Expert: Steven Taylor - 2/12/2011

Question
Hello Steven.  My uncle has passed away leaving the following stock certificates.  I was hoping you could provide us with some information regarding their value.   
Cenex Limited 7000 shares purchased in February 1980
Dejour Mines 9000 shares purchased in February 1982
Multi-Minerals 2000 shares purchased in May 1976
The Govenor and Company of the Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's Bay 11 shares purchased in May 1979
Thank you very much!

Answer
Jenny, from the information I have available:

The Cenex has no current value. The Company went into receivership in late 1979 and was later dissolved. Your uncle probably took possession of the certificate in February 1980 hoping they would come out and resume trading down the road, but never happened.

Dejour Mines had a 1 for 15 reverse split in 2001, then a 1 for 3 reverse split in 2003, and became Dejour Enterprises. Dejour trades on the TSX and NYSE Amex for about 30 cents. You will need to contact the current transfer agent, Computershare (www.computershare.com) to get the shares reorganized.

I have no information on Multi-Minerals. I suggest you contact a broker to see if they can perform a detailed search for you.

The Governor and Company certificate is an old one for Hudson's Bay Company, which was acquired for $15.25 per share in 2006. If your uncle did not receive a check in 2006, the money would have likely been turned over to the government for safekeeping. You need to search the missing property office of every State or Province your uncle lived in from the date of the certificate until the takeover. You can search many of them online for free at www.missingmoney.com and www.naupa.org (search both). Also, since Hudson's Bay was quite well known as the second oldest public corporation in the world, the certificate may also hold some value to collectors.