So, you’ve stumbled upon a stack of old certificates in the attic. Maybe they were tucked away in a shoe box or hidden behind some faded files in a desk drawer. You’re looking at what many collectors and financial historians call an old stocks stow. Most people see these crinkly, ornate pieces of paper and assume they’re worthless because the company name sounds like something from a black-and-white movie.
They might be wrong.
Basically, an old stocks stow represents a physical era of capitalism that doesn’t exist anymore. Back before high-frequency trading and digital ledgers, you actually had to hold the proof of your ownership. Today, these items sit in a weird limbo between "valuable financial asset" and "cool piece of wall art." But figuring out which one you have is a massive headache. Honestly, it’s a bit of a detective game.
What an Old Stocks Stow Actually Represents
When we talk about a "stow" of old stocks, we aren't just talking about clutter. We are talking about potential. These are often "bearer" documents or registered shares in companies that might have gone bust, merged seven times, or changed their name to something unrecognizable.
It's tempting to think that if a company isn't on the NYSE today, the paper is trash. That's a mistake. Companies like Standard Oil or various 19th-century railroads didn't just vanish into thin air; they evolved. A single share of a defunct-looking railroad could, through a century of mergers and stock splits, technically be worth a small fortune in modern Union Pacific or CSX shares.
But—and this is a big "but"—most of the time, they really are just paper.
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The Scripophily Factor
There’s a specific word for this: Scripophily. It’s the study and collection of stock and bond certificates. Even if the underlying company is long dead—maybe it was a gold mine in 1890 that never actually found gold—the certificate itself might have "collector value." Collectors look for beautiful engravings, famous signatures (think Rockefeller or Ford), and historical significance.
Some people collect specifically by industry. Others want the artwork. Some of those old vignettes—the tiny, detailed pictures of steam engines or Greek goddesses—were printed by the American Bank Note Company with the same precision used for paper currency. That level of detail is hard to find now.
How to Determine if Your Stow Has Real Value
You can't just walk into a Chase bank branch and ask a teller to cash a 1920s mining bond. They’ll look at you like you’re crazy. To find out if your old stocks stow is worth the paper it’s printed on, you need to follow a very specific trail of breadcrumbs.
First, check the CUSIP number. If the stock was printed after the late 1960s, it should have a CUSIP (Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures) number. This is a nine-character alphanumeric code. If you can find this, your job is ten times easier. You can look it up in financial databases to see the "succession" of the company.
Second, look at the state of incorporation. Every certificate lists where the company was "born." If the company is gone, you can contact the Secretary of State’s office in that state. They maintain records of corporate dissolutions. If the company merged, they’ll have the "surviving" entity listed.
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Third, investigate the Transfer Agent. On the certificate, there’s usually a name of a bank or trust company that acted as the transfer agent. While many of those banks have also merged (looking at you, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo), their successor institutions often inherit the old ledgers.
The "Canceled" Trap
One thing that kills the value of an old stocks stow faster than anything is the word "Canceled."
Usually, this is done with a series of tiny pinpricks (perforations) or a big red stamp. If the certificate is canceled, it means the previous owner already cashed it in or traded it for new shares. At that point, the financial value is exactly zero. However, the collector value remains. Some of the most beautiful certificates out there are canceled ones because they were preserved in archives rather than being lost in someone’s basement.
Common Mistakes People Make with Old Certificates
Don't clean them. Seriously.
If you find an old stocks stow that’s a bit dusty or has a musty smell, leave it alone. Wiping it with a damp cloth or using cleaning agents can ruin the ink and the paper fibers, destroying the scripophily value. Treat them like old rare books.
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Also, don't assume a "Gold Mine" stock is actually about gold. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were thousands of "penny stocks" that were basically scams or highly speculative ventures. They printed beautiful certificates to make the "investment" look legitimate. Ironically, the more beautiful and "gold-focused" the certificate looks, the more likely it was a speculative bust.
Practical Steps to Handle Your Old Stocks Stow
If you’ve inherited or found a collection, here is exactly what you should do to avoid leaving money on the table or wasting your time.
- Inventory Everything. Create a list of the company names, the dates, and the names of the people the stocks were issued to. Note if there are any fancy signatures.
- Search the "Obsolete Securities" Manuals. Libraries or specialized financial firms have access to "Robert D. Fisher Manuals of Valuable and Worthless Securities." These are the bibles of the industry. They track what happened to thousands of companies that disappeared.
- Check for Unclaimed Property. If the stock is still valid but the owner (like your great-grandfather) passed away, the dividends might have been turned over to the state. Search the "Unclaimed Property" database for the state listed on the certificate and the state where the owner lived.
- Consult a Professional Scripophily Dealer. If the financial search turns up a dead end, go to a dealer. They can tell you if the "art" value of the certificate is $5 or $500.
- Look for "Revenue Stamps." Sometimes the back of the stock has colorful stamps. These were tax stamps. Some of these stamps are actually rarer than the stock itself and are highly sought after by philatelists (stamp collectors).
Why the "Stow" is a Dying Breed
We are the last generations that will ever find an old stocks stow. Everything is "book-entry" now. When you buy Apple or Tesla, you get a digital confirmation, not a piece of parchment with an engraving of a literal apple or a lightning bolt.
This makes physical stows increasingly rare. As people clean out their parents' estates and toss these "worthless" papers, the surviving ones become more significant. Whether they represent a hidden link to a modern corporate giant or just a failed dream from the 1920s, they are physical artifacts of how wealth was once built and lost.
If your stow turns out to be financially worthless, don't just throw it away. Frame it. It’s a piece of history that survived decades of neglect, and that’s worth something, even if it’s not a dividend check.
Next Steps for Your Collection
- Scan the certificates immediately to have a digital record of the CUSIP numbers and signatures before handling them further.
- Use the CUSIP Global Services database or a service like Old Company Stock Research to perform a formal search if the company name doesn't appear in modern searches.
- Place the physical papers in acid-free sleeves to prevent further yellowing or "foxing" while you conduct your research.