1885 West Shore Railroad Company, $1000 Bond Certificate 33544

$1000 4% Bond Certificate

West Shore Railroad Company

1885 - 1st Mortgage Bond

Scripophily is the study and collection of stock and bond certificates. A specialized field of numismatics, scripophily is an interesting area of collecting due to both the inherent beauty of some historical documents as well as the interesting historical context of each document.

Scripophily, the collecting of old stocks and bonds, gained recognition as a hobby around 1970. The word "scripophily" was coined by combining words from English and Greek. The word "scrip" represents an ownership right and the word "philos" means to love.

Today, there are thousands of collectors worldwide (Scripophilists) in search of scarce, rare, and popular stocks and bonds. Over the past several years, the hobby has exploded in popularity.

Many collectors appreciate the historical significance of old certificates. Others prefer the beauty of older stocks and bonds that were printed in various colors with decorative artwork and ornate engraving.

Each certificate is a piece of history about a company and its business. Some companies became major successes, while others were acquired and merged with other companies. Some companies and industries were successful until they were replaced by new technologies. Some companies have even been the center of some scandal or fraud. The color, paper, signatures, dates, stamps, cancellations, borders, pictures, vignettes, industry, stock broker, name of company, transfer agent, printer, and holder name all add to the uniqueness of the hobby.

Today, more stocks and bonds are issued electronically, meaning almost no paper certificates are issued anymore, giving rise to the increasing popularity of this specialized field of numismatics.

** Please note that the certificate is no longer a valid financial instrument and has value today only as a collectible historic document to scripophily collectors **

The Date listed above refers to the the date of issue