Auctioneer Boone celebrates 40th anniversary in Antwerp: oldest stock exchange building houses international scripophily auction and bourse

Mario Boone's 70th scripophily event spans 4 days! On Saturday May 6, a live auction with nearly 800 lots of historic and splendid antique shares and bonds takes place at the "Handelsbeurs" in Antwerp, the oldest stock exchange building in the world.

An international scripophily bourse with free entrance for any visitor is organized at the same location on Sunday May 7. A great opportunity to see antique securities in the center of Antwerp.

On Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 May, roughly 1500 more interesting lots will be sold through the Invaluable platform (live internet auctioning) or via the usual absentee bidding options.

This 1884 share in the Fabrica de Faianças das Caldas da Rainha, a porcelain factory from Portugal, is superbly designed and printed. Against a background of tiles the drawing combines a still life with more than 10 animals. Can you find them? L(ot) 463 starts at €1000. 

Saturday morning kicks off with a section of some 200 lots from Belgium Congo, Ruanda-Urundi and Belgium, including a 1899 Banque Coloniale de Belgique share certificate showing African scenes, L(ot) 6, and L34, a brewery share in the Brasserie de Stanleyville from 1949, both starting at €50. 

Noteworthy in the Belgian chapter are:  L82, Exposition Internationale Coloniale et d'Art Flamand Anvers 1930, a share subscription for the colonial exhibition in 1930, start price €50, and L84, a $500 gold bond from the City of Antwerp. Not to be missed is L97, Compagnie Internationale des Telephones, the oldest Belgian telephone share, 1881, with a large underprint of an early telephone. 

The Société de Zoologie in Antwerp, one of the oldest zoos in Europe, was founded in 1843. Its shareholders could enter the zoo for free on showing their share, hence the folds. Printed in 1843 by Joseph-Ernest Buschmann and designed by his brother and painter Gustave Buschmann. L299, €300 

More Belgian's, and this applies to other countries too, can be found in a mammoth World Highlights section, lot range 193-775. Some examples :

• The Société Anonyme d'Horticulture et de Botanique de Gand was founded by botanists who started holding botanic exhibitions known as "Gentse Floraliën". Its share from 1835, decorated with flowers, is extremely rare, L294.
• A top object in any art collection is the 1897 share from the Compagnie Fermière des Eaux Minerales de Genval. It is designed by Art Nouveau architect, painter and designer Paul Cauchie, known for his sgraffito technique. Only three certificates were found in the 1990s, and this is the last one available. L310 starts at €10,000 and can be seen in detail on the auctioneer's brand new website here.
• The world famous Lotus Bakeries is listed on Euronext Brussels and run by Jan Boone, the grandson of founder Jan Boone sr. This specimen founder share of the Banket- en Peperkoekbakkerij "LOTUS" voorheen "Boone Gebroeders" dates from 1934 and is the only one known to the auctioneer, L318.

Then part of of the French colonies, the Mekong delta with its shallow waters was the perfect place to use "de Lambert hydroglisseurs", aka airboats. This 1920 share from the Société Anonyme des Hydroglisseurs "de Lambert", L228, starts at €200. 

In the Australasia, Asia and Africa sections I spotted these items:

• Bank of Australia, Sydney, 1833, early share printed on vellum, L193
• L205 is a nominative share from the Société Provinciale Privilégiee du Fokien - Hoa-Hu, China, 1902, company set up by diplomat Paul Claudel, Chinese landscape.
• Opium shares are rarely seen. L226 is a nominative share from the Société Fermière de l'Opium au Tonkin, issued in Hanoi, 1887.

Lot range 271 through 279 comes from a diamond collection and includes scarce items such as a 1889 share from The Borneo Diamond Exploration Syndicate. 

This 100 soles share in the Compañia Explotadora de Perlas de Sechura, Lima, 1902, is part of a collection of 214 bonds and shares from Peru, L676. 

The European chapter is the largest one with over 300 lots, L280-L595. This blog format doesn't lend itself for enumerating all lots. Here are some of many astonishing historic securities:

• L375 and L376 are two Eiffel companies: Société de Constructions de Levallois-Perret and the Société de la Tour Eiffel both showing the Eiffel tower.
• Christiana Bye og dens Oplands Korn-Selskab, freely translated as Christiania Town and its Upland Grain Company: extremely early Norwegian share, dated 1810, from the time when Denmark ruled Christiania, today Oslo, L451
• A Swiss watch collection, L563 through L574, includes names like LeCoultre, Tissot and Longines.

L338, Compagnie Générale Maritime, 1856, signed by politician and financier Emile Pereire, gorgious design by painter and engraver Melchior Péronard, €3000 

Over 50 lots of securities and related documents are featured in the 16th-18th century section, including:

• A 1679! bond from the city of Enghien, Haunaut province, in need for financial resources under French occupation, 4 wax seals, L596
• On Aug 27, 1701, Philip V, King of Spain and Louis XIV signed a treaty granting France the exclusive privilege to supply the Spanish colonies in the Americas with African slaves. This right was called the "Asiento". Issued in 1703 for 3000 Livres this share in the Compagnie Royale de l'Assiente, is an important evidence of imperialistic slave-trading practises in the 18th century and extremely rare, L607.

Rio de Janeiro Tramway Light and Power Company Limited, 1 share, text in English, French and German, 1909, facsimile signature of electrical engineer and entrepreneur Frederik Stark Pearson, L664, €200

The Latin America chapter, lots 657 through 677, include several remarkable collection lots. Each of these will be offered as a single group, and only when no bids are made, each collection will split and offered into single item lots in the online sessions on the following Monday & Tuesday:

• L658 collection of Brasilian government bonds
• L659 collection of Brasilian state bonds
• L660 collection of Brasilian railroad certificates
• L661 collection of Brasilian port/shipping certificates
• L662 collection of Brasilian Industrial securities
• L670 collection of Mexican scripophily
• L676 collection of bonds and shares from Peru 

More Latin Americ scripophily, as is the case for other themes, will be auctioned on the two online sessions on 8 & 9 May 2023.

L682, New Jersey Southern Rail Road Company, $1000 bond, 1873 signed by railway tycoon Jay Gould, extremely rare, €12000

The American section of the Saturday highlights is divided in three chapters : Jay Gould , railroads, and various themes. To name a few:

• The 50 cents bond, 1841, from the Ocmulgee and Flint River Rail Road Company is not only small in size and value, but rare as well. L689
• L763 is stock certificate from The Kansas City Distilling Company, a whisky maker, view of the distillery, 1889
• The World's Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago in 1893. It's share shows a lovely vignette of an allegorical woman and an underprint of the exposition site. L765

A tip for American railway collectors, you should check out Coxrail on this auction, see here. 

Société Hydro-Electrique de la Réunion, founder's share, 1928, map of Réunion in underprint and border with a pattern of volcanos, likely the Piton de la Fournaise, L927, €50 

The online sessions of this event are scheduled the days after the bourse on Sunday. These offer another 1500 lots of scripophily (or a bit less when the Latin American collections are hammered on the preceding Saturday - see above). Use the catalog's indexes or the search functions on the auctioneer's new website to find what you need.

The weekend of 6 & 7 May is a chance to see some great antique securities. The venue is the Handelsbeurs Antwerpen. 

Here are the auction details :

• Location : Antwerp, Belgium
• Dates
• 6 May 2023, Boone's 70th live and internet auction
• 7 May 2023, bourse of historic bonds and shares
• 8 & 9 May 2023, online auction sessions
• Further info : 
• online catalog & bidding, see here on the auctioneer's new website, 
• or via the Invaluable platform (large images), see there 

F.L.

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HWPH auctions Friedrich Wilhelm III scripophily, a VOC bond from the Dutch Golden Age and nearly 2000 lots of historic stock certificates.

Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH) scheduled its next double-session sale for 3 and 4 September 2022. For this occasion specialist Matthias Schmitt and his team brought together some 2,000 lots of scripophily and related documents . 

Included are several top-notch items such as a unique share from the Preussische See-Assecuranz-Compagnie issued to King Frederick William III of Prussia and one of the oldest securities from the mother of all joint stock companies, a Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie bond from 1623. 

L(ot) 568 in the auction is this wonderful share from the Actien-Verein für den zoologischen Garten zu Dresden. The Dresden Zoo opened in 1861 and was bombed in World War II by the Allies. Reopened in 1946 it now welcomes about 1 million visitors per year. This 50 thaler share from 1863 starts at €1800. 

The first leg of the auction is both a live and an online event and takes place in Zorneding, near Munich. The second part is an online only sale and happens the next day. 

A major part of the offerings consists of antique bonds and shares from Germany, spread over several sections in both parts of the event. Among several German highlights you'll find these two :

• A radical democratic anti-monarchist, Gustave Struve's Gesellschaft deutscher Republikaner tried to finance the German revolutions of 1848-1849 with the issue of bonds. L515 is one of these rare certificates. Illustrated with several allegorical vignettes, it is propably the earliest known scripophily showing the colors of Germany's flag.
• AEG, worldwide known today for its eponymous home appliances brand, originated as the Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektrizität. The auction features a 1883 share from this company, L538. The company changed its name change into Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft. L539 is a share, 1887, from the first issue using the new name. Both are extremely rare. 

Perhaps the most spectacular object in HWPH's auction is this share in the Preussische See-Assecuranz-Compagnie. The company provided insurances against sea and fire risks and was organized in Szczecin, Poland, then capital of the Prussian Provence of Pomerania. The share shows a three-master with the flag of Prussia (click image) and is issued in 1825 to Frederick William III King of Prussia (1797-1840). He joined the coalition against Napoleon, and unified the Protestant churches in Prussia. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II are two of his grandchildren. L546, a unique historic document from Germany's and Poland's prehistory, is expected to realize €25,000 

The sale includes many more lots from all over the world. The auction's online catalog allows searching for your interests by means of country as well as thematic indexes. I tried out Luftfahrt (aviation) which refered to several airline companies : 

• Linhas Aereas Paulistas S.A. (LAP), Brazil map vignette, L68
• Lloyd Aereo Boliviano, L69, La Paz, aircraft vignette
• Badisch-Pfälzische Luft-Hansa A.G. Mannheim, L221
• Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, L734
• Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd., L770 and L771

Founded as Pan American Airways in 1927, Pan Am became the largest international airline of the USA in the 20th century. Its advertisements and so-called "Clippper" airplanes featured in movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Live and Let Die, Blade Runner and Catch Me If You Can. The company ceased operations in 1991 and reincarnated several times. The Pan Am Corporation owned and controlled the airline and services division. This share was issued in 1998 to scripophily pioneer Wilhelm H. Kuhlmann. Bidding on L1761 starts at €50  

There is plenty to discover in HWPH's auction catalogs. The live auction concludes with a meeting for EDHAC members. Here are the details of the event:

• Dates
• 3 September 2022, Zorneding, Germany, public auction
• 4 September 2022, online auction
• Further info and catalogs, see here on HWPH. 
• Live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com, see here, where you can find high quality images of the lots.

Collectors of 18th century scripophily, and even older items, will find more than 50 entries in their category. The most iconic lot is a 1623 bond for 1000 Flemish Pounds from the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (V.O.C.), aka Oost-Indische Compagnie aka Dutch East India Company.  Securities from this historic company are extremely rare and considered the crème de la crème in our field. Why can be read on this blog here. In 2019 HWPH auctioned a similar bond, issued for 500 Flemish Pounds, at €46,000 without buyer's premium. L500 starts at €40,000. 

F.L.

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HWPH stars Shanghai Stock Exchange predecessor in double session sale

Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH) has scheduled its next international event for 18 and 19 September 2021. Specialist Matthias Schmitt and his team brought together over 2,300 lots of historic securities and related documents for this special occasion. 

The first leg of the auction is both a live and an online event and takes place in Zorneding, near Munich. The second part is an online only sale and happens the next day. 

The offerings are peppered with German rarities but also includes many desirable antique stock certificates from states like Russia, Sweden, Italy, and much more.

A dedicated 50 Highlights catalog has been compiled for the top lots in the sale. One of the highlights in the auction is a share in the Shanghai Securities and Commodities Exchange  Company Ltd from the 1920s. 

After the first turbulent years of the Republic of China, "Father of the Nation" Sun Yat-sen wanted to develop a stable national economy. A stock exchange, headed by Chinese people, was part of that plan. Together with Zhu Zhixin and Yu Qiaqing, he proposed in 1916 the formation of the Shanghai Securities and Commodities Exchange. But the military regime at Beijing blocked the initiative. When at the end of 1918 Japanese businessmen started their Share Co. Ltd in Shanghai in order to control the exchange market, the founding of the Shanghai Securities and Commodities Exchange Co. Ltd was reproposed and approved in 1919. The new exchange was inaugurated on July 1, 1920, and Yu Qiaqing was its first chairman. Shanghai became the financial center of the Far East. The exchange merged with the Shanghai Chinese Merchant Exchange to form the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1929. This rare stock certificate, 100 shares of 50 yuan, was issued in 1925. Its vignette shows the exchange building and features early microprinting in the underprint. L(ot) 702 in the auction is expected to realise at least €9500.

The lion's share of the sale involves German securities. The auction's online catalog allows searching for your interests by means of country as well as thematic indexes. A keyword search using the word Nürnberg yields more than twenty lots, including a stunning share, interesting from an art history perspective as well, in the Tiergarten Nürnberg.

Hermann Gradl used to design Art Nouveau decorations for the Nymphenburg porcelain works in Munich. In 1907 he became a teacher at the Nuremberg School of Applied Arts. He designed the share of the newly founded Tiergarten Nürnberg AG in 1911. The zoo received 800,000 visitors in 1918. By then Gradl was as a succesful painter of German landscapes. 

Tiergarten Nürnberg survived the hyperinflation years but after the Nazis seized power, the zoo had to make way for the Nazi party rally grounds in Feb 1939. Two years earlier Adolf Hitler saw several Gradl paintings in the studio of architect Franz Ruff. The latter finished the Party Congress Hall on the new party rally grounds. Hitler arranged a meeting with Gradl and ordered six huge landscape paintings for the New Reich Chancellery in Berlin. 70,000 Reichsmarks were paid as an advance. After delivery of the works in 1941, Gradl was "asked" to join the NSDAP and he received the remainder of his fee totalling 120,000 RM. 

The Nuremberg Zoo was almost entirely destroyed during World War II. By the late 1950s it was rebuilt and today it is one of the largest zoos in Europe. L365 in the sale  

The auctioneer provided a dedicated catalog - in Russian - for the more than 200 Russian offerings : 59-й аукцион антикварных ценных бумаг. Some examples from this category :

• L704,  a share in the Gesellschaft der Anstalt für künstliches Mineralwasser in St. Petersburg, the first company traded on the Saint Petersburg bourse, issued to and signed by Baron Ludwig von Stieglitz, court banker of Tsars Alexander I and Nicolas I. Large vignette of the building, 1834, reportedly unique 
• L709, Moskau-Yaroslav-Archangelsk-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, 4% 1000 Rubel bond, 1895, 2nd emission 
• A coat of arms, showing Archangel Michael with sword and shield and the Tsar crown on top of it, adorns a pink and black printed 5000 Rubel specimen bond from the Société du Crédit Foncier de la Ville de Kief, L765
• L902, Trans-Alaska-Siberian Railway Company, stock certificate, 1906, issued to and signed by the French Baron Léon Loicq de Lobel known for his proposal to build a bridge-and-tunnel link between Siberia and Alaska. The project was authorized by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

The sale includes more than 40 Italian lots. To name a few : Banco di Roma, L1055, Fabbrica Automobili "Nazzaro", L149, and shipping company La Polare, L184. The certificate illustrated here is a 1925 share in the Industria della Maglia Dott. Francesco Floris, a textile company from Florence. Gaetano Spinelli, an Italian painter, made the wonderful monochromic print for the certificate's central vignette. Spinelli's works are displayed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, and Rome's Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderne e Contemporanea, among others. L167. 

The auction offers historic and beautiful antique stocks and bonds from all continents spanning 5 centuries of financial history. There is much more to tell, but the best way is to see for yourself. Here are the auction details:

• Dates and place : 
• 18 September 2021, live (and online) auction, Zorneding, followed by a meeting for EDHAC members 
• 19 September 2021, online auction
• Further info, catalogs and search tools, see here on HWPH. Live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com, see there, where you can find high quality images of the lots. 

F.L.

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HWPH kicks off '21 with large scripophily auction

Auctioneer Matthias Schmitt has compiled pretty much as 2000 lots of mainly antique bonds and shares for his 58th sale. The online event runs till 30 January, 10 AM. 

Collectors seek these genuine securities for their historic values or artistic features. I'll show you an Italian example from the auction of the first type later, but to start with, here is one of the latter type.

The SA Italiana per l'Impianto e l'Esercizio del Giardino Zoologico in Roma was founded in 1909. Today it is known as Bioparco di Roma. Its shares feature a gorgious vignette of wild animals, and sixteen others interacting with exuberant scrollwork and foliage. Click the image to enlarge. Creator of this Stile Liberty work was Giambattista Conti, aka Giovanni Battista Conti (1878-1970). He was known for his religious works and as an illustrator of children books. He became Director of the Vatican Restoration Institute. This rare certificate for 10 founders' share , lot 773 in the auction, starts at €1,000. 

HWPH is known for its Russian offerings and starts the feast with more than 250 lots from Russia and the former USSR. Two examples : 

• L(ot)116 A 5-shares certificate, 1898, from the Rigaer Commerz-Bank, unusual large underprint  the imperial double-headed eagle holding the arms of the city of Riga, then still part of the Russian Empire.
• A specimen bond from the Soviet Union's 1925 Internal Loan for the Reconstruction of the Economy, multicoloured Art Nouveau design, three vignettess, L151.

One of the Russian highlights is L154, a specimen bond from the 9% railway loan of 1927. The loan was issued to finance railway extensions connecting Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan with the Trans-Siberian Railway. The bond has a denomination of 25 Chervonets, a currency, fully convertible and backed by the gold standard, that was introduced by the Soviet Union to stabilize the hyperinflation. 

A major part of the sale consists of scripophily items related to Germany. Actually there are 700 of them. These can easily be queried online by means of key words like 'Freiburg', yielding 3 results, or 'Leipzig', 16 results. 

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft, AEG, originated in 1882 when Emil Rathenau acquired licenses to use some of Thomas Edison's lamp patents in Germany. This extremely rare share from 1890, L917, bears Rathenau's facsimile signature. L918, a share in another Berlin company, has Rathenau's original signature. Rathenau died in 1915 when AEG pioneered in the development of aircraft and soon thereafter in film projectors as well. 

Nearly 300 lots represent scripophily from the USA, some picks :

• L1714 shows a share number 1 in The Magirus Corporation of America, issued in 1926, and with vignette of a fire engine. Conrad Dietrich Magirus, born in Ulm, Germany, was the inventor of the mobile fire ladder. Today, the Magirus M68L is the fire engine with the highest turntable ladder in the world with a range of 68 meters.
• The Los Angeles, San Diego and Yuma Railway Company, 1890 stock certificate, L1711, rare
• The tracks of the Virginia and Tennessee Rail Road, a company that played a strategic role for the Confederacy, were destroyed during the American Civil War and later rebuilt. Its $1000 bond from 1853, shows off some of the finest vignettes on US railway securities. L1801, interesting start price at €40.
• A section of 27 Confederate States of America bonds with start prices at €20 to €40, L1618 through 1644

The auction counts no less than eight 'piano' lots : 563, 1023, 1139, 1213, 1567, 1578, 1773 and 1886. This share in the Schomacker Piano Forte Manufacturing Company was issued in 1894. Pianists and high society figures like President Ulysses S. Grant preferred these fine and award-winning instruments. Schomacker pianos were called the “Gold String” pianos. H. W. Gray, who signed this share as President, patented a technique wherein the piano strings were gold plated through a process called electro-plating. The other signature we see here is the one of Henry C. Schomacker, son of Johan Heinrich Schomacker, founder of the business. L1773 

The offerings present bonds and shares from many more countries. Let me further mention some more noteworthy collectibles :

• UK : One of the oldest Cunard Steam-Ship Company shares seen, 1888, with ship vignette, L532
• Italy : Gucci Group NV, Dutch Gulden specimen stock certificate , vignettes of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, and Gucci craftsman inspecting a Gucci handbag, L598
• Czechoslovakia : L727, Prvni Pražský Měštanský Pivovor, freely translated : The First Prague Civic Brewery, 1930, multicolor print with brewing vignetttes and of course, a drinking King
• The sale includes a nice selection of Egyptian scripophily.

The Monte di Pietà, a church-run lending institution founded in Italy's 15th century, became a model for many charity institutions. Called “Monte’s” these organizations obtained their funds by means of bonds called “Luoghi di Monte” and evolved into banks and lending institutions. The bonds were registered, and guaranteed the investor a type of life annuity. This Monte non vacabile del Sale della Città di Firenze was issued as early as 1699! The loan was guaranteed by income from taxes on salt (Sale) and bears the arms of the House of Medici. L895 

Of course, there is much more to tell, but the best way is to see for yourself. Here are the auction details:

• Date : 30 Januari 2021, online auction
• Further info and catalogs, see here on HWPH. 
• Live bidding is possible through Invaluable.com, see here, where you can find high quality images of the lots.

F.L.

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The Benzon family and the Copenhagen Zoo

One of the most appealing items in scripophily are share and bond certificates from zoological gardens. Mostly these prints show naturalistic scenes plentiful with exotic animals. Only a handful of  these "zoo" certificates are available on the collector market.

In fact, using biological terms, zoo shares, with a few exceptions, are among the rarest species in scripophily world. In May 2019, a spectacular example surfaced at an auction organized by the Østlandets Aksjebrev Forening, the Oslo-based branch of the Norwegian scripophily society. The item was the star of the sale and attracted several bidders from Norway and abroad.

This 200 Danish rigsdaler share from Den Zoologiske Have Ved Kjöbenhavn , the Copenhagen Zoo, was issued in 1873. In that year Denmark and Sweden formed the Scandinavian Monetary Union. The Danish krone replaced the rigsdaler in 1875 at the rate of 1 krone = 1/2 rigsdaler.
image source : Østlandets Aksjebrev Forening, Norsk Selskap for Scripofili

Østlandets Aksjebrev Forening, held its fourth auction at Oslo on 4 May 2019. Over 600 lots were at stake and one of these was a 1873 share in Den Zoologiske Have Ved Kjöbenhavn, the Copenhagen Zoo. Reportedly, only one other share from this company is known.

The Danish ornithologist Niels Kjærbølling (1806–1871) founded the zoo in 1859. The city of Copenhagen gave him a part of the Frederiksberg Palace Park as recognition for his work. His books, illustrated with lithographed drawings of birds, became very popular and spread public interest in birds and bird spotting. 

The design of the Copenhagen Zoo share includes not less than eighteen different animal species! Click the image of the share certificate on top to enlarge. We have monkeys, parrots, a snake, a lizard, an emu, kangaroos, a leopard and a lion, a camel walking away, a zebra, a deer, running gazelles, a bear, a curious wild boar, an owl, a lynx taking it easy, a squirrel and a vulture in the sky.

Unfortunately Kjærbølling lacked the experience to run a zoo business. The place was not well maintained and animals died. His son Fritz Hugo Kjærbølling inherited the zoo. He had acquired the knowledge and skills to keep and breed animals at zoos like the one in Cologne. However he could not reverse the zoo's poor financial situation.

Fritz Hugo Kjærbølling discussed the situation with three ornithologists : J. C. H. Fischer, who would become Kultus Minister of Denmark, H. C. Erichsen, head of the Ministry of Finance, and Alfred Nicolai Benzon.

A pharmacist, Benzon (1823-1884) founded his own pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution business, Alfred Benzon A/S. He was also a well-known and published botanist and ornithologist.

In 1872 these four men decided to set up a new company that would become the owner of the zoo: Den Zoologiske Have Ved Kjöbenhavn. Fischer, Erichsen and Benzon were appointed directors with powers to meddle with the zoo's daily operations. Kjærbølling became the zoo inspector. The arrangement didn't work out and, after being paid for his shares in the company, Kjærbølling, the only one with real zoo keeping experience, had to leave the company.

Two small shield vignettes in its upper corners adorn the share of the Copenhagen Zoo. These are the lesser version of the coat of arms of Denmark (left) and of the city of Copenhagen (right). 

The zoo's first years were difficult but it survived till today. After Alfred Benzon's death in 1884, his pharmaceutical business was passed on to his sons Alfred Benzon Jr. and Otto Benzon. The Benzon family continued to support the zoo.

Alfred Benzon Jr. (1855-1932) was besides an entrepreneur also a painter. He became a pupil of the famous Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer (1851-1909). The latter painted several works featuring the Benzon's, see here and there. P. S. Krøyer was adopted by his uncle Henrik Nikolai Krøyer, who in turn was ... a Danish zoologist and head of Copenhagen's Natural Museum. It's a small world, they say.

Benzon Jr. produced several marine paintings, like the one here. He was also a good observer and drawer of animals and birds, like many ornithologists. It was he who made also the drawing for the Copenhagen Zoo share.

The Copenhagen Zoo share was printed by I. W. Tegner & Kittendorffs Lith. Inst. The design was made by Alfred Benzon junior.

Alfred Benzon Jr's son, Bøge, undertook several nature expeditions related to nature conservation,  animal protection and the collecting and study of species. In 1952, Bøge Benzon (1891-1976) founded the Alfred Benzon Foundation. He donated his shares in the family business to the foundation.

The Alfred Benzon Foundation supports medical researchers and pharmacists, but also gives the Copenhagen Zoo donations for its research laboratory. Bøge Benzon was the zoo's Director from 1954-1956 and in 1967 its Vice-President.

I have not discussed the coat of arms located at the center of the share certificate. It depicts a shield with the words "Utile Dulci". The shield supports a stag head and is flanked by a bear and a lion. It seems to me that Alfred Benzon Jr., the artist, repeated the stag-lion-bear theme in the large scene at the bottom, be it in a different order. My research was fruitless. Who knows more about this coat of arms ?

This historic share in the Copenhagen Zoo represents the important ties between the zoo and the Benzon family. It was auctioned on 4 May 2019 in Oslo by the Østlandets Aksjebrev Forening. Hammered over three times its start price it was purchased at NOK46000, nearly USD5300, excluding a 15% buyer's premium.

F.L.

Related links

• Zoo. En historie om dyr og mennesker gennem 125 år, by Bent Jørgensen, see here  
• Zoologische Gärten als Kapitalgesellschaften - Geschichtliche Entwicklung und Finanziering, by Armin Schmitz und Arne Metzger, see here 
• Østlandets Aksjebrev Forening, Norsk Selskap for Scripofili, Norwegian scripophily society and publisher of its periodical Scriponytt
• The International Bond & Share Society publishes three times a year Scripophily magazine which, among other topics, reports on auctions in the field 

Worldwide scripophily touch down in Würzburg

HWPH Historisches Wertpapierhaus AG has something to celebrate ! The company conducts its 50th auction anniversary on Saturday 15 September, a week from today.  Over 900 lots of bonds and shares will then go on the block at public auction. And more than 1,200 lots are offered in the accompanying online auction ending 2 PM Monday 17 September. Here is a quick tour.

The Asia and the Middle-East section starts the ball rolling in both sales. Here are a few observations. Issued in Shanghai, 1939, a share from the Russian-Chinese Credit Society,  L(ot) 685, extremely rare, starts at €2,500. The Holy Land is well represented with certificates like The Palestine Corporation Limited, 1949, L973. A share from The Palestine Land Development Company dates from as early as 1909, L974. The Japanese Meigo Steel Corporation and Naigai Steel Corporation may be acquired from €1. From Turkey, there is the Drumm Collection, historic in Scripophily, but more about that see there.

The Premier Automobiles Ltd., India 

Lot 977 in the auction, the share is signed by the industrialist, philanthropist and cricketer Lalchand Hirachand as Director, and starts at €120. 

Almost 300 lots represent The Americas. An early Puerto-Rican share, L23, Compañia del Vapor de Catañio starts at €130. From New Orleans, a 1840 Mexican Gulf Rail-Way Company bond, L37,  invites bidding from €450. Nearly 50 Confederate States of America are offered in both auctions. The advanced CSA expert will recognize the CSA 8% Montgomery, 1861, $500 and $1000 bonds, L24 & L25, vignettes of J. C. Calhoun and J. Davis, respectively. Lot range 48-52 is all about Thomas Alva Edison scripophily, including signatures.

William Steinway, who made the Steinway & Sons piano company world famous, developed his own company town Steinway Village in Astoria, New York. This is the serial number 1 share from the Astoria Electrical Manufacturing Company, issued to its Director William Steinway, 1891. The company manufactured electrical motors. Lot 18 in the auction, €150 start price. 

HWPH, known for its Russian offerings, included this time nearly 250 lots from Russia and the former USSR. Formed in London, the New Central Siberia Ltd, L703, was active in gold mining around Yeniseysk. From Saratov, a rare 1000 Roubel bond from 1898, L782, is set at €1,600. Vignettes of a tramcar, a map of the region and a dynamo illustrate an extremely rare share from the Donbass Electric Company, L691.

A great example of Soviet artistic design, click the image to enlarge. This lottery bond was part of an internal loan issued for Stalin's second five-year plan, 1933. Lot 888, in the auction, may be bought from €100. 

Excluding Russian and German material, HWPH included over 500 European lots, representing nearly every country. Here are some interesting items. You'll find their chocolate in almost any airport, from Switzerland, €70 can buy you a Chocolat Tobler share, L1020. Art Nouveau and Art Deco artists created wonderful angels on these beauties : Banco Regional de Cataluña, L69, La  Protectrice, L99 and Exposition Religieuse Internationale de 1900, L120.  The sales 50 Highlights section includes a spectacular share from The Baltic Salvage Association. What words can not describe, a high quality image reveals in detail. So here is a link.

Zoo collectors will love seeing these : Thiergarten-Gesellschaft in Wien, L155, Actien-Verein des zoologischen Gartens zu Berlin, L333 , Neue Zoologische Gesellschaft, Frankfurt, L457, Société Royale de Zoologie d'Anvers, L1333 and my personal favorite, Koninklijk Zoologisch Genootschap Natura Artis Magistra, Amsterdam, L669.

Koninklijk Zoologisch Genootschap Natura Artis Magistra, 

500 Gulden share, unissued, 1853, Amsterdam 

Natura Artis Magistra, or "Nature is the teacher of the arts", is one the oldest zoos built on mainland Europe. The zoo had three gates with the words 'Natura', 'Artis' and 'Magistra'. The Artis gate was the main one, and that's how the zoo is usually called. Only a handful of certificates like this one,  L669, are known. Bids are invited from €2,000. 

Over 900 German lots are spread over several sections in both auctions :

• 16th - 18th century
• Germany pre 1948
• German currency history
• Deutsch Mark (DM) certificates
• Southern Germany 
• 50 Highlights

From the pre 1948 section, I noted Stadt Magdeburg 8% 100,000 Mark bond, 1923, text in German and, unusual, also in English, with striking colors and great harbour vignette, L1667.

Some German bonds and shares have survived several currency periods. During their circulation these certificates have received several currency conversion stamps, and therefore form an interesting collecting theme 'German currency history'.  The William Janssen AG share, L1722, lived through four currency periods : issued in Mark, stamped consecutively in Gold Mark and Reichsmark and was still negotiable in the early DM period.  

The DM section contains several early computer manufacturers : Anker-Werke, L1731, Nixdorf Computer, L602, Walther Electronic, L1856, and Siemens, L304.

The auctioneer produced a dedicated catalogue for The 50 Highlights section with extra large images and background information. Among the German lots, you'll find a collection of 192 Hamburg city related loans, some of them from the 18th and even the 17th century, L653. Historic is a J. W. von Goethe share from 1793, see the following image. 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe signed this Ilmenauer Kupfer- und Silber Bergwerk share, issued in 1793. Goethe, mainly known as a poet, novelist, playwright (Faust), philosopher, diplomat and politician, was also a mineralogist. The mineral goethite (iron oxide) is named after him. One of highlights in Matthias Schmitt's 50th auction, lot 650, it is expected to realize €20,000. 

Of course, there is much more to tell, but the best way is to see for yourself. Here are the auction details :

• dates & locations
• HWPH Auction 50 (lots 1-912): 15 September 2018, Würzburg, including Award Journalistenpreis Historische Wertpapiere und Finanzgeschichte around 3 PM as part of the auction event
• Ersten Deutschen Historic-Actien-Club e.V (EDHAC) members meeting:  16 September, same location of the public auction, Würzburg
• HWPH Auction 51 (lots 913-2180): 17 September, Internet only
• More info
• See here, a separate catalog in Russian is available see there 
• Remote bidding is also possiblie through Invaluable.com. Tip: On Invaluable.com, the auctioneer has listed high quality images, like this one. 
• The Drumm Collection 

F.L.

Booklet : Gedruckte Werte

Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient founded in 1852 the Typografisches Institut Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig. On the first day of October G&D received an order for the printing of securities from the Kieritzscher Rübenzucker-Action-Verein (English: Kieritzsch Sugar Beet Company). It took only two weeks to deliver the 400 share certificates to the customer.

Gedruckte Werte is the title of the publication accompanying the exhibition with the same name at the Museum of the Printing Arts Leipzig. Besides interesting facts about the history of the bank note and securities printer Giesecke & Devrient, this work tells us how securities were designed and produced in the 19th and 20th century, and much more. 

Booklet from the exhibition Gedruckte Werte

• Title: Gedruckte Werte, in English: Printed Values
• Publisher : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig, 2016
• ID : ISBN 978-3-9817257-1-1
• Languages : German
• Number of pages : 59
• Images : more than 40 color images (12 from shares and bonds)
• Index : no index

Chapters

KANN MAN VERTRAUEN DRUCKEN? AKTIEN ALS MEDIUM DER INDUSTRIEKULTUR, (freely translated) Can trust be printed ? Share certificates as a medium of industrial culture.

DIE HERSTELLUNG VON WERTPAPIEREN AM BEISPIEL VON AKTIEN, The production of securities, illustrated with share certificates 

GIESECKE & DEVRIENT - WERTPAPIERDRUCK IN LEIPZIG, Giesecke & Devrient - security printing in Leipzig 

IKONOGRAPHIE DER WIRTSCHAFT - DAS BILDPROGRAMM AUF WERTPAPIEREN, Iconography of economy - images on securities 

GELDÄHNLICHE PAPIER -  GELDWERTE DRUCK, Money alike papers - the printing of (other) values (such as tickets for the Olympic Games) 

The publication is written in German. Typical technical German terms related to the world of printing and business are used throughout the chapters, so this can be a challenge for non-German speakers, like myself. But a good dictionary, or Google Translate on your smartphone, can help you out. The effort is absolutely worthwhile. I absorbed the publication chapter by chapter right up to the end !

This  Berliner Aquarium 200 Thaler share (printer proof),
dated 1870, is one of the certificates on display.
More on this certificate in a follow up post.
image courtesy : Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig

The exhibition runs until 14 august 2016. The accompanying booklet is available from the Museum's shop at 8,80 € (please ask the museum for the shipment cost).

• More about the exhibition, see here 
• Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig, in German, in English 

F.L.

Spink Switzerland - Auction October 2013

Spink Switzerland - Bonds & Share Certificates of the World
image (double-click to enlarge) :
Berner Chocolade-Fabrik, Tobler & Co. A.G.
English: Bern Chocolate Factory Tobler & Co.
Share of 100 Francs, 1905
"Toblerone Jugendstil"

Actien-Gesellschaft des Zoologischen Gartens in Basel
English: Basel Zoological Garden Company
Duplicate nominative share of 250 Francs 1910, issued in 1975

• Date: 19 October and 21 October 2013
• Place: Lugano, Switzerland on 19 Oct (21 Oct is an online auction only)
• More info: see here

F.L.

Golden Gate Ostrich Farm

The unique scene of plucking ostriches will be seen tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock at the Golden Gate ostrich farm, Forty-seventh avenue and Balboa street. The plumes are clipped about three inches from the body, the bird being blindfolded. The operation is painless. The two largest birds at the farm are Bob Fitzsimmons, the $5000 beauty, and William Jennings Bryan. Ostrich plucking is considerable of a novelty for San Francisco.

- Article from The San Fransisco Call of April 19 1913. -

Golden Gate Ostrich Farm
Certificate for 5 Shares of $10 each

Issued 26th Nov 1912

double-click to enlarge

Reference catalogue : Zoological garden companies - Development and Finance History

I will occasionally briefly describe a reference book or catalogue in my postings.

• Title : Zoologische Gärten als Kapitalgesellschaften - Geschichtliche Entwicklung und Finanziering
• Authors : Armin Schmitz und Arne Metzger
• ID: ISBN 3-9806401-2-4, published by Verlag der Antik Effekten GMBH, 2000
• Languages : German, English
• Number of pages : 192
• Images : mostly in color, about 100 illustrations
• Indexes : by location

This great work contains images of certificates and descriptions, both in German and English, of zoos in :
Germany, USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, UK, Luxembourg, Italy, Austria