Introduction to collecting stocks and bonds from the railroad and coal mining industries
Grand Central Terminal
New York Central Railroad Co
1913-present
Vignette engraved and printed by American Bank Note Company and appears on bonds of the New York Central Railroad
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Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Railroad Co
1910-1963
Vignette engraved and printed by American Bank Note Company and appears on bonds of the Pennsylvania Railroad
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Start here to learn about the hobby of Scripophily, which is the the hobby of collecting old stocks and bonds. These are historic paper documents used before the advent of electronic trading. Certificates in the railroad specialty can be found as far back as the 1830s. Amazingly, a few certificates from the coal mining industry have survived from the 1790s. This project focuses on documents from the railroad and coal mining industries, but the information presented on this site applies to all industries. The menu at left will take you deep into several subjects. Depending on your interests, you can learn about:
- availability and prices for over 30,500 stocks, bonds and related documents currently known from North American railroads
- features that go into defining varieties
- how stocks and bonds work
- nuances of the various types of stocks and bonds you will encounter
- how I catalog certificates
- the finer points of estimating prices
- how certificates were engraved
- and much, much more