| ctible stock certificates can be a tangible bit of history | | | | Merrill Lynch. None of these four companies are still in |
| for a company or an industry, especially to | | | | operation. |
| commemorate a major event. Take the current | | | | Or perhaps you have a soft spot in your heart for |
| economic situation, for example. There are lots of | | | | Lehman Brothers. We found a stock certificate for |
| companies that have made the news recently, often | | | | Lehman’s One William Street Fund. This |
| because they are disappearing as a business. That | | | | certificate has a vignette of Lehman’s office |
| means they will never issue stock certificates again. | | | | building at One William Street. There are a lot of |
| That sudden ending of supply usually gets | | | | additional stock certificates available that were issued |
| collectors’ attention. | | | | by a variety of companies to Lehman Brothers. |
| What about a specimen Bear Sterns stock | | | | What about a memory of a company tied to the |
| certificate? It’s currently priced at almost | | | | collapse of the housing market? There are certificates |
| $600.00 at a time when the current stock is trading at | | | | available for Countrywide Mortgage Obligations which |
| $2.00 a share. What’s the saying – Not | | | | had been a subsidiary of Countrywide Credit, the |
| worth the paper it’s printed on? In this case the | | | | company that later changed its name to Countrywide |
| paper is worth 300 times as much as a share of | | | | Financial and was later purchased by Bank of |
| stock! | | | | America. |
| If that’s a bit pricey, another way to participate | | | | Stock certificates of companies that closed their doors |
| in the defunct company certificate market is to collect | | | | during the economic problems of the 1930’s are |
| stock certificates issued TO Bears Sterns, instead of | | | | of interest and collectability. This might be the time to |
| BY Bear Sterns. Many banking companies have | | | | find some items around the same theme, only eighty |
| accumulated stock certificates made out to them as a | | | | years later. Unfortunately, there are currently quite a |
| corporation as part of their banking activities. | | | | few from which to choose. |
| While browsing through some stock certificates for | | | | The stock certificates we found were on the |
| sale, we found two interesting stock certificates | | | | websites of several reputable internet dealers. Try as |
| owned by Bear Stearns– one issued by | | | | hard as we could, though, we could not find anything |
| Western Union (this one has the Bear Steams | | | | signed Bernard Madoff – perhaps that’s |
| endorsement stamp on the back) and one issued by | | | | because news reports say he did not actually make |
| the now defunct Pennsylvania Railroad. | | | | any of the tens of thousands of trades for his |
| Another of today’s fallen Wall Street giants is | | | | investors that he claimed to have performed. |
| Merrill Lynch. Stock certificates for this company are | | | | If you’re new to collecting stock certificates, |
| plentiful in the market place, some going back to the | | | | theme collecting is a way to structure your first |
| days of Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith. An | | | | purchases. If you’re an old hand at it, now may |
| interesting companion piece to the Pennsylvania | | | | be the time for you to consider new themes being |
| Railroad stock owned by Bear Stearns that we found | | | | created by today’s events. |
| is the New York Central stock certificate owned by | | | | |