Scripophily is the study and collection of stock and bond certificates.[a] A specialized field of numismatics, scripophily has developed as an area of collecting because of the inherent beauty of certain historical certificates, and because of the interesting historical context of many of the documents. In addition, some stock certificates serve as excellent examples of engraving. Occasionally, an old stock certificate is found that still has value as actual shares in the original or a successor company.

History

Ezekiel Air Ship stock certificate

Scripophily, the collecting of old stocks and bonds, gained recognition as a hobby around 1970. The word "scripophily" was coined by combining words from English and Greek. The word "scrip" represents an ownership right and the word "philos" means to love.

Today, there are thousands of collectors worldwide (Scripophilists) in search of scarce, rare, and popular stock and bond certificates. Whether they are private investors or a variety of different types of businesspeople, many collectors enjoy scripophily as a hobby, while many others also consider it a good form of investment.

Many collectors appreciate the historical significance of old certificates. Others prefer the beauty of older stock and bond certificates that were printed in various colors with fancy artwork and ornate engravings. In recent times, certificates issued by dot-com companies and companies involved in scandals have become particularly popular amongst Scripophilists.

A recent addition to the hobby of Scripophily is collecting real, live shares issued in one's name. Common companies that issue personalized stock certificates include The Walt Disney Company, Harley-Davidson, McDonald's, Starbucks, Google, Ford Motor Company, The Coca-Cola Company, and Berkshire Hathaway. Framing is a popular option for these certificates.

Many autograph collectors engage in Scripophily, looking for certificates signed by historic or well-known figures, such as stock certificates issued by Standard Oil Company and signed by John D. Rockefeller, Franklin Fire Insurance Company and signed by Henry Charles Carey, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Atari Corporation, Eastern Air Lines and signed by Eddie Rickenbacker when he served as the company's president, Tucker Corporation, and many others.

As a hobby

Columbia Pictures

A large part of scripophily is the area of financial history. Over the years there have been millions of companies which needed to raise money for their business. In order to do so, the founders of these companies issued securities. Generally speaking, they either issued an equity security in the form of stock or a debt security in the form of a bond. However, there are many varieties of equity and debt instruments. They can be common stock, preferred stock, warrants, cumulative preferred stocks, bonds, zero-coupon bonds, long term bonds (over 15 years) and any combination thereof.

Each certificate is a piece of history about a company and its business. Some companies became major successes, while others were acquired and merged with other companies. Some companies and industries were successful until they were replaced by new technologies. Some companies have been the center of scandal or fraud. The color, paper, signatures, dates, stamps, cancellations, borders, pictures, vignettes, industry, stockbroker, name of company, transfer agent, printer, and holder name all add to the uniqueness of the hobby.[citation needed]

A lot of companies either were never successful or went bankrupt, so that their certificates became worthless pieces of paper until the hobby of scripophily began. The mining boom in the 1850s, railroad construction in the 1830s, the oil boom in the 1870s, telegraphy (1850s), the automobile industry beginning around 1900, aviation (around 1910), electric power and banks in the 1930s, the airline wars and mergers in the 1970s, cellular telephones (1980s), long distance telephone service in the 1980s and 1990s, and most recently the Dot-com era and Enron all resulted in historically significant certificates being generated and issued.[citation needed]

Today, more stocks and bonds are issued electronically, meaning fewer paper certificates are issued as a percentage of actual stock issued. The Internet has played a dramatic role in raising awareness of the hobby. A number of websites now exist that sell old stocks and bonds to include scripophily.com and oldstocks.com.

Guidelines

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Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

There are many factors that determine value of a certificate. These include condition, age, historical significance, signatures, rarity, demand for the item, aesthetics, type of company, original face value, bankers associated with issuance, transfer stamps, cancellation markings, issued or unissued, printers, and type of engraving process.

Condition - The grading scale that could be used in stocks and bonds is shown below. Generally speaking, the grading is not used in the hobby as strictly as it is in coins and stamps. Most people acquire certificates because of the artwork and/or history.

Uncirculated - Looks like new, no abnormal markings or folds, no staples, clean signature and no stains

Extremely Fine - Slight traces of wear

Very Fine - Minor traces of wear

Fine - Creased with clear signs of use and wear

Fair - Strong signs of use and wear

Poor - Some damage with heavy signs of wear and staining

Age - Usually the older the certificate, the more valuable, but this is not always the case.

Historical significance - What product did the company produce? Was it the first car, airplane, cotton gin, etc. Was the company successful? Was it a fraud? In what era (i.e. during a war, depression, revolution) was the item issued?

Signatures - Did anyone famous or infamous sign the certificate?

Cross Collecting Themes - Sports, finance, automotive, and railroad enthusiast interest.

H. J. Heinz Company

Newsworthy - Some companies that are in the news (good or bad).

Certificate Owner's Name - Was the certificate issued to anyone famous or to a famous company?

Rarity - How many of the certificates were issued? How many survived over the years? Is the certificate a low number?

Demand for Item - How many people are trying to collect the same certificate?

Aesthetics - How does the certificate look? What is in the vignette? What color of ink was used? Does it have fancy borders or writing on it?

Type of company - What type of company was it issued for? Does the industry still exist? Has the industry changed a lot over the years?

Original Face Value - How much was the stock or bond issued for? Usually, the larger the original face value, the more collectible it is.

Bankers associated with Issuance - Who worked on the fund raising efforts? Was it someone famous or a famous bank? Is the bank still in existence?

Transfer Stamps - Does the certificate have tax stamps on it? Are the stamps imprinted or attached? Are the stamps valuable or unusual?

Specimen Stock Certificate

Cancellation Markings - Are the cancellation markings interesting to the item? Do they detract or add to its history and looks?

Issued or Unissued - Was the item issued or unissued? Was the certificate a printer's prototype usually stamped with the word "specimen"? Usually, issued certificates are more valuable and desirable.

Printers - Who printed the certificate? Was it a famous printer?

Type of Engraving Process - How was the certificate made - By hand? By wood engraving? Steel engraving? Lithograph? Preprinted form?

Paper - Was the paper used in the printing high-quality or low-quality? Has it held up over time? Does it have a watermark to prevent counterfeiting?

South Western Rail Road Company Inc. stock certificate 1871

One of Georgia’s oldest railroads, the South Western was chartered in 1845 to build a railroad from Macon through southwestern Georgia to the lower Chattahoochee River. Construction began around 1848 and proceeded slowly. By 1852, the rails had been laid from Macon only as far as the Flint River at Oglethorpe. The next year the line was extended to Americus, aided by a $75,000 investment by Americus citizens. In 1857, the SouthWestern purchased the line between Americus and Albany then under construction by the Georgia and Florida Railroad and pushed it to completion. The latter company was consolidated into the South Western in late 1859.

At Fort Valley, a branch was built westward to meet the unfinished Muscogee Railroad, a 50-mile line begun in 1847 as a Columbus-to-Macon route. When the Muscogee faltered in 1853, the South Western stepped in to complete the connection to the Muscogee’s eastern end at Butler. The Muscogee was consolidated into the Southwestern in 1856.

At Smithville, about 12 miles south of Americus, the South Wwestern built another branch that ran westward to Cuthbert. Three miles west of Cuthbert, the rails branched again with one line leading west to Eufaula and the other 19 miles southwest to Fort Gaines. Both segments were completed in 1860. As was the case for most antebellum Southern railroads, much of the construction was done by slaves. In 1850, for example, the South Western was the third largest slaveholder in the state.

On June 24, 1869, the South Western was leased to the Central of Georgia. Under the Central lease the railroad continued to construct branch lines, adding Albany to Arlington (36 miles) in 1873, Fort Valley to Perry (12 miles) in 1875, Arlington to Blakely (13 miles) in 1881, and Blakely to Columbia (12 miles) in 1889.

For a number of years, the railroad's timetables were published under the heading "Central and South-western Railroads of Georgia." By the latter part of the 1880s, the "South-Western" part had been de-emphasized, with the railroad being listed as a division within the Central's timetables.

In 1954, the Central acquired a majority of the South Western’s stock and made the railroad an integral part of its own system.

The real beginning of the railroads into southwestern Georgia officially began with the South Western Railroad, its charter being granted in December 1845. Like many of the early railroads, the charter was very liberal as to route and methods of financing and operating.  It also granted an exemption from taxation beyond one-half of one per cent of its annual net income.

The Central of Georgia was instrumental in the formation of the company from the beginning. When the stock did not sell, the South Western borrowed enough money from the Central to hire an engineer to survey the route from Macon to the Chattahoochee in a southwestward direction.

Probably no initial report ever offered contained such an optimistic note, as did that of the surveyor, hinting that even the great Mississippi would suffer loss of trade by the building of such a road. The area to be covered was table-land and not over 600 feet above sea level.

One of the results of the glowing report was that a few shares of South Western’s stock were sold. Perhaps much of the hesitancy of people to buy stock was due to Macon’s lukewarm attitude. Naturally jealous of its railroad, the citizens feared diversion of traffic to the new railroad.

Once again, the Central came to the aid of the South Western with a promise of a $250,000 subscription as soon as a like amount was subscribed along the proposed route. The City of Savannah also offered the same amount to be paid in Central stock at par as soon as the completion of the South Western should be placed beyond contingency.

The railroad itself sent agents along the proposed route “peddling” the stock, and although not very successful, enough stock was sold to organize the company. The group heading the drive for the railroad had been successful in having the General Assembly lower the required subscription from $500,000 to $200,000.

Early in 1848, the railroad made contracts with stockholder-contractors for the grading of 35 miles of roadbed and the laying of track.

Fort Valley founder James Everett was one of the railroad’s first supporters. Everett invested the money needed in 1851 to bring the Southwestern Railroad to Fort Valley.[1]

As was the case with most of the railroads, financial misfortunes struck early. By 1852, with the road completed to the west bank of the Flint River, labor costs had risen, and many early subscribers decided to forfeit their shares rather than continue payment.

The town of Oglethorpe was born with the coming of the South Western to the Flint River. The town had a quick boom while the railroad terminated at that point, but soon thereafter became just another of the towns on the line.

The Muscogee Railroad, chartered in 1845, at Columbus, had begun construction in 1847 of a railroad to connect with the Central in Macon. The Central had pushed this plan as a means of connecting it with the South Western and having a line to Columbus.

The South Western completed the track from Fort Valley to meet the Muscogee Railroad when the Columbus venture proved too ambitious. Thus, in June 1853, Columbus had its connection with Macon and the sea. The Muscogee Railroad was later absorbed completely by the South Western.

Many areas began at this time agitating to tie into the South Western; interest was revived in and around Albany. The South Western found itself again in good shape.

A note on the management shows that the gentlemen knew a good bit about the game of playing one section against the other. They made a point of having it known that the route of the South Western would be decided by the financial assistance rendered by an area. In this manner it spread out in branch lines over much of southwest Georgia.

The management was now urged to extend its lines toward Americus. Financing was a big problem, but using the “local area financing,” the South Western agreed to raise $125,000 if the citizens of Americus and the surrounding area would subscribe $75,000. The conditions were fulfilled and the extension completed. This line was built in 1852–53.

Soon after this, the citizens in Albany began clamoring for the railroad, and succeeded in like manner to have the road extended to their city. Another company, the Georgia and Florida, had been chartered in 1852 to build the road into Albany, and had in fact, already constructed 25 miles of track from Americus.

In 1857, the South Western bought the small company and began finishing the road. The line was consolidated with the South Western December 19, 1859.

From 1857 through 1860, the South Western was busily engaged in improving its original roadbed and relaying track. In addition to this necessary task, the railroad expanded to the Chattahoochee in two places.

From Smithville in 1860, the railroad constructed a line to Eufaula on the Chattahoochee, and in the same year, it completed its originally intended line to Fort Gaines through Dawson and Cuthbert.

With the completion of these projects in 1860, the South Western owned 206 miles of well-built road and equipment necessary for an efficiently run railroad. For all practical purposes, the railroad was completed just in time to play its vital role in the War Between the States.

After the War Between the States, the South Western completed its expansion by building the following lines:

Fort Valley to Perry (1875)

Albany to Arlington (1873)

Arlington to Blakely (1881)

Blakely to Columbia (1889)

By 1889, the South Western had built four lines to the Chattahoochee River, at Fort Gaines, across the river from the Alabama town of Eufaula, Columbus, and Columbia. It had completed approximately 300 miles of excellent track through rich territory.

The South Western was first leased to the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia June 24, 1869, and on March 11, 1951, the Central held the majority of the stock of the South Western, thus making it a part of the Central system.