Finding Old Stock Certificates

I'd like a character in a story to become reasonably comfortable financially by finding old, abandoned stock certificates in a home that was purchased.

How would I make this feasible? I'd like the stocks to be from around the 1920's.

Thanks!

Bebop3 said:

I'd like a character in a story to become reasonably comfortable financially by finding old, abandoned stock certificates in a home that was purchased.

How would I make this feasible? I'd like the stocks to be from around the 1920's.

Thanks!

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I don't know anything about stocks as such, but perhaps the certificates would have value as collectibles ... original certificates from now well-known companies like Ford would bring in a pretty penny for collectors, I'd think.

Or maybe you could have your character discover a bundle of letters in an attic of the house, which turn out to be correspondence between a former owner and a famous person like Robert Frost. The signatures alone might be worth thousands.

Great suggestions. Thank you.

Bearer bonds might be worth more than stock certificates which would be likely to have been replaced.

But Bearer bonds would be in 1920s values unless they were gold equivalent.

Another possibility would be finding old cash. Many old-timers didn’t trust banks and squirrelled cash away in walls or buried it in Mason jars. Especially if in good shape, they can be worth a fair bit. In some exceptional cases, they are worth a LOT today, six or even seven figures. Likely? No. Possible? Oh, yes!

TarnishedPenny said:

Another possibility would be finding old cash. Many old-timers didn’t trust banks and squirrelled cash away in walls or buried it in Mason jars.

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this is the ticket.

i personally like the idea of a hollowed out piano bench or a dummy furnace vent.

Stocks are probably not what you want.

If you do go with stocks, remember that almost all companies alive in 1920 have gone out of business (crash of '29), been bought out, merged, reorganized, bankrupted, etc. And the value may be small today (though large in the 1920 economy) even if a successor exists.

However, it may be theoretically have been split, etc. so 100 shares have become 20,000 shares. And if the stock paid dividends, how many were collected vs how many are yet to be paid? Unpaid dividends gather no interest, though sometimes dividends automatically purchase more shares.

Maybe they bought into ITT when founded in 1920, which was considered a "blue chip" for may years. ITT is selling for around $50 today, and has split 2:1 then 3.316:1, so 100 shares in 1920 (a large sum in 1920) would be 663 shares today, or about $33,000 today. Not much of a fortune.

And to be worth any money, the finder must show legal ownership of the certificate, as in a chain of bequests from the person named on the certificate down to the finder.

PS: Have the hero find old (rare) coins in very good or uncirculated condition.

did you check ebay or craigslist?

If you're the author, invent an international financial instrument portfolio. Make up flashy details and run with it. This is LIT fantasyland, hey? Your player finds the stash of gilded papers and, because this is fantasy, they aren't cheated out of the goods. Yes, invent an honest broker, too, unless you want drama there. But the whole getting-wealthy thang can be a minor sidenote to the tale of erotic consequences. They're suddenly rich. Now what?

Bebop3 said:

I'd like a character in a story to become reasonably comfortable financially by finding old, abandoned stock certificates in a home that was purchased.

How would I make this feasible? I'd like the stocks to be from around the 1920's.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

How about basing it off of a real story? Here's three to choose from:

https://komonews.com/sponsored/sell-gold/gold-coins-and-silver-coins-found-buried-under-a-house

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nevada-man-dies-with-200-in-bank-7m-in-gold-hidden-inside-home

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/na...-11-million-worth-gold-yard-article-1.1808077