll skip this one for a moment and talk about the third clue : a commemorative bronze medal. Illustrated is the reverse, the obverse was shown in the Puzzle No. 5 challenge, see here. 

The medal was issued to commemorate IBM's 33rd anniversary (1914-1947) under the leadership of Thomas Watson Sr. After World War II the company became the biggest manufacturer of mainframe computers. Watson conceived the slogan "THINK" by which he meant "to take everything into consideration .. and then act". 

THINK signs were hung on the wall of every room in every building. Employees carried a THINK notebook in which to record ideas. IBM's monthly magazine Time was renamed 'Think'. Decades later IBM products like the ThinkPad laptop computers still honor the idea behind the slogan. The word was a part of IBM's corporate culture. 

In the 1980s IBM released several versions of its successful IBM Personal Computer. Apple, with its showpiece, the Macintosh, was unable to gain much market share from IBM and the many IBM PC clone manufacturers. In 1985 Steve Jobs leaves Apple after a management struggle. For a decade Apple failed to come up with profitable products, and it was only weeks away from bankruptcy when Jobs returned in 1997.

Steve Jobs then asked three advertising agencies to present new ideas for a marketing campaign that reflected his philosophy. The slogan "THINK DIFFERENT" was the outcome and was a response to IBM's slogan "Think." 

The THINK DIFFERENT campaign included promotional magazine ads and large billboard posters that had black and white photographs of revolutionary people and events. One ad had a photo of Einstein, another a photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Another one had a photo of Mahatma Gandhi. The campaign was a huge success. The Apple iMac debuted in 1998.

The remaining visual clue was an Indian banknote. The 500 Rupees note, introduced in 1987, shows Mahatma Gandhi on the obverse. On the reverse we see Gandhi and his followers at the Dandi March.  

Steve Jobs was an admiror of Gandhi. He reportedly started wearing round, wire rim glasses just like Gandhi did. When asked by Time Magazine who would be the Person of the Century in 1999, he replied 'Gandhi'. 

Gandhi appeared on one of the posters from the THINK DIFFERENT campaign. Be the change you wish to see in the world, said Gandhi. No doubt, Steve Jobs (1955-2011) wanted to change the world too. And he did.

A quick wrap up. The clues of Puzzle No. 5 lead to the solution "Steve Jobs" in the following way:

• stock certificate from Xerox Corporation : Xerox Alto computer
• commemorative IBM medal : THINK slogan
• 500 Rupees banknote from India : Mahatma Gandhi

Scripophily detective RS provided a correct answer. Great job. You are now entitled a portion of "eternal fame".

F.L.

Previous posts

• Hidden image emerges from Télémécanique stock certificate 
• The Lesbos coins 

Puzzling scripophily - No. 5

Unleash your detective skills !

Puzzle No. 5 is about a famous person. The correct solution reveals his first and last name.

The following three visual clues may help you solve the puzzle. These are images of an antique stock certificate, a banknote from India and a weighty bronze commemorative coin. 

• How to take part ? Submit your reply in the comments section of this post, or in any other way.
• What's in it for you ? The first correct answer yields eternal fame.
• When will the solution be revealed ? Check this particular blog post in a few weeks again.

Click the images to enlarge and inspect the details. Good luck and have fun !

F.L.

Previous posts

• Book : Price list of Polish and Polish related securities 
• Google Translate and tiny printer names 

The most valuable scripophily item hammered in 2019

What was the highest priced scripophily sale at auction in 2019 ? Was it a previously unseen Chinese Imperial bond, a pioneering British railway share, or one of Apple's founders shares personally signed by Steve Jobs ? None of these. It was a Dutch bond from the 17th century, and it was sold in HWPH's 52nd Auction, at Würzburg on 4 May 2019.

Top sale in 2019, reported by the International Bond and Share Society (IBSS), was a 6.5% bond issued by the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, also known as the VOC (Dutch East India Company). The bond, unnumbered and pen cancelled, measures about 32 x 21 cm. It was printed on handmade paper and issued, with signatures, on 25 April 1623 for 500 Flemish Pounds. 

If you want to know why this VOC bond certificate achieved a top price at auction, then you need to know what kind of company the VOC was.

The VOC started as a Dutch trading company. A number of competing pre-companies from the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands formed in 1602 the VOC with a capital of 6,440,200 guilders. The new company paid 25,000 guilders for a 21-year monopoly to explore, colonize and trade with the East Indies. 

This map from around 1665 shows VOC's tradezone. The Indian subcontinent is marked as 'MOGOL'. In the lower right corner you'll recognize 'HOLLANDIA NOVA', Australia. Click the image to enlarge : the small dots along the coast lines with names in black are the company's establishments. 

source : © Nationaal Archief Ref. 4.VEL-312, via Wikipedia 

The VOC built its own ships in Amsterdam, Middelburg, Zaandam but also near Batavia (Jakarta). Tsar Peter I of Russia worked incognito as a ship's carpenter at the VOC's shipyards in the Netherlands.

The company was involved in the production and trade of East Indian spices, sugarcane from Formosa, wine from South Africa and lots more. The Shoguns of Japan allowed the VOC as the only European partner to conduct business with. Japanese porcelain, then much in demand, came to Europe on a VOC ship.

In its overseas colonies, the VOC had governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts. In some parts of the world, the VOC produced its own gunpowder like in its refinery at Chhapra, West Bengal, where it processed saltpeter from Patna.

Original bond and share certificates from the VOC are extremely rare. These tangible objects mark a striking period in the history of the world. A similar VOC bond like this was auctioned by HWPH in April 2014 for €30,000. In the auctioneer's May 2019 auction our VOC bond started with that ask price.    

image courtesy : HWPH - Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG, www.hwph.de 

In order to maintain control in and maximize profits from its overseas destinations the VOC did not hesitate to suppress locals with or without the help of the local rulers. At some point in the 17th century the VOC controlled all harbors in Asia. The company commanded then over hundreds of ships, a quarter of them warships, tens of thousands of employees and led a private army of 10,000 soldiers.

The fourth war between England and The Netherlands (1780-1784) caused problems for the VOC. The English had captured many VOC trading posts, and the company's ships were unable to arrive safely at the company's European harbors. VOC ships, loaded with valuable merchandise, were hijacked. The company lost money.

When the French invaded The Netherlands in 1795, the VOC could no longer operate. Almost 200 years after its founding, the company was liquidated in 1798.  

Dutch coins were not in demand in the East Indies, so the VOC was permitted to strike its own coins. 

source: no machine-readable author provided. Svdmolen assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY-SA via wikipedia 

The Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie was one of the first globally operating corporations. Being the first company listed on a stock exchange it applied a business model that still exists today.

The VOC founded trading posts and production settlements in today's South Africa, Mauritius, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, China and Japan. Therefore, this VOC bond is one of the oldest known scripophily documents related to these countries.

Regardless its military operations, the company brought European ideas, technology and art to Asia, but equally the other way around. It opened up the world to the world.

Our bond certificate, lot 632 in the auction, was expected to realize at least €30,000. In fact, it turned out to be the best-selling item in the sale and the most expensive one sold at auction in 2019. Lot 632 was sold at €46,000, and that's without the buyer's premium.

F.L.


Related links

• International Bond and Share Society
• Wikipedia's Dutch East India Company entry  
• HWPH - Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG 
• A History of the World in 100 Objects, by Neil MacGregor 

Top auctions in the scripophily market are extensively covered in Scripophily magazine, a publication by IBSS. The magazine brings you in-depth articles, compelling stories, and memorable personalities. A substantial part of the magazine is dedicated to reports on auctions that took place all over the world. Three issues per year discuss remarkable sales from over 70 auctions in this field of collecting. 

www.scripophily.org 

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   

Reference Book : Stocks and bonds from the Corinth Canal

Not so long ago the Greek mainland was still connected to the Peloponnesus peninsula by a land bridge, 6.4 km wide, named the Isthmus of Corinth. When you sail, let's say, from Patras, in the northern Peloponnesus, all the way around the peninsula, to Piraeus, Athens' ancient navy base, you cover a distance of about 420 nautical miles, or 780 km. The same trip over land takes only 220 km. 

Roman emperor Nero was the first who started the construction of a canal through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. He must have thought that transporting goods and troops from the Ionian coast cities to the ports on the Aegean Sea could go faster. It's hard to imagine now, but before, labourers, slaves, rolled boats on logs across the land to bridge the gap, so to speak. Nero's project started in 67 AD and employed thousands of slaves. When he died the next year, so did the project.

In Der Kanal von Korint, author Hans-Georg Glasemann brings the story of the Corinth Canal from both a historical and a financial angle. The shares and bonds issued by the three companies that built and operated the Corinth Canal are featured in the book's catalog section. The book, written in German, is aimed at the collector of old securities, and anyone who is interested in the historical background of this interesting canal project.

This is a detail from a vignette on a share from the Société Internationale du Canal Maritime de Corinthe. You can recognize the boot of Italy on the left, Greece in the middle and the Asian part of Turkey on the right. Dashed lines show the ancient sea routes around Greece. New routes running through a canal near the city of Corinth are marked by full lines. Note, when this share was issued in 1882, large parts of the Balkans, including the northern part of Greece, belonged to "Turquie", the Ottoman Empire. 

Here is an overview of the book's chapters :

• Historische Betrachtung
• Träume vom Korinther Kanal in der Antike
• Internationale Gesellschaft des Seekanals von Korinth 1882
• Griechische Gesellschaft des Kanals von Korinth 1890
• Neue Gesellschaft des Kanals von Korinth 1907
• Kanal von Korinth - heute
• Biografien
• István Türr (1825-1908), ungarischer Freiheitsheld
• Béla Gerster (1850-1923), ungarischer Ingenieur
• Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-1894), französischer Diplomat und Kanalbauer
• Katalogteil
• Erläuterungen zu den Wertpapieren
• Société Internationale du Canal Maritime de Corinthe 1882-1890
• Société Hellénique du Canal de Corinthe 1890-1907
• Nouvelle Société Anonyme du Canal de Corinthe 1907-1980
• Literaturhinweise

Freely translated, these are the chapters in English :

• Historical consideration
• Dreams of the Corinthian channel in Antiquity
• International Company of the Sea Canal of Corinth 1882
• Greek Corinth Canal Company 1890
• New Corinth Canal Company 1907
• Channel of Corinth - today
• Biographies
• István Türr (1825-1908), Hungarian freedom fighter
• Béla Gerster (1850-1923), Hungarian engineer
• Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-1894), French diplomat and canal builder
• Catalog section
• Explanations on the securities catalogued
• Société Internationale du Canal Maritime de Corinth 1882-1890
• Société Hellénique du Canal de Corinth 1890-1907
• Nouvelle Société Anonyme du Canal de Corinth 1907-1980
• References

Another vignette on the Canal Maritime de Corinthe share shows a cross section of the proposed project. The canal would be excavated at sea level requiring no locks. 

In the first part of the book, the author pilotes the reader through the canal's history. It starts more than 1800 years after emperor Nero's attempt, in 1882, when the Société Internationale du Canal Maritime de Corinthe initiated the excavation of the Corinth Canal. At the head of the company stood the hungarian István Türr (1825-1908). He appointed Gerster Béla (1850-1923), also a hungarian, as the project's chief engineer. The expenses grew bigger than planned and the company went bankrupt in 1890.

But the digging was continued by a new Greek company, the Société Hellénique du Canal de Corinthe, with success. The official opening of the canal took place in 1893 in the presence of King George I. In 1907 the Nouvelle Société Anonyme du Canal de Corinthe took over the canal exploitation until 1980. The canal's depth turned out to be insufficient for the large cargo ships of today. The canal is now a leisure attraction.

500 French francs share in the Société Internationale du Canal Maritime de Corinthe, 1882 
Catalog number KK-010, part of an issue of 60000 bearer shares of 500 francs 
image : eWertpapiermuseum EDHAC 

The book's catalog section groups the Corinth Canal securities by company and by issue. Entries include a catalog number, a value indication, an image, circulation and other details on the particular issue. Some more details about the book :

• Title : Der Kanal von Korinth - Historische Wertpapiere 1882-1977, in English : The Corinth Canal - Securities 1882-1977
• Author : Hans-Georg Glasemann
• ID : ISBN 978-3-74945-231-6, published by BoD - Books on Demand, Norderstedt, 2019 
• Languages : German
• Number of pages : 60
• Images : over 40 color images, mostly from securities, including some black and white pictures
• Index : no index, but companies and securities are organized in the catalog section by company and issue

The designer of the Canal Maritime de Corinthe share clearly invested some time in researching the ancient city-state of Corinth. The columns drawn on both sides of the print are typical Corinthian with capitals decorated with acanthus leaves. The coins placed on both columns are actually both sides of a Corinth Stater, ca 345-307 BC. The obverse shows a flying Pegasus with a Koppa sign Ϙ below its belly. The Ϙ is used in the archaich spelling of the city name Ϙόρινθος (Korinthos). The reverse shows the goddess Athena with an upward tipped Corinthian helmet.  

image : via Wikipedia, Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.

Hans-Georg Glasemann's work can be ordered from BoD in print and as an E-book, here. The book is part of a trilogy on historic canals. The second book, about the Panama Canal, appeared just recently. The third one will cover the Suez Canal. 

F. L. 

PS : 
Hans-Georg Glasemann maintains his own blog about antique securities. 
Please check his Nonvaleurs Blog 

Numismatics teams up with Scripophily in Leuven

Interested in antique stocks and bonds from Belgium and Belgian Congo ? Looking for Russian bonds, French railway shares, and lots of other scripophily items ? Then there is a good chance to find what you want at the 52nd International Numismatic Collector's Bourse in the Brabanthal, Leuven, Belgium.

This 1899 share from Les Produits du Mayombe,
designed in art nouveau style by the artist F. Wylands,
can still be found at a reasonable price.

The event takes place on 1 May, 2018 and is an initiative from Numismatica Leuven in cooperation with the Belgische Vereniging voor Scriptofilie (Belgian Association for Scripophily). The bourse attracts hundreds of table holders from nearly 20 countries and will feature up to 40 tables of scripophily dealers and/or collectors.

Many antique securities were illustrated with nice vignettes.
This share from Le Grand Bazar de la Place Saint-Lambert, Liège,
was issued in 1924 and printed by Lith. La Cote Libre from Brussels.
Click-image to enlarge

More details : 

• Place to be : Brabanthal, Brabantlaan 1, Heverlee, Belgium
• Date : 1 May, 2018
• More info : 
• event at the Brabanthal, Leuven 
• Numismatica Leuven vzw 
• vzw Belgische Vereniging voor Scriptofilie or via email guy.bertrand@telenet.be 

F.L.

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India Textile Industry Directories

The first steam powered cotton mill in India was founded in 1818 near Howrah, Kolkata as the Fort Gloster Mills. It was later renamed into the Bowreah Cotton Mills. The Oriental Hosiery Ltd, 1833, and the Wellington Jute Mills, 1855, were also set up in the Kolkata region. The first cotton mill that became operational in Mumbai, 1856, was the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company. Demand for Indian cotton became heavy due to the American Civil War (1861-1865). By the 20th century hundreds of factories were set up in "mill village" Girangaon, Bombay, which became the Lancashire of India.

The Gold Mohur Mills Limited, 100 Rupees share certificate, 1926 

Registered in 1926, the company's mills were situated at Dadar, Bombay 

and were equipped with 40,540 spindles and 1,020 looms. 

Capital: Rs.25,000,000 in 25,000 shares of Rs.100 each, fully paid. 

source : Handbook of  Textile Industry 1948, Bureau of Economic Research

When it comes to Indian scripophily, you can't miss the many, often charming, textile securities. Researching the companies and people behind these certificates is not always easy. Luckily, the Internet Archive, a non-profit library of millions of free resources, made available two interesting works for that purpose : 

• Handbook Of Textile Industry 1948, by Singhania Padampat, and 
• Textile India 1952, by Ghosh, Samarjit

Both digitized books contain lots of historic information and statistics on the cotton, woolen, worsted, jute, rayon and hosiery industries and the like. Each book has directories of the companies involved with a short description and their directors. Both can be downloaded as a large PDF file, but only the online versions are searchable.

The Gold Mohur Mill's share shows a mohur in the underprint. (click to enlarge ) 

The mohur is a 26 mm diam. gold coin, hence 'Gold Mohur'. 

Several types were minted in British India and the local princely states allied with it. 

obverse: head of Queen Victoria, 'VICTORIA QUEEN 1841' 

reverse: lion and palm tree, 'EAST INDIA COMPANY ONE MOHUR' 

The lion represents the British Crown and the palm tree the East. 

F.L.

An interesting read? Why not sign the Guest book ? 

Did the Republic of Austria start as a communist state ?

The Russian Revolution in 1917 led to the rise of the Soviet Union. The First Austrian Republic was created in 1919. Was Austria a communist state ? A daring statement. Let us have a look at Austria's coat of arms illustrated on the following bond.

4% Austrian lottery bond of  200 Krone, 1920 

Now check the emblem of the Soviet Union. It is depicted on the following  government loan. Do you see the similarities ?

USSR internal loan of the second five-year plan, 25 Rouble, 1935
This rare bond was auctioned by HWPH on 15 Oct 2016
together with a similar looking certificate, for €4,000
courtesy HWPH 

That's right, the Austrian eagle holds in its claws a hammer and a sickle, the main attributes of the soviet shield. Austria introduced its new shield in 1919 when it became a republic. Before that, Austria's coat of arms looked different as you can see here.

200 Krone bond from the 8th Austrian War Loan, 1918
design by Alfred Offner in Vienna Secession style 

Till the end of World War I, Austria was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy. That's why we see a double-headed eagle on the previous bond.

After WWI Austria decided to change the looks of its eagle. Its sword and scepter was replaced with a sickle, its orb with a hammer. Up to the present, the Republic of Austria has been using that shield  on government bonds but also on banknotes and coins. 

above : 20 Shilling banknote, 1986, shield in upper left corner
below : 10 Shilling coin, 1974, by Awmcphee (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

The key question remains why Austria started using a hammer and a sickle in its shield ? Was it about communism ? I found the answer in a newsletter from CoinsWeekly/MünzenWoche which referred to THIS INTRIGUING VIDEO (5 min.) from the MoneyMuseum. Enjoy watching!

F.L.

Related links

• The MoneyMuseum 
• CoinsWeekly/MünzenWoche newsletter 

Scripophily magazine reveals early Fiji scripophily

The International Bond & Share Society (IBSS) recently launched its 105th issue of Scripophily magazine. IBSS started 40 years ago and since then has been encouraging collecting of antique securities. The society publishes its flagship, Scripophily magazine,  three times a year and also offers a free newsletter.

This time the magazine counts over 50 pages illustrated with more than 100 images of bonds and shares.  An overview of the stories :

• Digging scripophily at the Carrera Marble Quarries 
• "Numismatics, meet Scripophily" exhibit at the American Numismatic Association Convention 
• The Newport Casino 
• Rogues Gallery, extract from Hollender's Financing the World
• Scripophily of the Gold Coast and Ghana 
• Animal vignettes 
• U.S. Presidents on Scripophily 
• Profile and history of the Warner Company 
• Southern Revenue-stamped stock certificates of the Civil War Era, part II 
• "Selling the Stock", about the use of securities as advertising and promotion material 
• The New York Produce Exchange 
• Cox's Corner, the periodical column on our hobby 

Other recurring topics are : society matters, news, bourse reviews, auction reviews, events calendar, member classifieds, book reviews, interviews, letters to the editor and the like. 

The auction section includes tens of reports from sales in Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, UK and USA. Noted top sellers were shares from the Compagnie des Indes, Bank of China and a BMW founder's specimen share. The magazine provides more details on these and hundreds of other lots auctioned over the past months worldwide. One eyecatcher was a Fiji share sold by Downies, Australia, illustrated below.

Downies 324th sale ran from 18th to 20th July 2017. The auction took place in Box Hill, Victoria, Australia, and included a remarkable, early Fijian share certificate from The Polynesia Company, Limited. 

The Polynesia Company, Limited 

certificate for £2 shares, 1869 

An alert collector purchased this early Fiji scripophily 

for (only) A$120, buyer's premium not included. 

image : Downies

Before Fiji became a British colony in 1874, its government was dominated by European settlers. The Polynesia Company incorporated 7th Dec 1868 after purchasing around 200,000 acres of land around Suva in Fiji. The land was bought from local chiefs including warlord Cakobau, a former cannibal before he was christened in 1854. Because of the rising price of cotton following the American Civil War (1861-1865), the company had become interested in acquiring land in Fiji for planting cotton. However, several legal issues arose when it turned out that the land Cakobau had sold was not completely his to give. 

Not a member of IBSS yet ?
Then these links should help you out :

•  International Bond & Share Society 
•  free sample of Scripohily magazine 
•  free newsletter 
•  IBSS on Facebook 

F.L.

Uranium from Belgian Congo and more at Boone's 59th Auction

This Saturday, Boone's upcoming sale will take place in Brussels. The auction includes over 1,300 lots of historic bonds and shares and ends with the sale of a phenomenal, you can say epic, collection of Belgian banknotes. The event concludes with an international scripophily bourse on Sunday.

The auction's scripophily section features material from almost 90 countries. Top piece is a 1777 share in the Iron Bridge Trust, regarded by UNESCO as the symbol of the Industrial Revolution. Second highlight in the auction is a 1922 specimen certificate from Union Minière du Haut-Katanga, a star item in any Belgian Congo or world mining collection.

Lot 136 in the auction : Société Union Minière du Haut-Katanga , 1922

Union Minière du Haut-Katanga (UMHK) mined copper, uranium, radium, cobalt, gold and other minerals in Belgian Congo between 1906 and 1966. By the 1930s the company had a virtual monopoly of the world uranium market. The rich uranium ore was refined in UMHK's plant at Olen, Belgium. In the 1940s the Americans purchased tonnes of uranium to be used for their atomic bomb program. During WWII the Nazis captured over 1000 tonnes of uranium stored at Olen. It was recovered by US forces at the end of the war.

click image to enlarge

Mario Boone, 59th Auction and Bourse of Historic Shares and Bonds

Depicted is lot 525, Iron Bridge Trust, 1777.

According to UNESCO, the company marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

A special catalogue has been printed for the sale of a unique collection of Belgian papermoney from as early as 1848 right until the introduction of the euro.

Auction details

• Location : Brussels
• Dates :  21 Oct  (Auction) 2017, 22 Oct  (bourse) 
• Further info : see here 

F.L.

HWPH auctions scripophily from Albert Pick

Das Historisches Wertpapierhaus (HWPH) offers over 2,400 lots of historic securities in two upcoming auctions. The sale includes a section of bond and share certificates, promissory notes and checks which were collected by numismatic pioneer Albert Pick (lots 896 through 927).

From the Albert Pick collection :
6% 100 soles government bond, 1875, Lima Peru
The sol was introduced in 1863 when Peru completed its decimalization.
It replaced the real at a rate of 1 sol = 10 reales. 

Albert Pick (1922-2015) is the most famous numismatist in the field of banknotes. He started collecting banknotes as a child. In 1964 Pick had assembled 180,000 banknotes, a collection he gave to the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank. In exchange for that, the bank appointed him curator of the collection. Since then, and having lots of material at his disposal, Pick started to write books and paper money catalogs. The first edition of his Standard Catalog of World Paper Money was published in 1975 and is used all over the world. It assigns every banknote issued the well-known 'Pick number'.

Auction details

• Dates & location
• HWPH Auction 45 (lots 1-927): 29 April 2017, Würzburg
• HWPH Auction 46 (lots 928-2425): 1 May 2017, Internet only
• More info 
• See here, a separate catalog in Russian is available see there 
• video with the highlights 

F.L.

Discover Palestine and Israeli securities in The Shekel journal

Those interested in historic stocks and bonds from Israel and Palestine should have a look at The Shekel, in particular Volume XIV, No. 4, July-August, 1981.

The Shekel
Journal of Israel & Judaic History & Numismatics

In 1968 the American Israel Numismatic Association (AINA) started publishing its journal The Shekel. The magazine encourages the study and collection of Judaic numismatics in the broadest sense. Volume XIV, No. 4, July-August, 1981, contains a topic for us. 

In Scripophily: Judaic fiscal history, author Sidney L. Olson brings a ten page story on securities from Palestine and Israel. Twelve black-and-white images show stocks and bonds issued in British pound, Turkish lira, rubles, Egyptian pound, Palestine pound and lirot (Israeli pound).

The full name for Agrobank is Agriculture & Building Bank for Palestine, Ltd.
This 3% debenture for 2 Palestine pounds was issued in Tel-Aviv, 1939.
This is one of the certificates illustrating the SL Olsen article.
Courtesy by HWPH

There is good news. You can read the article online for free. All Shekel journals were digitized from 1968 up to 2010 by the Internet Archive. Here are the links :

• The Shekel on the Internet Archive 
• Volume XIV, No. 4, July-August, 1981, containing Scripophily: Judaic fiscal history 

After opening an online version of the journal, you'll find a link for a downloadable PDF version.
Likely other issues also contain scripophily material. I'd be happy to know about that.

F.L.

The Shekel is also the name for ancient Israeli coins.
This is a silver Jerusalem shekel (AD 68) from the First Jewish Revolt against Roman rule.
The name Shekel was also chosen for the new currency that replaced the Israeli pound in 1980.
Attribution: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. 

PS
Already considered using the Want List ?

Petition for preserving the right to privately collect !

Scripophily, stamps, coins, books, furniture, ceramics, phonograph records, toys, paintings, letters and many more physical objects are part of our cultural heritage. The current draft on the new German Law on the Protection of Cultural Property affects private collecting of all of these artefacts. The new law will impose some guidelines impossible to follow even for the most meticulous collector. 

So far, representatives from the collecting and trading parties, have been involved far too little in the process. Ursula Kampmann from MünzenWoche|CoinsWeekly has initiated an online petition to illustrate how many people in Germany and beyond actually support private collecting.

Though this is a German law, the country plays an important role in the current and future European law-making process. And that is why it is important for you, to sign the Petition for preserving the right to privately collect. Show the German government that foreign collectors and dealers take a great interest in the current draft bill, too. 

You can sign the petition HERE , please do it now so you will not forget it. 

After you signed it, email the message to your collector friends, and post the message on your social media accounts. Every single vote is needed to fulfill a target of 120.000 supporters within the next 33 days from now.

F.L.

Signed on 30 July 2015

Further background information

• Ministerial draft updating the legislation on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Münzenwoche|CoinsWeekly
• Petition news and overviews of the many people from all over the world that already signed the petition, see there .

Archives International Auctions - Hong Kong Spring Auction 2015

Imperial Chinese Railways, 1899 "Shanghai" branch issue banknote specimen (lot 2240)

Countries assigned the responsibility for issuing banknotes to their central bank. 

Well, most of us thinks so, but that is not completely correct. 

In the past some organizations received special legal powers and were allowed 

to issue their own banknotes, like the Imperial Chinese Railways administration.

Archives International Auctions - Hong Kong

Chinese and Asian Banknotes, Scripophily and Coins

This auction contains approximately 50 lots of scripophily

• Date : 24 May, 2015
• Place : Hong Kong
• Further info : see here

F.L.

Booklet : 1984 Exhibition of Antique Bonds and Share Certificates at the Sydney Stock Exchange

In 1984, more than 30 years ago, the Sydney Stock Exchange was home to what was probably one of the first scripophily exhibitions on the Australian continent.

Automatic Telephones (Australasia) Limited
Deferred shares of 1/- each , 191x
black and white photocopy from the booklet
double-click image to enlarge

Author Estella C. Robinson introduces us into the fascinating world of the 

scrip collector and researcher .. who .. thrives on debacles, failures, 

conspiracies, frauds - the more spectacular the better.

The certificate is the tangible surviving link which breathes life into history. 

Estella Robinson passed away in 1985 and was a pioneer when introducing the hobby of scripophily through numerous columns in Australian Coin Review magazine.

 

• Title : Exhibition of Antique Bonds and Share Certificates, January 16 to 27, 1984
• Authors : Estella Camhi Robinson
• ID : no ISBN number, printed by The Sydney Stock Exchange Limited, 1984
• Languages : English
• Number of pages : 26
• Images : 13 large black and white images 
• Indexes : no index

The booklet is a low-cost photocopy publication, hence the lower quality of the images. Thirteen Australian certificates are depicted and described with a brief historic company profile.

Other numismatic publications by the author :

• Seven Seas guide to Australian coins and tokens, Dubbo : Seven Seas Stamps, 1981 
• A guide to Australian coins, Sydney Readers Digest Services, 1978 

F.L.

Related link :

• Old Scrip Tells of Companies Past, 1993, article by Greg Reeves

The Dragons of the Banque Industrielle de Chine

China, a rich culture and more than 3000 years of written history. 

The vignettes on the share certificate of the Banque Industrielle de Chine 

represent a cross section of China's cultural heritage. 
Included in this post are some pictures from my trip to China last summer.

Banque Industrielle de Chine
English: Industrial Bank of China
Action Ordinaire de 500 Francs (ordinary share), 1913
Lithography printed by Charles Skipper & East
double-click image to enlarge

Power and good fortune for the emperor

For thousands of years, Chinese dragons symbolize power and good fortune. They are the rulers of moving bodies of water, such as waterfalls, rivers, or seas (Wikipedia). The Emperor of China used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial power. In contrast the Empress of China was identified by the mythological bird, Fenghuang.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is the main building of
the Temple of Heaven complex in Beijing. The building is depicted
in the certificate's underprint above. The circular wooden walls are
decorated with many golden dragons.
Picture: F. Leeuwerck

.. and initially for the Banque Industrielle de Chine

André Berthelot (1862–1938), French banker, politician and Director of the Pekin Syndicate , co-founds the Banque Industrielle de Chine (BIC) with the Belgian financier Edouard Empain. The Pekin Syndicate and the Chinese government are the largest shareholders of the bank. Quickly, the BIC obtains concessions for several important public works in Peking, Chinese ports, and railways. In 1914 the bank is allowed to issue Chinese banknotes. BIC expands quickly during WWI, offering very favourable rates of interest to its clients. Two decades earlier, another bank, the Banque de l'Indochine (BI), had started shifting its operations from French Indochina to China. BI, also representative of the French interests in handling the Boxer indemnity, watches how BIC becomes a competitor.

Stone relief of dragons on the steps at the Hall of Preserving Harmony,
Forbidden City, Beijing. The emperor would be carried in his sedan chair
over the stone carving and was the only person allowed to pass over it.
Picture: F. Leeuwerck

Something peculiar with those dragons.

The dragons in the BIC's vignette seem to guard a sun with the company's cypher (an interlacing or placing together of letters). However, it is not a sun but a flaming pearl, which you can also observe on the two photographs. The pearl is associated with wealth, good luck, and prosperity. Further, dragons representing the Emperor had 5-clawed feet while 4-clawed and 3-clawed dragons were used to represent nobles and common people. If you look carefully, you'll notice 4-clawed dragons on the BIC certificate. A diplomatic blunder by the designer of the certificate ? I'll come back to this point later.

left: detail from the right 4-clawed dragon on BIC's share
right : detail from a 5-clawed dragon on the Russian bond, see below

Russia Imperial Government
4% Bond of 5000 Mark
"Boxer" loan 1902

Disastrous outcome

In  1921, André Berthelot tries to raise money through the trading of Chinese government loans on the French financial market. The operation fails and the BIC loses vast sums. André then asks his brother Philippe for financial help. Philippe Berthelot is the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France and can convince Horace Finaly, President of the Banque de Paris et des Pays-bas, to support the BIC which was in financial difficulty. However, Paul Doumer, Governor-General of French Indochina from 1897 to 1902, at this time Minister of Finance and closely linked with the Banque de l'Indochine, refuses to save the BIC. Next, Philippe Berthelot secretly lobbies for a bailout by sending telegrams on behalf of Aristide Briand, the President of the Council without his knowledge. A political scandal breaks out. Both Philippe and Prime Minister Briand, who also supported the bailout, will be excluded from public office. Due to inadequate reserves, the Banque Industrielle de Chine goes bankrupt in 1922. Three years later, its assets were taken over by the new Banque Franco-Chinoise pour le Commerce et l’Industrie, established by the Banque de l'Indochine, the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas, Banque Lazard and the Chinese government.

Blunder or perfection ?

So, what's the story about those dragons on the certificate. Shouldn't imperial dragons have 5 claws ? The answer is yes, but .. these are not imperial dragons, I suspect. At the time of incorporation of the Banque Industrielle de Chine, in 1913, the imperial dynasty was overthrown one year earlier. Last Emperor Puyi, still a child, abdicated 12 February 1912, after the successful Xinhai Revolution established the Republic of China (ROC). Non imperial dragons do not have 5 claws. The coin below shows the national emblem of the ROC with a 4-clawed dragon. The design on the BIC shares is diplomatically correct.

National emblem of the Republic of China on an early coin. At the left
of the dragon stands the mythological bird, Fenghuang, a symbol of high
virtue and grace, traditionally used to represent the Empress of China.
Source : Coin007.com

Despite diplomatic dragons and symbols of longevity (lower left and right corner) on its shares, history learned that the Banque Industrielle de Chine was short-lived.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

F.L.

Related links

• 30 juin 1921 - Scandale de la Banque Industrielle de Chine, on Herodote.net 
• Prins Diamant, By Vincent Mercier 
• Boone Shares - Scripophily Center, auction catalogue 2013 April 
• The Correspondence of G. E. Morrison 1912-1920,  By George Ernest Morrison 
• Wikipedia's Chinese dragon and Emperor Puyi