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Authentic Early Western Mining Stock Certificates
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USA
STOCK CERTIFICATES FROM OTHER STATES - Page 2
1878 THE BERTHA & EDITH GOLD MINING COMPANY - Goochland County, Virginia - Located 3.25 miles northeast of Columbia on the east side of Byrd Creek. Prior to the Civil War, placer deposits were worked along the Maple and Camp tributaries of Byrd Creek. The Bertha & Edith GMC began development work on the property in 1877, opening the Oak Hill and Maple Branch Quartz veins. A 20-stamp mill was used to crush the gold ore. Signed by E. B. Grant as president. Price - $146
1917 HARROUN MOTORS CORPORATION - Incorporated (in 1916) Under the Laws of Delaware - This company was started by Ray Harroun, winner of the very first Indy 500 in 1911! Harroun Motors produced only about 2,500 cars in its short history. Issued to Lewis J. Harris for 20 shares worth $10 each. Signed by John Guy Monihan as president and Lewis Hopkins Rogers as secretary. In my research, I found that Ray Harroun was listed as the vice president, so the certificate does not include his signature. Printed by the Columbian Bank Note Co. of Chicago.
I found an old announcement online (below) that shows what the actual car looked like. In my opinion it was quite classy.
Scarce certificate. Price - $250
1914 LACKAWANNA COAL & LUMBER COMPANY - West Virginia. Ornate stock certificate with excellent vignette. Signed by J. K. Griffith as company president. Price - $69.00
1914 INTERNATIONAL MINES DEVELOPMENT COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of Delaware. 100 share stock certificate. Price - $42.00
1927 GOLDENROD OIL COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of Delaware - The bottom of the corporate seal reads DALLAS, TEXAS - the actual oil wells were likely near there. The graphics on this scarce stock certificate are amazing! Notice the bright yellow Goldenrod plant shown beneath the title. Oil wells above. Issued to A. H. Sasse Company for 20 shares worth $5 each. Price - $150
18__ THE GIBBS & BALL PLOW COMPANY - Canton, Ohio - Contains a detailed drawing of the actual plow that was produced, printed in bright pink. Unissued (Late 1800s)
Price - $46.00
188_ THE HARVEY ELLIOTT MINING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of New York - Mines in Hancock County, Maine. Shares valued at $5 each. Unissued (1880s) Price - $49.00
1923 IVORY OIL & GAS COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of Delaware. Issued to Mrs. Bessie Mayne for 50 shares. Price - $52.00
1906 THE BORINE MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF NEW YORK - Round vignette shows two beehives surrounded by flowers & trees. Issued to Dr. Geo. P. Willis for 10 shares valued at $10 each. This is the first borine stock I have seen.
Price - $58.00
1881 LAS NUEVE MINAS DE SANTA MARIA GOLD & SILVER MINING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of New York - Location of Mines, State of Sonora, Republic of Mexico - This was a Mexican mine that was apparently funded from the U.S. Very attractive 100 share certificate printed by the American Bank Note Company, New York. The picture shows an Indian warrior with bow & arrows. Snow-capped mountains and a city can be seen in the background. Price - $95.00
1908 THE RIGGS NATIONAL BANK of WASHINGTON, D. C. - Set of (2) checks. Relatively large picture on the left side apparently shows what the bank looked like in the early days. Price for both - $29.00
1893 THE WATT MINING CAR WHEEL COMPANY - Letterhead - Barnesville, Ohio. Watt's Pat. Self Oiling Mine Car Wheel. Mining Cars of any Gauge, Size or Capacity, Either With or Without Wood. J. H. Watt, president, R. R. Watt secretary & treasurer, S. Watt superintendent. This letter is in regard to having a model made of a recently approved patent. Price - $50.00
1910 SAN BARTOLO MINING COMPANY - Incorporated (in 1909) Under the Laws of Arizona - Stock certificate issued to E. Frank Vail for 500 shares valued at $1 each. Corporate seal punched clearly into lower-left. Uncommon stock design. Although incorporated in Arizona, this mining operation was located in Mexico. Reverse is also quite ornate with two mining vignettes. Larger than average certificate - the right border did not fit entirely on my scanner but it is complete. SOLD
1917 THE WYOMING BLACKFOOT OIL COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of Colorado - Issued to D. W. Lewis for 250 shares worth one cent each. The company drilled oil wells in a place called Big Muddy Field in Kansas, near the Big Trapshooter well. Signed by H. E. Erwin as president and A. J. Doud, secretary. Office at Denver, Colorado. Two unique vignettes show a Native American woman at left and workers building a road through a forest at top. Price - $85.00
1927 PIG'N WHISTLE CORPORATION - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of Delaware - RARE FIRST YEAR OF BUSINESS stock certificate issued to Frank A. Cramblitt for 20 shares. Unique vignette shows a flute-playing pig. FAMOUS HOLLYWOOD CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT
I found the following information on the official Pig'n Whistle website:
Back in 1927 movie theaters didn’t have concession stands in their lobbies. In order to satisfy movie-goers who wanted to eat a good meal before seeing a film, a family restaurant and soda fountain opened up next door to the Egyptian Theatre. This new hotspot quickly became one of Hollywood’s most celebrated eateries – the world-famous Pig ‘N Whistle!
The Pig ‘N Whistle opened its doors on July 22, 1927. Its stylish design and fanciful hand-carved wood décor by renowned architects Morgan, Walls & Clements made it an instant favorite with the movie colony as well as the local citizenry. Connected to the forecourt of the Egyptian Theatre by a side entrance, the Pig ‘N Whistle quickly became the place for stars to gather before and after movie premieres and discuss the industry over a few drinks. Stars such as Shirley Temple, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and Loretta Young were regulars, enjoying the restaurant’s wide range of menu items and soda fountain offerings. Household names like Cary Grant, Jane Wyman or Walter Pidgeon could often be spotted at the Pig ‘N Whistle having lunch and reading the local paper or enjoying dinner after a glamorous evening at the Egyptian.
Highlighted by hand-painted decorative tiles, featuring The Pig ‘N Whistle logo of a dancing, flute-playing pig, elaborate carved wood ceilings and an ornate organ, the original restaurant featured a colorfully stenciled Italian Renaissance dining hall and a balcony for private parties and a baronial banquet room. Since undergoing restoration in 1999, the restaurant has finally returned to it’s former glory and currently stands as one of the most notable remaining relics of Old Hollywood. Price - $195
1907 GERBER PRINTING AND BINDING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of Minnesota - PREFERRED STOCK certificate issued to Louis Gluek for 10 shares worth $100 each. Signed by Michael A. Gerber as president and William E. Reau, secretary. Office at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Price - $49.00
1888 THE GUAYABILLAS MINING COMPANY - Incorporated (in 1884) Under the Laws of the State of New York - Yuscaran Mining District, Honduras. Picture shows a man wearing a sombrero on a horse. Spanish-style mission in the distance. This was a rich gold - silver mine. S. D. Eagle, president. Shares worth $25 each. Printed by the New York Bank Note Company ***Scarce***
SOLD
1882 THE ROY STONE HYDRAULIC MINING AND DREDGING COMPANY - Incorporated (in 1880) Under the Laws of the State of Connecticut - Stock certificate issued to George Metcalf for 100 shares worth $25 each. Oval vignette shows the Roy Stone gold dredge. Office at Hartford, Connecticut. Signed by (Col.) Leavitt Hunt as president and George B. Upham, treasurer. Notice the company name punched into the lower-left corner. Researching this company took me in so many interesting directions. I recommend using GOOGLE for a more complete history. Below are some bits and pieces of information I found:
GENERAL ROY STONE was a professional civil and mechanical engineer; a military hero who distinguished himself in the Civil War and again in the Spanish-American War. He was brevetted a Brigadier General by President Lincoln for gallant service during the Peninsular Campaign, and particularly at Gettysburg.
He was the inventor of a new type of suction dredge. Jets of water were used to loosen gold-bearing material from the river bottom and pumped up a steel excavator pipe to a floating sluice were the gold was separated from the sand and gravel.
COMPANY DESCRIPTION FROM 1880:
Organized directly upon the issue of the patent (of the dredge) for this country and England, controls the exclusive right to the use of this dredge upon the Pacific coast - from Alaska to Mexico, west of the Rocky Mountains - in other words, along the whole coast, and in all the rivers flowing into the Pacific in the United States and British America (British Columbia). Arrangements are rapidly being made to soon put a dredge into operation upon some of the richest paying river beds of California.
Along with the stock certificate, I will include a full-page drawing of the Roy Stone Dredge.
Price - $250
1865 THE CULBERTSON RUN OIL COMPANY - Incorporated in January of 1865 - Rare Civil War era petroleum stock certificate issued to R. R. Ringwalt for 50 shares worth $2 each. Stock #16. The oil wells were located near Eagle Rock City and the Allegheny River in Venango County, Pennsylvania. Exceptional, detailed vignette shows barrels of oil loaded on river barges. A red ENTRY OF GOODS 25 cent revenue stamp affixed to left side. Signed by John Semple Jr. as company secretary. Office at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Price - $375
1921 BASE LINE OIL COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of Oklahoma - Duncan, Oklahoma printed beneath the title, on the date line and stamped into the corporate seal. Stock certificate issued to Mrs. Elizabeth Herron for 6 shares worth $10 each. This company drilled for oil at Clark Farm in the Duncan District. Impressive panoramic vignette shows many early oil wells dotting the landscape. Signed by C. W. Johnson as president. Price - $49.00
1919 TEXAS WYOMING OIL COMPANY, LTD. - Incorporated (in 1919) Under the Laws of the State of Idaho - Early stock certificate # 13. Issued to Chas. G. McGowen for 500 shares valued at 10 cents each. This oil company operated in Wilbarger County, Texas. Signed by Edwin Wilson as secretary. Three detailed pictures show oil wells. Price - $42.00
1892 THE BUCK MOUNTAIN COAL COMPANY - Incorporated June 16th, 1836 - Ornate stock certificate issued for 5 shares valued at $40 each. There is a notation in the upper-left that states the par value was lowered to $35 per share. Impressive Buck Elk vignette. Early coal miners shown in the lower-left. Signed by F. Mitchell as secretary and Seth Caldwell Jr., president. Office at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Price - $120
1907 CARACAHUI MOUNTAIN COPPER COMPANY - Incorporated (in 1907) Under the Laws of the Territory of Arizona - Stock certificate issued to James F. MacIntyre for a whopping 6,667 shares. With some research, I discovered this copper mine was actually in Mexico, at Llano, Magdalena, Sonora. Oval vignette shows two people (likely the mine owners) standing beside a large Saguaro Cactus. Signed by M. H. Greene as company president. Also had an office at Kansas City, Missouri. Scarce. Price - $85.00
1902 THE BIG HURRICANE ZINC MINES COMPANY - Incorporated (in 1899) Under the Laws of the State of Maine - Stock certificate issued to Mrs. Eliza A. Moore for 500 shares. This was formerly known as the Congdon Zinc Mines Company. Operated mines in Searcy, Marion, and Newton Counties in Arkansas. The zinc was found in Carbonate and Silicate ores. Bright, shiny-gold corporate seal. Signed by Morris N. Johnson as treasurer and Alex C. Thompson, president. Relatively early stock #28. Office at Portland, Maine. Price - $150
1881 ATRATO MINING COMPANY - Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of Maine - Rare, extremely ornate stock certificate issued to Charles C. Read for 125 shares. Text below the elaborate vignette reads: OPERATING ON THE RIVER ATRATO, U.S. OF COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA. The picture shows the gold dredge the company was using at the time. The center of the corporate seal shows the continent of South America. Printed by Forbes Co. Boston. Office at Portland, Maine. Price - $295
1915 THE GRENADE COMPANY OF AMERICA - Incorporated (in 1915) Under the Laws of the State of Delaware - This stock certificate would also have appeal to military collectors. It is one of the first certificates issued by this WWI hand grenade company. Stock# 7. Issued to Dean R. Babbitt for 50 shares valued at $100 each. Price - $85.00