where can i find information on old stock certificates?

Question

My grandfather passed away and left alot of old stocks from the late 1800's and early 1900's. how can I find out if they're worth anything? I've searched for the company names but haven't had much luck. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

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Stock and Bond Certificates, Old

An old stock or bond certificate may still be valuable even if it no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate. The company may have merged with another company or simply changed its name. You can use the resources below to find out if an old stock or bond certificate has value. Even if you learn that a certificate has no value, you may find that the certificate itself has value as a collectable.

These resources may be found on the Internet, at public libraries, stock exchanges, or stockbrokers' offices. But please note that the SEC cannot recommend or endorse any of these entities, their personnel, or their products or services.

Scripophily.com. The company is named after the hobby of collecting old stock and bond certificates. For a fee, Scripophily.com researches whether your stock or bond certificate has any value. The company also is a large buyer and seller of collectable certificates, with a list and images of more than 4,500 different companies.

Financial Stock Guide Service. Published by Financial Information, Inc. since 1927, this comprehensive guide is a good starting point for all research on old stock certificates. This listing, updated annually, contains a directory of actively traded stocks and obsolete securities. You can have the Custom Research department of Financial Information research your certificate by calling [phone].

Robert D. Fisher Manual of Valuable & Worthless Securities. Published by R.M. Smythe & Co., Inc., this is a multi-volume resource that is particularly helpful guide if you are trying to trace the value of very old stock certificates. R.M. Smythe will research your certificate for a fee.

Moody's Industrial Manual and Moody's OTC Industrial Manual. Published by Mergent Company, these manuals give brief summaries of companies' histories, backgrounds, mergers and acquisitions, subsidiaries, principal plants, and properties. This guide is updated annually. You can learn how to obtain a subscription to the manuals by going online or calling [phone].

National Stock Summary. Published by the Pink Sheets LLC, this monthly publication summarizes all over-the-counter and inactive listed stock offerings. It also includes the recent prices of such securities, as they have appeared either in the national daily quotation services or in the leading daily newspapers and financial periodicals. The Pink Sheets will research your certificate for a fee.

http://www.sec.gov/answers/oldcer.htm

Answer 2

They mined lead in Stevens County, Washington State up until the late 1960s, then apparently went out of business... If you have physical Stock Certificates, there are many people who collect defunct certificates (that's called 'scripophily', apparently), one of them might be interested in buying it... Or you could frame it and hang it up as a conversation-piece...

Answer 3

Smith Barney

[e-mail]

Answer 4

Here are some links to help you find out. Caution even if worthless as a stock could be worth a few dollars as a collectors item. So don't toss them out take good care of them.
http://www.lib.washington.edu/business/guides/oldstock.html
http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/oldstockFARQ.html
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/02/101802.asp
http://www.sls.lib.il.us/reference/por/features/99/comphist.html

Answer 5

proper web search