Authenticity of 110 Year Old Stock Certificate

July 2013, I bought a beautiful bond certificate for $195.00 from Scripophily.com.
The certificate, Campagne Des Installations Maritimes De Bruges, is dated 1904.
(http://scripophily.net/comdesinmard.html)
When the certificate arrived I opened the mailing folder and examined the certificate then replaced it in the mail folder. I remember thinking that it's in amazing shape for its age and why is it folded in half. (the bond coupons folded behind the certificate)

This morning I removed it from the mail folder and after examining it I'm thinking it can't be 110 years old. I've handled enough ephemera over the years to know what
old paper feels like. Another thing the bond coupons are folded behind the bond certificate and the fold is sharp and intact which I find unusual for ephemera that's 110 years old. If the coupons were not folded behind I could see them still being attached.

I called scripophily and spoke with two different people. They told me they bought the certificates from a source in Belgium. If I can prove it's a repro they'll give me my money back.

Any idea how I can get it authenticated?


I don't want to go the expense of archival framing. (It really is a beautiful certificate)
if it's bogus.

Mike

 

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"Don't they offer a return policy that you could take advantage of that wouldn't include"

I seems they have a 15 day policy. I bought it a year ago.

They told me to contact Scott Winslow in New Hampshire.
I'll check with him. I was hoping to find someone in DC or Baltimore.


Mike

 

15 days is a tad shorter than the one year since it's acquirement. To get a document examiner to look at it, could be very expensive within itself. Besides the paper, the printer's ink is a very good way to determine age. Inks do age a certain way depending on composition. The composition can even date the document. These tests and the examiner's time may be prohibitive from a cost standpoint.

 

"To get a document examiner to look at it, could be very expensive within itself. Besides the paper, the printer's ink is a very good way to determine age. Inks do age a certain way depending on composition. The composition can even date the document. . . "

I agree. For $195.00 it's not worth a professional forensic examination.

From the website:
"PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Beautifully engraved certificate from the Compagnie Des Installations Maritimes De Bruges issued in 1904. This historic document was printed by the Societe St Augustin and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of a shows an beautiful angelic woman holding a torch viewing the inland port of Bruges with 3 views of the city including an old harbor and the inner city. The company was formed in 1895 to construct the port installations and a canal. This item is hand signed by the Company’s Administrator and is over 110 years old."

No way does it look like an engraved certificate.

Later this week there is a very large national antique show nearby I'm sure several antique bibliophiles will be there. I'll take the certificate with me and ask them to check it out.

Mike
.

 

"Engraved" is a very general term, and does not necessarily mean "cut into a steel plate and printed via pressing paper against that plate" - i.e. intaglio. Woodcuts, photo etching, all are "engraved".

I think I remember you posting a scan of that beautiful certificate, and I don't see any reason (given what you've said here) to think it isn't authentic.

 

It is definitely not engraved, most likely lithographed. But many European certificates from that period were. Folding the coupons behind the bond was also typical, you even see it on some U.S. bonds. Though I don't collect them specifically, I do have a few foreign bonds and several from early 20th century like yours are still sharp and crisp (the one below is not engraved either). Paper stacked in a vault can hold up quite well over the decades. I'm not sure you have reason to worry, but I'd be interested to hear what you learn at the antique show.

Fyi, the National Stock & Bond Show is held near Dulles Airport in January. http://www.rsschell.com/

 

I agree with your opinion but will add that many items in Belgium and France were printed with lithography during that period of time. The piece is beautiful.

 

"I think I remember you posting a scan of that beautiful certificate, and I don't see any reason (given what you've said here) to think it isn't authentic."

The image from last year was from a dealer's website.
The certificate is too large for my scanner and I no longer have a camera set up.


"Paper stacked in a vault can hold up quite well over the decades. I'm not sure you have reason to worry, but I'd be interested to hear what you learn at the antique show."

That could explain it. We post finding from the antique show.

The certificate measures about 15"x11" The posted image is what I just now scanned. (sorry for the italics don't know where they came from) If I can locate my camera I'll take some pictures.

 

"http://www.rsschell.com/"

Thanks for the heads up I'll definitely try to attend.

 

By the way, looking through their gallery of photos, I don't see a single stock certificate where the coupons were not folded under.

 

I mentioned the coupons being folder behind because all of the 100+ y/o ephemera
I've handled over the years has been somewhat fragile, some even disintegrating in my hands. I was surprised the certificate is in such terrific shape.
Gregg may have it figured out:
"Paper stacked in a vault can hold up quite well over the decades."

Looking forward to having the certificate checked out by the bibliophile experts at the antique show.

 

Let us know what you hear. It definitely looks to be in "perfect" shape.

 

I will.
Think I'ii go to the show on the second day to make sure most vendors are there. In an earlier post I used the phrase "antique bibliophiles" I should have typed bibliophiles who specialize in antique books and paper.

 

Had an interesting time at the Baltimore Antiques Show. I think it's the largest summer antique show in the mid Atlantic region. The first person I approached
was a dealer in fine antique prints. I was interested in her take on the bond's paper and printing. She told me in her opinion it wasn't 110 years old.
The next dealer specialized in printed ephemera. This time I changed my opening statement to if he ran across the certificate in a private sale what would he think of it. After he and his partner examined it they're verdict was the printing and paper
were not from the correct time period. They suggested I get a certificate of authenticity from the vendor I bought it from. Next I spoke to a vendor who sold old books and ephemera. He carefully examined the bond then began translating it to English. His main concerns were the paper and the signatures. He suggested I get a certificate of authenticity. Another vendor wasn't sure either way. Finally, I saw a vendor (not a bibliophile or ephemera specialist) I've bought stuff from for a couple decades. He looked at and immediately replied it's legitimate.

Conclusion: maybe it's authentic maybe it's not.

I'm thinking it might have spent decades in a bank vault or it's a reprint.
It's so over the top I can the motivation to reprinting it.

At this point I'm not going to get it framed.

Just got the idea to take it to the manuscript dept of the local museum.

 

Here's one more clue to authenticity -- examine the artwork closely under a strong magnifying glass. If you can discern a dot pattern like the one below, then it's definitely a modern reprint done on a four-color press. But is has to be a consistent dot pattern across the entire bond.

 

The printing is mostly dots eg the red colored wings of the angel are clearly made up of single color dots of varying sizes and the beige borders, some other areas are mostly solid colors. I googled reissue of compagnie des installations maritimes de bruges but it didn't return any relevant results.
I'm going to take it to http://www.rsschell.com/

 

Feckin' Bruges? Who will get the reference...

 

In Bruges?