Collecting Stock Certificates, A Primer

Collecting Stock Certificates, A Primer - by Stanley Holtsclaw

First off, I'm not much of a writer and secondly I'm not much of a Scripophilists as I only can claim ownership of two stock certificates, but seeing as I haven't seen much information available on the Internet about this fascinating hobby I thought I'd brave embarrasement and expose my meager knowlege of Scripophily anyways.
- Stanley Holtsclaw

Why would anyone collect stock certificates? Well there are many reasons to collect stock certificates. Certificates offer a window into the world's financial past and present while certificates themselves are often works of art themselves; displaying masterful uses of color, paper and imagery. Also, sometimes famous people have owned various companies and signed thier companies stock certificates, people like John D. Rockereller (Standard Oil Company) or more recently Steve Jobs (Pixar) and this adds to the excitement of stock collecting. And of course one of the most exciting aspects of Scripophily is that some old stock certificates and most newer stock certificates still maintain some value in an existing company. And it's pretty exciting to see your "collection" increase in value or even pay dividends!

So while most Scripophilists seek to acquire antique stocks for their historical significance or intrinsic beauty it is also practical to start a collection using modern stocks issued by active companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, Disney or even Yahoo! Of course at this point the foremost question on your mind probably is "But, isn't all stock electronic now?" and the answer to this question is a resounding no! There are still over a hundred operating companies that still print physical paper stock certificates that can be purchased thorugh special companies like OneShare.com. The added benefit of course to collecting stocks from active companies is that you are also investing in the company and are becoming a registered stockholder with that company as well.

As with all types of collecting it is best to collect what you are passionate about. So if you are fascinated by American railroad history...consider collecting old railroad stocks, if you are interested in mining...consider collecting old mining stocks. Still other stocks can augument another existing collection; maybe you or someone you know collects Marvel comics...buy a single Marvel stock certificate, collect Topps trading cards...buy a single Topps stock certificate and the list goes on!

Whether you are considering stock collecting as a hobby, a beginning stock collector or an avid Scripophilists I hope you enjoyed that you enjoyed reading this article. And don't forget to bookmark our site as we will be adding more stock collecting related articles soon!

If you would like to submit your own article to be published on Collecting Stocks please contact us.

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