Expert: Steven Taylor - 11/17/2009

Question

I have come across some a certificate for 100 shares in Porcupine Paynmaster Consolidated Mines, inherited from a relative. Does this company still exist or has it been merged with another? Might the shares have some value? Thanks for whatever information you could give me.

Answer
Alan, there might be some value, but it depends on if the prior owner received compensation for the stock being acquired back in 1989.

The Company first did a 1 new for 3.57196 old reverse split and name change to Associated Porcupine. That would have reduced your relative's shares to 35 Associated. That company was acquired in 1989 for $5.00 per share cash plus 0.75 of a share of American Reserve Mining for every share of Associated. The American Reserve later did a 1 for 16 reverse and became AMI Resources, which currently trades for 12 cents. Really, no value there, but if your relative did not receive the $5.00 per share cash payout, that money might still be out there. If it was not paid, it would have been turned over to the Government for safekeeping, and they might still have it (the rules on how long they keep unclaimed property varies by State and Province#. You need to search in every State or Province in which your relative lived from the time they first bought the stock until the merger. Luckily, the internet makes it easy to search most States and some Provinces for free. Go to www.naupa.org and www.missingmoney.com #try both - they each have different States and Provinces available# and search using your relative's name exactly as it appears on the stock certificate #even if it is abbreviated or misspelled) as that is the name they will have any lost money listed.