Expert: Steven Taylor - 1/13/2012

Question
Hi Steve,
I have some old stock certificates from the late 1800's. I have tried looking online for them but have had no luck. I was just wondering if there was anything I could do with them or if they had any collector value. They are:
The Eastern Mining Syndicate (in Ontario)
Yale Gold and Copper Mining Company (in British Columbia)
Thank you, Jodie

Answer
Jodie, those shares are quite old. Certificates from that era are not common, and the chance of them having current value is slim.

What I would suggest you do is contact the respective Provinces of Incorporation and see what information they have available. I am not an expert on collecting old certificates, but I expect there is at least some collector value in certificates that old, depending on the condition. Once you have exhausted your search avenues, I would investigate selling them for collector value. You can search online with the keyword "scripophily", which is the hobby of stock certificate collecting.