Expert: Steven Taylor - 7/27/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I have recently come across an old share certificate for Churchill Mining & Milling Company.

The certificate is for 500 shares and I am at a bit of a loss as to what I should do with it?  I contacted the the Toronto stock exchange but they were unable to help and now I don't know what my next step should be.

The Toronto stock exchange confirmed that the company did trade on the TSX in 1934 but unfortunately they could not trace it as the date was prior to any of their archived data.

Any help you could provide would be gratefully appreciated or even a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks

Peter

P.S Not sure if this is relevant but I do live in Scotland and the certificate belonged to an old Aunty who also lived in Scotland.

ANSWER: Peter, I unfortunately do not have any information on Churchill, either. It is older than most of the information I have available.

Usually the place to start is with the transfer agent, but this stock is most likely too old for that. Therefore, I suggest you contact the Province of Incorporation as listed on the certificate and see what info they have. You could also take the certificate to a broker and see if they can perform a more detailed search for you.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks you for your quick reply and also your help

The province was Ontario so I was wondering who I should be contacting.  I have asked a broker but they are unable to help so I am assuming it's not worth their while to even have a look.

I did find some information from Stock search international but they were looking for $40 for all of the information.

I am really only researching this through curiosity but if I can't find anything I will probably just give up.

I have attached an image of the share as I might be missing something?

Thanks again

Peter

Answer
Peter, you need to contact the Ontario government directly. I believe there is a business section on the Ontario website that has the information regarding conducting a search for old companies. I don't have the current web address, but you can find it through a search engine or through the menu on the Ontario website, www.ontario.ca.