Scripophily ? Collecting Stocks and Bonds
It is fascinating to note what can interest people and what can become a hobby. One of the interesting and uncommon hobbies is to collect stocks and bonds. Those who collect bonds and stocks as a hobby do not do this as an investment but they find historical value in the documents that they collect. They will not be worried about the profit or loss that normally worries those who invest a lot of money in stocks and bonds.
The person who collects stocks and bonds as a matter of hobby is called ?scripophile?. The hobby of collecting these bonds or stock certificates is called ?scripophily?. These people will be ready to spend a lot of money if they can acquire a stock certificate that has historical value. They will engage in historical research to find about the existence of rare stock certificates and bonds and try to trace them.
Scripophiles find a great value in these stock certificates and invest in them for the sake of the historical importance of a particular bond or stock certificate. They consider it as a financial art. Furthermore, the certificates themselves are beautiful in terms of their colorful appearance. So the factors that decide the value of dead stock certificates include, the date of the stock certificate, face value of the stock, any relevant historical importance, their appearance, name of the company and the nature of the stock. For instance if the stock certificate happens to bear the signature of famous personalities such as Rockefeller then such certificates will be valued highly.
Even if you are not a hobbyist who collects stocks and bonds, do check your parents or grandparent's belongings that they have left behind, you might come across your treasure. Not many people are really aware of the value of these old or dead stocks. Many of us are not aware that there are people who collect these certificates and spend a lot of money to acquire them. In case you stumble upon any such documents, make sure that you keep it safely so that you can trade it with someone who is interested for a considerable sum of money.
If this hobby should interest you then before you start collecting your stock and bond certificates, you must learn the terminologies that are used in this field. Reading good reference books on scripophily would help the beginners. You can also find a number of online resources about the stock market and about the history of the stock market, the oldest share certificates, etc. When you do start collecting these certificates, make sure to let your friends know about your new hobby so that they can share with you any valuable stock certificates that they may have. They may also know where you can find such documents.
As a word of caution, when you decide to buy any stock certificates or bonds to add to your collection, ensure that you check for their originality, their historical importance, etc. Do not take people's word for granted, make sure you cross check the facts yourself. If you have a friend who has experience in this field, do hot hesitate to get help from him or her so that you do not end up spending a great deal of money on a duplicate document.