What is Scripophily
Scripophily is the hobby of collecting old stocks and bonds, including antique stock certificates, historical bonds and other collectible securities.
Scripophily is a relatively recent term, now recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary, and the hobby gained wider recognition around 1970. The word combines “scrip,” meaning a certificate representing an ownership right, with the Greek “philos,” meaning love. What began as a niche collecting interest in Europe and America has since grown into a hobby followed by enthusiasts around the world.
Scripophily has become a highly focused area of collecting because of the beauty, rarity and historical significance of many old stocks and bonds. Interest in the hobby has grown further with the disappearance of physical share certificates, as electronic share registries and computerised settlement systems have largely replaced paper securities.
Today, collectors around the world seek scarce, rare and historically important certificates. Some are drawn to the stories behind the companies and industries they represent, while others value the ornate engraving, colour and design of the documents themselves. For many collectors, scripophily brings together art, history and finance in a uniquely tangible way.
Securities and financial documents have played an important role in economic development for centuries.
From early trade and government finance through to railway expansion, industrial growth and the technological age, old certificates provide a visual record of commercial history.
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Early and primitive commodity trading by the Assyrians and others
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Governments and Semi-Government Financing
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Establishment of trading companies in the 16th and 17th Centuries
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The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century
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Railway construction from 1830’s, and
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The marketing and technological age of the late 20th Century and early 21st centuries
The artwork combines themes associated with people at work, companies, industry, infrastructure and country scenes. These are then transformed, using vignette skills, into magnificent engravings of important people, places, buildings or structures such as oil rigs, ships, steam engines and railway carriages.
In recent years, Dot.com companies and scandal related issuances have become particularly popular with collectors. A recent addition to the hobby is collecting real, live shares issued in one’s name. Common companies that issue stock certificates including Walt Disney, Harley-Davidson, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Google, Ford Motors, Coca-Cola, Berkshire Hathaway, Broken Hill Proprietary and Bank of New South Wales from an Australian perspective.
Framing is also a popular option for these certificates. Many autograph collectors are found in this field, looking for signed certificates from John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil, Henry Charles Carey of the Franklin Fire Insurance Company, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Baily Circus, Atari Corporation, Eddie Rickenbacker as president of Eastern Air Lines or J. Paul Getty of Mission Development Company.
All of these securities have been created at some time during the Financial Markets timeline from 2000BC to 2024AD as shown below.
