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 Welcome to Investment Research Institute®. We have been buyers, sellers, traders, and researchers of old and antique stock certificates and antique bond certificates since 1975, established Investment Research Institute in 1981, and on the Internet as antiquestocks.com as a scripophily dealer since 1996. We strive to offer the scarce, the rare, and the unusual stock certificates and bond certificates, many of which cannot be found anywhere else.
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If there is a type of certificate you are looking for that you don't see, please email us.
If you have old certificates that you would like to sell or want to determine a value for, please contact us for our purchase offer. Click on the Research & Valuation button on the left for more details.
For over 20 years, we have been in the business of buying, selling, trading and researching old and antique stocks and bond certificates. We offer certificates in all types of industries and we have in inventory some top quality certificates with the signatures of famous individuals.
The hobby of collecting old and antique stocks and bonds is called scripophily. (In Europe, antique stocks are referred to as antique shares.) Although a stock ( share ) or bond certificate may be worthless as a trading or redemption security, the certificates do have collectible value.
The scripophily hobby first started becoming popular in the late 1960’s, primarily in Europe, and to a much smaller extent in the United States. One of the earliest dealers of scripophily and antique stocks was Jerry Rillahan who used to run an ad in the Wall Street Journal back in the early 1970’s offering 10 old stock certificates for $3.00. He was responsible for getting many antique stock scripophily collectors started in the hobby.
Since that time, the antique stock scripophily hobby has grown to an estimated hundred thousand collectors. However, the scripophily market is still considered to be in its infancy, compared to coin collecting ( numismatics ) and stamp collecting ( philately ). Some scripophilists collect antique stocks as financial artwork and decorations. Other scripophilists collect old stocks for their history and background. One of the nice features of the scripophily and antique stock certificate hobby is the fact that antique stocks are something that you can frame and hang on your wall. (You almost never hear of framed coins or stamps.)
Certain scripophilists collect by specific topic which includes automobile, aircraft – aviation – airplane - airline, entertainment, oil and gas, mining, railroad, streetcar and trolley, and autographs. Autographs that have appeared on bond and share certificates include J. Paul Getty, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Wells and Fargo, and several presidents.
Other scripophilists collect by country: Canada, Brazil Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Great Britain ( England ) , Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco, Australia, Peru, Belgium, and many other countries.
Although we don’t recommend that these historical documents be collected as investments, many collectors have found substantial appreciation in the value of their scripophily antique stock and bond collection.
Other links that you might find of interest:
Stock Market Trivia
Investment Trivia
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Mailing address:
(Sorry, we don't have a shop to visit)
Investment Research Institute®
5100 Clayton Road, Suite B-1, #405
Concord CA 94521 USA
phone: 585-CERTS18
or 585-237-8718
email: antiquestocks at yahoo dot com
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