USS656 got me curious about the transfer cylinder die I picked up from the same seller. I'll post some pictures below. I was able to create a "flat" image from the die by rolling it along a flatbed scanner at exactly the same speed as the scanning bar...until I got a satisfactory result (about 20 times). This is definitely an American Bank Note die. I have an ABNC bond with the two men that flank the ship in the porthole. But I could use some help identifying the company/stock certificate this was used for. A couple clues: • The only lettering on the die is "OF CLEVELAND" centered in the bar below the ship. So, I think we can assume this is a Great Lakes shipping company. • The flanking men were probably engraved in the 1910s, so it's no older than that. But the ship looks more current, probably 1940s, maybe later. Any maritime scripophily collectors out there?
Well this isn't really a money maker and besides you'd have the Secret Service all up in your business real fast.
I was wondering if it was you that had bought the die. I was watching it when it sold, more out of curiosity then anything else. I am a little surprised that all of the dies don't sell! The hunt begins! I would assume that you have been through all of the stocks on the Scripophily site? Love how you captured the image on the scanner! Best Regards ~ Darryl
Checked here and didn't find it: http://www.clintonhollins.org/ Will post any sites I have gone through so that you do not double the effort.
I was surprised at some of the unsold dies, too. And my die was MUCH cheaper on eBay than the first one I bought at auction. (Yeah I'll get around to scanning that eventually.) Thanks for checking Clinton Hollins' site. I had done some spot checking but nothing extensive. I've been through all the railroads on Scripophily.com, but not everything else. The problem is, not a lot of sites/dealers categorize their certificates as marine/maritime/shipping. It's definitely easier to chase down railroads.
