Over 1400 lots of scripophily will be auctioned at HSK's headquarters in Wolfenbüttel

Hanseatisches SammlerKontor für Historische Wertpapiere (HSK) plans its next auction of stocks and bonds on June 1, 2024 at its headquarters in Wolfenbüttel. More than 1400 lots are described in full in a 230 pages counting auction catalogue. All lots can be viewed online as well.

Briar root wood (heather, bruyère in French) is a type of wood used for making smoking pipes. It is known for its heat and fire resistance. Due to its hardness the wood surface can be smoothed and polished, while at the same time its porosity absorbs the smoking condensates. This share in the Bruyère-Pfeifen Aktiengesellschaft from Hamburg was issued in 1921. Printed by Jagdmann & Bohm, its stunning Art Deco design is adorned with more than one hundred Bruyère pipes. Extremely rare, L(ot) 518 starts at €1400. 

The auction includes several German chapters: Bremen und Niedersachsen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany before 1945, German railways securities issued in Reichsmarks, Germany railways securities issued in Deutsche Mark and Germany after 1945. 

Leonhard Fanto (Vienna, 1874 - Dresden, 1940) was an Austrian artist known for his costume paintings and genre scenes from the Balkans. He became director for costume and set design at the Dresden Semper Opera. In his composition for this scrip receipt in the German 6th war loan of 1917, Fanto included an emerging submarine. L706 starts at €100.  

The auction features scripophily from all over the world with strong sections of European and American stocks and bonds. 

L35, stock certificate in The Berkeley Athletic Association, New York, 1891. Start price €380 

There is a lot more to discover in the catalog, so here are the details :

• Date : 1 June, 2024 
• Further info, see here; and live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com as well   

F.L.

Antwerp Hilton hosts Boone's auction of historic share certificates.

Mario Boone's 72nd auction features more than 1500 lots of scripophily from all over the world. The word scripophily is a contraction of the English word “scrip”, a certificate entitling ownership right, and the Greek word "φίλος" (philos), meaning "friend". It refers to the field of collecting of antique stocks and bond certificates.

This 1905 share from the Grands Magasins du Printemps tells us what this famous department store from Paris stood for: "Bon Marché - Qualité -Nouveauté - Élégance", in English: Cheap - Quality - Novelty - Elegance. Today a chain of department stores, Printemps offered high quality goods at prices affordable for the middle class. The store pioneered with discount sales to clear outdated stock, and used window models to display the latest fashions. L(ot) 350 in the auction starts at €200 

Two auction catalog volumes are available online and can be downloaded separately as PDF documents. Nearly all of the 180 pages in the main catalog include color images and background stories of the certificates to be hammered. 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. 

The TOP 80 auction highlights are documented in a separate volume with bigger pictures and more detailed descriptions. 

This fascinating share in the merchant frigate Le Saint Philippe was signed by its captain Jean Daragorry in 1746. At this time it was the practice to finance the fitting-out of a ship on a one voyage at a time basis.  Le Saint Philippe, equiped with 18 6-pound ball cannons and a crew of 80, sailed under Spanish flag to Campeche and Tabasco in Mexico. At this date, France and Spain were at war with England over the Austrian Succession. Lot 786 is one of the Top 80 highlights of the sale and is expected to realize at least €2,400. 

The auctioneer managed to present some old collections that now have become available to the market including Belgian coal mining, British Railroads, Belgian Trams in Italy, Chile and Brazil. Some of these (check the catalog) are first offered as a complete collection in one single group lot. Only if no bids are received for the complete collection the individual certificates will be auctioned one by one. 

The auction features a few airline stock certificates. This is L1518, a nominative share from the Navegação Aérea Brasileira, issued in Rio de Janeiro, 1941. The certificate is listed at a €50 start price, a steal if you ask me, but it may be hammered as part of a collection of 393 Brazilian securities, L862, that is first offered as a single group at €7000. 

The Boone auction will take place at a new venue, the Hilton Old Town hotel in the heart of Antwerp. It was built in neoclassicism style in 1859 and served as a hotel and department store. You might want to spend a weekend in Antwerp because the day after the auction a scripophily bourse is organized by Guy Bertrand at the same place.

This stock was issued in 1918 to Elizabeth Huidekoper, the wife of Henry P Kidder, co-founder of Kidder, Peabody & Co. A regular donor to charity causes she also made gifts to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The certificate is also signed by Alice Evelyn Hay Wadsworth, known for her "Wadsworthy" tactics. Both women were high-society figures. The Woman Patriot Publishing Company was a publisher of The Woman Patriot, a "National Newspaper for the Home and National Defense Against Woman Suffrage, Feminism and Socialism". L1218, a rare stock representing a remarkable era in the field of women’s rights and American suffrage, starts at €240. 

There is a lot to discover, so here are the auction details :

• Location: Antwerp, Belgium (new venue: Antwerp Hilton Old Town)
• Date:  27 April, 2024 
• Further info: online catalog & bidding, see here on the auctioneer's website, or via the Invaluable platform, see there. The two PDF catalogs can be downloaded from the auctioneer's site.

F.L.

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HWPH auctions Friedrich Wilhelm III scripophily, a VOC bond from the Dutch Golden Age and nearly 2000 lots of historic stock certificates.

Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH) scheduled its next double-session sale for 3 and 4 September 2022. For this occasion specialist Matthias Schmitt and his team brought together some 2,000 lots of scripophily and related documents . 

Included are several top-notch items such as a unique share from the Preussische See-Assecuranz-Compagnie issued to King Frederick William III of Prussia and one of the oldest securities from the mother of all joint stock companies, a Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie bond from 1623. 

L(ot) 568 in the auction is this wonderful share from the Actien-Verein für den zoologischen Garten zu Dresden. The Dresden Zoo opened in 1861 and was bombed in World War II by the Allies. Reopened in 1946 it now welcomes about 1 million visitors per year. This 50 thaler share from 1863 starts at €1800. 

The first leg of the auction is both a live and an online event and takes place in Zorneding, near Munich. The second part is an online only sale and happens the next day. 

A major part of the offerings consists of antique bonds and shares from Germany, spread over several sections in both parts of the event. Among several German highlights you'll find these two :

• A radical democratic anti-monarchist, Gustave Struve's Gesellschaft deutscher Republikaner tried to finance the German revolutions of 1848-1849 with the issue of bonds. L515 is one of these rare certificates. Illustrated with several allegorical vignettes, it is propably the earliest known scripophily showing the colors of Germany's flag.
• AEG, worldwide known today for its eponymous home appliances brand, originated as the Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektrizität. The auction features a 1883 share from this company, L538. The company changed its name change into Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft. L539 is a share, 1887, from the first issue using the new name. Both are extremely rare. 

Perhaps the most spectacular object in HWPH's auction is this share in the Preussische See-Assecuranz-Compagnie. The company provided insurances against sea and fire risks and was organized in Szczecin, Poland, then capital of the Prussian Provence of Pomerania. The share shows a three-master with the flag of Prussia (click image) and is issued in 1825 to Frederick William III King of Prussia (1797-1840). He joined the coalition against Napoleon, and unified the Protestant churches in Prussia. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II are two of his grandchildren. L546, a unique historic document from Germany's and Poland's prehistory, is expected to realize €25,000 

The sale includes many more lots from all over the world. The auction's online catalog allows searching for your interests by means of country as well as thematic indexes. I tried out Luftfahrt (aviation) which refered to several airline companies : 

• Linhas Aereas Paulistas S.A. (LAP), Brazil map vignette, L68
• Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, L69, La Paz, aircraft vignette
• Badisch-Pfälzische Luft-Hansa A.G. Mannheim, L221
• Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, L734
• Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd., L770 and L771

Founded as Pan American Airways in 1927, Pan Am became the largest international airline of the USA in the 20th century. Its advertisements and so-called "Clippper" airplanes featured in movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Live and Let Die, Blade Runner and Catch Me If You Can. The company ceased operations in 1991 and reincarnated several times. The Pan Am Corporation owned and controlled the airline and services division. This share was issued in 1998 to scripophily pioneer Wilhelm H. Kuhlmann. Bidding on L1761 starts at €50  

There is plenty to discover in HWPH's auction catalogs. The live auction concludes with a meeting for EDHAC members. Here are the details of the event:

• Dates
• 3 September 2022, Zorneding, Germany, public auction
• 4 September 2022, online auction
• Further info and catalogs, see here on HWPH. 
• Live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com, see here, where you can find high quality images of the lots.

Collectors of 18th century scripophily, and even older items, will find more than 50 entries in their category. The most iconic lot is a 1623 bond for 1000 Flemish Pounds from the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (V.O.C.), aka Oost-Indische Compagnie aka Dutch East India Company.  Securities from this historic company are extremely rare and considered the crème de la crème in our field. Why can be read on this blog here. In 2019 HWPH auctioned a similar bond, issued for 500 Flemish Pounds, at €46,000 without buyer's premium. L500 starts at €40,000. 

F.L.

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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 

SPINK's e-Auction of bonds and shares is up and running !

SPINK's Bonds and Share Certificates of the World e-Auction is at present open for bidding. It presents 329 lots of antique bond and share certificates.

The first major section in the sale, over 40 lots of Australian scripophily, starts with a rare share in The Kalgoorlie Electric Tramways, L(ot) 4. Even more rare is a 1891 founders' share from The Midland Railway Company of Western Australia, Ltd, modestly estimated at £120-150, L6. Furthermore, a collection of securities illustrating the Australian land speculation of the 1880’s and the inevitable collapse in 1893 is part of the offerings. 

The Scot James Munro emigrated to Victoria in 1858 where he set up a printing business. He expanded into banking and promoting building societies, became rich, entered politics and engaged in land speculation. In 1881 he founded the Federal Building Society and the Federal Bank of Australia. In 1890 Munro became Premier of Victoria. When the land boom collapsed, his bank was the first bank to fail in the subsequent banking crisis of 1893. Munro's  companies left debts of over ₤600,000. The Australasian newspaper of April 22, 1893, reported that he was attacked and beaten unconscious in a Melbourne street by a man who had been ruined in the crash. 

James Munro signed this 1883 share certificate, L19 in the sale.

The Great Britain and Ireland section counts nearly 70 lots. Some examples 

• Neptune, a masterpiece vignette from the American Bank Note Company, presents a 1916 $5000 specimen bond from The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, L236.
• L302 Vauxhall Bridge Company, 1872, with extraordinary copper seal
• L271 The Greenock Steamship Company Ltd, vignettes of sailing ship and shipping flag, 1882.

There is also a unique group of about ten British Government SPECIMEN bonds, all of which are the only examples known and which should attract many bidders. Unique. As an example, there is L249, a 3% Conversion Loan 1948-1953 £100 specimen bearer bond, London, 1933, facsimile signature of N. K. Warren-Fisher as Treasury secretary, typed letter included.

One of the highlights in the sale is lot 253, a 1835 share from The Blaydon, Gateshead and Hebburn Railway Company.

The Blaydon, Gateshead and Hebburn Railway Company Act 1834 authorized for the "making and maintaining a railway from Blaydon to Hebburn with six branches thereout, all within the county of Palatine of Durham". The railway was established in 1834, leaving the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway at Blaydon and running eastwards along the river Tyne on its south bank in order to provide an outlet for coal mined in the Tanfield area. With only a small portion of the intended 11 miles built, the Newcastle and Carlisle took over the line in 1836. This share was printed on vellum and issued in 1835 to John Lionel Hood, mayor of Newcastle in 1834-35. Newcastle's Hood street was named after him. 

T. Challoner made this drawing of a steam train with coal wagons, ship at dockside, mine buildings and a windmill in the distance. It was the talented William Collard who engraved this unusual large and detailed vignette. Collard specialized in map and landscape engraving. He engraved a map of Durham in 1834, and in 1841 he published his Architectural and Picturesque Views in Newcastle upon Tyne. 
Lot 253 in the auction, estimated at £3000-4000. Click image to enlarge

SPINK's e-Auction includes scripophily from countries around the globe, except from the USA which will have its own separate sale at the end of June, says specialist Mike Veissid.

Here are some more  fascinating examples of SPINK's current event  :

• L153 Kingdom of Denmark, 34 Year 4.5% External Loan Gold Bond of $1000, 1928, facsimile signature of historian and former Prime Minister of Denmark Niels Neergaard, large vignette of the Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament
• L221 Schlusselbourg Calico Printing Company (Manufacture d'Indiènnes de la Compagnie de Schlusselbourg), 1000 Roubles share, text in Russian, English and French, St. Petersburg, 1869, see also L222 & L223
• L323 From Colombia, Timbiqui Gold Mines Company Limited, £1 share, 1900, large vignette of gold panning on a riverbank
• If you are into James Bond, then L78 might be something for you. This debenture from The Cathay Land Company, Limited, was issued to William Johnston Keswick in 1933. Keswick was Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council preceding the Pacific War and survived a murder attempt by the Japanese in Shanghai. He became head of the China Theatre of the Special Operations Executive, Britain's wartime secret service, known as "Churchill's Secret Army". After WW II a part of SOE's personnel became agents of MI6.

Several certificates in the sale are issued to or signed by Jewish entrepreneur Eleazor Silas Kadoorie who, together with his brother, made fortune in the banking, rubber, real estate and electric power business.  This share from The Semambu Rubber Estates, Ld., was issued in 1932 and signed by Kadoorie. The company incorporated in Hong Kong and its capital was divided in shares of 10 candareens each. In imperial China, 10 candareens equaled 1 mace which was ​one tenth of a tael. Eleazor Silas Kadoorie imprisoned in 1942 by the Japanese died 2 years later in prison. L97 in the auction.

Make sure you check out more appealing scripophily online. Here are the details :

• Location : this is an Internet only sale
• Date : Apr 16 15:00 - May 05 11:00.
• Further info : see here 

F.L.

Puzzling scripophily - No. 2 - solution

In order to resolve Scripophily Puzzle No. 2 you could use three visual cues that pointed to a particular company. This puzzle was a bit tougher than no. 1, yet, one reader provided a correct answer. 

The visual cues were details from the design of a share in the company that we are looking for. The first two images feature signatures. The third image shows a text fragment in some language, printed on top of a drawing.

In general, antique securities from companies were signed by directors of the company. This is no exception. Signatures of some famous persons like Thomas A. Edison are easy to derive. Here, we have less readable examples. 

If you've read this recent blogpost, then you could have recognized the signature of the Swedish industrialist Sven Wingqvist, founder of SKF.  This is the first clue.

There is one image with a fragment of the lettering on the certificate. It mentions 'ETT HUNDRA Kronor'. Ett Hundra is Swedish for one hundred, and refers in this case to 100 Swedish Krona, the denomination of the certificate.

So Sweden is a keyword in this puzzle. You may guess that the other signature comes from another Swedish person. Correct. It belongs to Swedish banker and Olympic tennis player Marcus Wallenberg Jr. 

You didn't resolved the last signature ? Well, that's no showstopper. The 'ETT HUNDRA Kronor' image shows a front profile of a propeller plane in the underprint. Googling the three words aviation, Sweden and Wingqvist will lead you to the solution : Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Airplane Company), aka SAAB.

SAAB was founded in 1937 by Sven Wingqvist, Marcus Wallenberg Jr and Axel Wenner-Gren. The latter established Electrolux. 

Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget

1 share of 100 Kronor, 1944

SAAB, an aircraft and defence business, was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile. The profile in the underprint of its share shows a twin-engine military plane built during WW II, the SAAB 18. The company pioneered in 1971 with a self-developed computer for its Viggen combat aircraft. 

Reader "detective" DB provided the correct answer for puzzle no. 1 and also for this puzzle. Outstanding DB! You are now entitled a second portion of "eternal fame". 

Happy New Year !

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.

Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG surprises with top-notch scripophily auctions

When it comes to antique stock and bond certificates Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH) is a major player in the field. Manager Matthias Schmitt and his dedicated team bring us next weekend a double-session sale. About 2200 lots of scripophily and related documents will go on the block.

Club de Regatas do Flamengo, Titulo de Sócio Patrimonial, 1966, L(ot) 618, €120 start price

"Flamengo" is a Rio de Janeiro sports club best known for their football team. The share shows 18 different vignettes of sports and is one of several in the sale that were issued by famous football teams (lot 615 through 630). 

The first sale is a live auction at Würzburg, Germany, on the 4th of May 2019, followed two days later by an online auction. Both sales offer together nearly 2200 lots of historic and beautiful antique stocks and bonds from all continents.

The 13th-18th century section deserves special attention. It includes about 50 lots of historic and museum-caliber securities. One of these is a founder's share in the Iron Bridge Company "for Building a Bridge across the River Severn" from 1777. This company marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Its amazing and extremely rare share starts at €22000, L635 in the auction. 

Another highlight is a Bank of Alexandria share from 1796. It is issued to George Washington, first president of the United States of America. Only one known, in other words unique, L672 starts from €15000.
Top item in the sale is a 500 Flemish Pounds bond from the Dutch East India Company (VOC), dated 1623, see next image!

The Dutch East India Company (in Dutch : Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) was established in 1602 for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonization. The VOC was involved in shipbuilding, production and trade of East Indian spices, sugarcane from Formosa, wine from South Africa and lots more. 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. The company became one of the first globally operating corprorations. In its overseas colonies, the VOC had governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts and strike its own coins. It was the first corporation to be listed on an official stock exchange. L632 in the auction is expected to realize at least €30000.

Collectors of Chinese government securities will notice several specimen bonds previously unseen before. HWPH tells more about these in an in-depth article in Scripozine.

The auctioneer provides four downloadable PDF catalogues with extensive descriptions, available for free (see links further below):

• 50 Highlights
• 52nd Auction (Public)
• 53rd Auction (Online)
• Russia and former USSR

The latter presents all Russia-related lots in the Russian language.
Remote bidding is also possiblie through Invaluable.com where the auctioneer listed each lot with corresponding images. Here are some more examples of highly remarkable scripophily.

This bilingual Russian-English specimen bond from the State Bank of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics dates from 1927. Also known as Gosbank this state bank was for about half a century the only bank in the USSR. L746 in the sale starts at €250

Great Cariboo Gold Company, share, issued by the Standard Finance Company, New York City, 1905. 

Registered in South Dakota, USA, the mines were located in British Columbia, Canada. Fabulous design of gold mining scenes and eight nuggets printed in gold colour. This certificate is the only survived example known. L636, €2000 start price 

Gewerkschaft des Steinkohlenbergwerks Lippermulde, coal mine, Hamborn am Rhein, 1923

Rare, this Kuxschein (mining shares certificate), is issued to industrialist August Thyssen, signed by him and Julius Thyssen, transferred on the back to August's son Heinrich, and signed on the back by Fritz Thyssen and again by Julius Thyssen. Bidding on L639 is invited from €2500 

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

• Dates
• 4 May 2019, Würzburg, Germany, public auction
• 6 May 2019, online auction
• Further info and downloadable PDF's, see here on HWPH. 

F.L.

The Taylor and Sanderson Steam Shipping Company

In North East England, at the mouth of the River Wear, lies the city of Sunderland. Since mediaval times the city grew as a port, trading coal and salt, and a place where ships were built. Once called the "Largest Shipbuilding Town in the World", Sunderland was also home to Short Brothers Limited. This shipbuilding company built several steel screw steamers for another Sunderland company, The Taylor and Sanderson Steam Shipping Company Limited (T&S). 

John Wallace Taylor and John Sanderson established Taylor & Sanderson in 1877. Incorporated in 1899 as The Taylor & Sanderson Steam Shipping Company, Limited, the company exported coal with its own ships. Several of its vessels, built by Short Brothers, awaited a remarkable fate. 

The Thornhill, a steel screw steamer, was built in 1897 by Short Brothers for T&S. On 16 April 1907, the general cargo vessel caught fire. It sank about 800 miles of Barbados on passage New York for Pernambuco, Brazil.

Short Brothers completed the Coronation for T&S in 1903. On 12 January 1913, the ship made the passage Bremen for Sunderland in balast (without any cargo but with containers filled with sea water for stability). Close to its home port, it was wrecked at Ravenscar, North Yorkshire. The salvaged ship was sold to F W Horlock & Co.

August 1914, the Coronation, renamed Coralie Horlock, was captured at Hamburg. In 1917 she became a part of the Imperial German Navy where she served as a transport vessel and as a submarine target !

The Coronation survived World War I and was sold again, this time to a Spanish company. On passage Genoa for Barcelona, in ballast, there was a bunker explosion. Two days later on 6 June 1921 the ship sank in Cavalaire Bay, France. 

The Taylor & Sanderson Steam Shipping Co. Limited 

Ordinary shares of £5, 1913 

The company went into liquidation in 1917. 

The Wallace was another steel screw steamer that was constructed by Short Brothers in 1905 for T&S. Possibly named for John Wallace Taylor, managing director of T&S, the vessel was requisitioned by the Admiralty for service as a collier, a bulk cargo ship which carried coal. Sold in 1917 when T&S went into liquidation.

detail from the Taylor & Sanderson Steam Shipping Company share certificate

signatures from John Wallace Taylor and John Wallace Taylor Jr as Directors of the company 

John Wallace Taylor (1834-1927) was a member of the River Wear Commission. One of the stained-glass windows in St John's Methodist Church, Sunderland, is dedicated to him. His second son, Frederick William Taylor was a director of Sunderland Association Football Club. 

Short Brothers built two ships for T&S in 1905. Besides the Wallace, there was the Alexandra. First sold in 1916 and 1920 to British companies, it found a new owner from Norway in 1924. A/S Inger, Bergen, renamed the Alexandra into the Ingerfire. On 11 April 1943, in the middle of World War II, the ship, on passage Barrow for Halifax in ballast, was torpedoed by a German submarine U-571 in 51.29N - 42.59W, far away from any port as you can see here. 

The ships mentioned in this post were all general cargo steal screw steamers that were built by Short Brothers Ltd. Their sizes were more or less the same with these average dimensions : 355ft length (108m), 49ft breadth (15m), 22ft depth (7m). Their volumes were on average 3759 grt and 2376 nrt. 

In 1911 Short Brothers built a second Thornhill for T&S. This collier was requisitioned in 1915 by the Admiralty. She was modified into a "Q-ship". Q-ships were very special mystery ships also known as Q-boats or decoy vessels. The Thornhill became an armed merchant ship with concealed weaponry. 

A Q-ship was designed to lure German submarines into making surface attacks. By seeming an easy target, the U-boat captain was tempted to make a surface attack using the deck gun instead of one of his limited number of torpedoes. In that scenario the Q-ship had a chance to open fire and sink the submarine. 

The Thornhill was sent to operate in the Mediterranean as the HMS Wonganella. On its way back from Malta to the UK, early March 1917, a German submarine attacked the ship near Gibraltar. It suffered gunfire damage and carried casualties. Then, after having crossed the Atlantic first, she left Halifax, Nova Scotia, in early June and returned to the UK. During that passage the ship again was involved in actions with German submarines on 18 and 19 June near Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland. 

The Thornhill survived both World War I & II and was sold consecutively to 5 English and 4 Yugoslavian shipping companies. In 1959 the vessel ended at Yokohama with collision damage and was sold for breaking up at Kawasaki.

The T&S share has a vignette of its shipping flag bearing the company's initials. The flag is skilfully reproduced in the embossed company seal (lower left corner of the certificate). Flag colors: dark blue stripes on a white background, white 'T&S' letters in a red oval 

click image to enlarge 

F.L.

References

• Sunderlandships.com 
• Grace's Guide to British Industrial History  
• The Sunderland Site  
• Q-ships and their story, Chatterton, E. Keble, 1922,  via Archive.org
• Naval-history.net 
• A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland 

PS:  Interested in shipping flags or company seals? Then you may want to check the categories 'vexillology'  and 'sigillography'.

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.

Archives International Auctions reaches exciting milestone

Archives International Auctions (AIA) has something to celebrate! To mark their 50th auction anniversary, Bob Schwartz, President of AIA, and his dedicated team is holding a two-day sale of rare and captivating banknotes, scripophily, autographs and historic ephemera.

The event happens on 3 Dec at the Collectors Club, 22 East 35th Street, New York City, and 4 Dec at the company offices, Fort Lee, New Jersey. Scripophily collectors and enthusiasts will see over five hundred lots of antique bonds and shares going on the block. Several of these originate from the John E. Herzog Collection.

Wells Fargo Mining Co. stock certificate from 1876, designed by Grafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918). 
Lithographer Brown was the first African American artist depicting the Far West. His work has been displayed in several exhibitions at the Oakland Museum, Walters Art Museum Baltimore, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bids on this authentic financial artwork from California are welcomed from US$650. Lot 56 in the auction. 

American scripophily is more than substantially present in this auction. Some of the highlights :

• L(ot)1, a 1795 Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike share signed by William Bingham is the opener of the sale. 
• Geyser "Old Faithul" can be admired on a Yellowstone Park Association share from 1887, L59. 
• L62 comprises of a spectacular specimen share and bond, 1865, from The Norfolk and St. Nazaire Steam Navigation Company. Included is a mockup and the orginal artwork of the vignettes, a steamship between globes. Bids invited from $325. 
• Historic, L108, a $20 bond from 1898 issued to finance the Spanish American War including the purchase of the Philippine Islands from Spain, is expected to realize at least $8,000.  
• Aviation history can be found in L792, share number 1 in the Aviation Corporation of America, a Pan Am predecessor. 

A game changer in technology, Thomas Edison signed this Edison Phonographs stock certificate from the Roaring Twenties. This rarity, L114 in the auction, can possibly be purchased from $500 onwards. 

AIA's anniversary sale includes exceptional items from the John E. Herzog Collection. Mr. Herzog started collecting in the late 1950s. After being active in the stockbroking business, he became Chairman of the R. M. Smythe & Co. numismatic auction company. John Herzog is also the founder of the Museum of American Finance. Here are some of the many Herzog items featured in the sale :

• An early and scarce Havana Railroads Company bond from 1850, L23, will interest collectors of Cuban scripophily. 
• L7, and L775 through L778 are early Amercan stock options (rights to buy or sell at a specified price), e.g. L776, a 1880 option for selling 100 Pacific Mail Steamship shares, signed by financier and railroad executive Russel Sage.
• Suffragist and abolitionist Lucy Stone (1818-1893) signed the Providence and Worcester Railroad Co share, see L780. 

From the Herzog Collection : Dominion of Canada "Fourth War Loan" of 1917, specimen bond, printed by the American  Bank Note Co., Ottawa, vignettes of King George V and Queen Mary of Teck,  L16 

Museum-caliber scripophily from the 18th century makes this an outstanding AIA sale. These 'Pirates of the Caribbean'-era certificates are rare, historic and often produced as copper engravings on vellum with paper seals. Several lots in this auction segment also originate from the Herzog Collection :

• The Danish West Indies was a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix. From 1778, a bond from the Royal Danish West Indian Company with large vignette of Neptune, Mercury and the Royal Standard of Denmark, is estimated between $400-800. L25 in the auction.
• L27, a share in the Compagnie des Fosses a Charbon de Monsieur Le Marquies de Traisnel, one of the earliest French coal mining companies, dates from 1781 and bears the coat of arms of the Marquess.
• The Svenska Ostindiska Companiet, the Swedish East-India Company, traded Swedish steel and timber for tea and porcelain from the Far East. With the American Revolutionay War, when France, the Dutch Republic and Spain joined forces against Britain and blocked trading from China, the company briefly became one of the only suppliers of tea in Europe. A bond from 1782, L47, starts at $425.

Bidding on this spectacular share from the Real Compañia de San Fernando de Sevilla, ca 1748, L43 in the auction, starts from $1,500. This Spanish company controlled the trade, especially in precious metals, with various parts from South America. The share has an engraved view of the city of Seville, but there is much more to discover: click the image to enlarge. 

Besides the fact that scripophily from many countries is represented, auctioneer Bob Schwartz also points out the rich assortment from Mexico :

This is one of the largest offerings of specimen and issued scripophily bonds and shares from Mexico that we have offered ever in auction. It includes items from a serious Western collector as well as specimens never offered previously from the ABN Archives.

Aquí algunos ejemplos

• At the end of the 19th century, the Compañia Limitada de Ferrocarriles del Distrito operated a large part of the Mexico City street railway network. L906, a 100 Pesos specimen stock from the 1880s, large vignette of horse-powered street railway in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral, accepts bidding from $150.
• L893 Banco de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, extremeley rare specimen share from 1900
• L931 República Mexicana, Bono Hipotecario del Ferrocarril Nacional de Tehuantepec, £200 Sterling=4080 German Reichsmark, 1890 specimen bond, $280 start price

The Banco Internacional é Hipotecario de Mexico was founded in 1882. This 6% specimen bond for 100 Mexican Dollars, 1905, scarce, starts at $325. L899 in the auction. 

Another theme from the sale that deserves attention is Mandatory Palestine. You can find most of these certificates in lot range 943-969, e.g. L968, a Solelboneh (Jewish Workers Cooperative Association) share issued in 1925 with a strong Art Deco design.

"Palestine Foundation Fund, Keren Hayesod Sacrifice Bond, for the upbuilding of Palestine as a homeland for the Jewish People ...To the investor, it (the investment) will yield no return in money .." 

Established in 1920 Keren Hayesod is the official fundraising organization for Israel. With donations raised throughout the world, it brought tens of thousands of Jews fleeing Europe to Eretz Yisrael. This 1922 specimen bond shows a vignette of Theodore Herzl, who promoted Jewish immigration to Palestine to form a Jewish state. Historic and very rare, L32, starts at $800. 

AIA has always been a strong auctioneer in US Railway stocks and bonds, many of these originating from the American Bank Notes Archives. This sale continues tradition, just get a look online on these pearls :

• A great setting of steamboats, ferries and sailboats sailing under the Brooklyn Bridge is shown on a Union Elevated Railroad Company of Brooklyn specimen bond from 1887. L67 is estimated around $700-1,200, bidding can start at $575. No sales recorded for over 10 years on Coxrail.
• Issued in 1844 is L73, a very rare stock certificate from the Danville & Pottsville Railroad Company with vignettes of Benjamin Franklin and Stephen Girard, probably the only one known.
• Starting at $120, a $1000 specimen bond from The Saint Paul Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company, Montana Extension, will certainly interest Montana collectors. L1093.

Texas and Pacific Railway Company $1000 specimen bond, 1888, with stunning graphics. 

Click image to enlarge. L64 in the sale starts at $425. 

Of course, 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 :

• Dates & locations
• December 3, 2018, Collectors Club, 22 East 35th Street, New York City 
• December 4, 2018, Archives International Auctions, Fort Lee, New Jersey 
• Further info : see here , live and absentee bidding here and a downloadable PDF catalogue there 

F.L.