Expert: Steven Taylor - 5/6/2011

Question
I am checking to see if 200 shares in Ventures Mining Ltd. dated 1969, 33 shares in Rand Resources Ltd. dated 1973 and 500 shares in Prosper Oils and Mines Ltd. dated 1967 are worth anything today.  Thank you

Answer
Darlene, from the information I have available:

Ventures went through numerous name changes and several reverse stock splits. Unfortunately, those reverse splits (1 for 5, then 1 for 10, then 1 for 20, then 1 for 5) would have wiped out the original 200 shares of Ventures.

Rand has no value. The company was dissolved in the early 1980's.

Prosper also changed names numerous times and had at least 3 reverse stock splits (1 for 10, then 1 for 4, then 1 for 10 again). It became Stryker Ventures, which was delisted in 1997, but continued to file its required regulatory information until 2001. I don't believe they ever resumed filing or trading, which means the company is most likely defunct.