Stock certificates have not always been considered collectibles. Although they have existed for over 200 years now, they did not become collectible until the 1960’s and 1970’s when other forms of ephemera, including restaurant menus, maps, and other papers, also rose in popularity.
According to one story, the word “scripophily” was the result of a contest in the London Times in 1978. Most collectors agree that scripophily took hold in the late 1970’s; collecting stock certificates has continued to grow in popularity over the past few decades.
Originally, stock certificates were issued for a very practical use. Like other forms of ephemera, they were not produced to be collected, but as a way to record an ordinary event, the investing in a company. Although often incorporating beautiful engravings and vignettes, this was quite common on many other forms of paperwork, and so stock certificates were not collected for their aesthetic beauty. Plus, when issued, each stock certificate held actual monetary value, making it impractical to collect them for their aesthetics.
Today, it is possible to collect antique stocks because the vast majority of antique stocks no longer hold value as representation of a share in a particular company. These stocks are perforated, hole punched, stamped, or otherwise canceled, or were issued by a company that is simply no longer in existence, rendering their stock shares worthless and therefore available as paper collectibles.
In the present day, estimates vary from 20,000 to over 100,000 active collectors worldwide.
The internet has made finding old stocks easier, leading to larger and better-known collections by many of the hobby’s top collectors. Today, many Scripophily-related websites aid stock certificate collectors in their search; thousands of different certificates can be found online at any given time. On the other hand, it has also caused a demise in the production of new stock certificates, leading to increased rarity of certificates for scripophily.
Because the hobby is still quite new, bargains are still available; most antique stock certificates with beautiful engraved vignettes still cost well less than $100. These older certificates are prized by collectors for their nostalgic properties. Today, a new generation of collectors seeks out not only the popular antique stocks from the mid- and late- 1800’s, but also those of modern, recognizable companies. Stock certificates from well-known pop culture icons, varying from Walt Disney to Coca-Cola to Ford Motors, are rising in popularity thanks to this new generation of collectors.
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