Fool's School Old Stock Certificates

So you say you found some old stock certificates, and you are wondering whether they are worth anything? They may well be valuable, but that can be hard to determine, because many companies merge with and split from other companies, changing their names along the way. Some end up out of business, with their stock worthless, while the stock of other obscure companies may now represent ownership in the stock of thriving businesses. Old bonds can present similar puzzles.

A good first step is to see if you can find the company listed in your newspaper's stock listings, or at one of many sites such as Fool.com where you can look up companies and their stock quotes. Failing that, give your brokerage a jingle and see if it can tell you anything.

Next, contact either the secretary of state for the state in which the shares were issued or the "transfer agent" listed on the stock certificate. The transfer agent may not be in business anymore, but if it is, it should be able to help you value the security and determine how many shares you own (because of splits, mergers, etc.).

Here are some additional resources suggested (but not endorsed) by the Securities and Exchange Commission:

At www.scripophily.com, for a fee, you can have your stock or bond certificate researched. (Even if your company has gone belly up, the certificate may be worth something as a collectible. Scripophily may buy it from you, or you could try hawking it on eBay.)

Financial Stock Guide Service is an annually updated directory of actively traded stocks and obsolete securities. You can have Financial Information Inc. research your certificate by calling 1-800-367-3441.

R.M. Smythe & Co. publishes the Robert D. Fisher Manual of Valuable & Worthless Securities and will research old certificates for a fee. Visit www.smytheonline.com.

You may also get your certificates researched, for a fee, by the Pink Sheets L.L.C. Click over to them at www. pinksheets.com/pink/products/research_service.jsp.