Although the vast majority of collectible or even antique stock certificates can be purchased for under $100, there are a few stock certificates which are worth mentioning for their collectible value. Each stock certificate is unique, making them difficult to value and even more difficult to rank in terms of desirability. Still, there are a few that stand out as the collector's holy grail of stock certificates:
The earliest known stock certificates date to the second half of the eighteenth century. Nobody knows for sure when the first stock certificate was issued, although there are several in existence from as early as 1783. These very old stock certificates were generally issued in very low quantities and it is rare for more than a handful to survive over the centuries, making them some of the most sought-after stock certificates to add to a collection.
Another category of sought-after stock certificates is those certificates with famous signatures. Prized by autograph collectors and stock certificate collectors alike, they offer tangible proof that the certificate you own was actually touched by the owner of the company. Although today's stock certificates have pre-printed signatures of company executives, those until at least the beginning of the twentieth century usually included real signatures. Because these companies were usually owned by the rich and famous, stock certificates have been found with the signatures of Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, George P. Pullman, J.P. Morgan, Jean-Paul Getty, Henry Ford, and many others whose names remain recognizable today. These are among the rarest of all stock certificates, and can command a hefty sum when sold at auction. These certificates, if signed by a well-known business mogul, nearly always command $1,000 or more.
Another unique category of valuable stock certificates is those with a particularly interesting denomination. Though the earliest certificates had a hand-printed denomination, later certificates came pre-printed with the number of shares to expedite the process of selling stock shares. Most are marked with an even number, the most common of which is 100 shares. Those for less than 100 shares often included a counter in the margin, which would be punched to indicate the correct number of shares. Oddball denominations were printed occasionally; only a handful of 1,000-, 5000-, or 10,000-share certificates are known to exist. In the 1970's, the Union Pacific Corporation printed certificates for up to one million shares, which would be a unique addition to any stock certificate collection.
Because stock certificates were usually kept in safe deposit boxes, desk drawers, or other hiding places, new finds are constantly coming on the market, making the discovery of rare antique stock certificates possible even today. For example, one signed by former president George Bush's great grandfather, Samuel Prescott Bush, has recently been discovered. Although most can be purchased for just a few dollars, there are some that can fetch many times this amount, such as an antique Standard Oil Company certificate signed by John D. Rockefeller, which just set a world record for collectible stock certificates when it sold for the amazing sum of $134,400.
