Expert: Steven Taylor - 7/3/2009

Question
During cleaning after my father's recent passing we found a receipt and official paper of ownership for  100 shares of stock purchased from A.C. MacPherson & Co. Limited in a company called Park Precious Metals. The receipt is dated June 18th 1973. Can you provide information on this company. On the web we came across a notification from the Ontario Securities commision dated 2000 where A. C. MacPherson had to make a settlement payment. Are these stocks worth anything. has Park precious metals changed its name etc.
Linda

Answer
Linda, A.C. MacPherson did more than make a settlement payment. After many, many years in the courts, the Ontario Securities Commission was finally able to drive all of the notorious Ontario penny stock dealers out of business. They were all driven out for selling clients rigged stocks. The dealers would secretly acquire just about all of the shares of a tiny company, artificially run them up to high prices, then resell them at the grossly inflated prices to their own clients. Once they moved all the paper, they stopped propping up the prices and the stock prices immediately crashed to near nothing.

I don't know if Park fits the above mold, but it wasn't long before they became worthless. The company had its charter cancelled in 1977.