FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media Relations,
Scripophily.com
Tel: 703-579-4209; e-mail: media@scripophily.com
Scripophily.com Donates Stock
Certificates from
Modern Scandals and Dot Coms to
Smithsonian's
WASHINGTON, DC (October 28, 2002) -
Scripophily.com ®, the Internet’s largest buyer and
seller of collectible stock and bond certificates, has donated a collection of
modern stock certificates from frauds, scandals, and dot com-related busts to
the Museum of American Financial History, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian
Institution located in New York City.
This collection includes stock certificates from companies such as
Enron, Worldcom, Aldelphia,
ImClone, Martha Stewart, Rite Aid, Tyco
International, DrKoop, Egghead, and XO
Communications. There is also a
stock certificate issued on
The
certificates have been added to the Museum’s permanent collection and some,
including the Enron certificate, have been incorporated into a display on
market regulation and corporate responsibility in the Museum’s gallery at 28
Broadway in
“Until a
year ago, our most popular permanent exhibit had been on the Crash of 1929. Now, people are more interested in the
recent bankruptcies and scandals because they have
affected their own finances,” said Meg Ventrudo,
the Museum’s Assistant Director for Exhibits and Education. “We are grateful to Scripophily.com for
their generous donation.”
According to
Bob Kerstein, CEO and Founder of Scripophily.com, “Modern day certificates
from frauds and scandals are a snapshot of the stock market bubble that will
be remembered as the best of plans and the worst of plans for many years to
come. We are very happy the Museum
will preserve these historic certificates for future generations.”
Scripophily
[scrip-off-filly] is the hobby’s name for collecting non-redeemable stock and
bond certificates. Certificates
are bought for their artistic presence and historical significance. Due to electronic trading, a very small
percentage of modern stock purchases are made generating a paper certificate
due to the high costs and inefficiencies.
Furthermore, the New York Stock Exchange has recently adopted rules
whereby member companies are no longer required to issue stock certificates.
Prior to
2001, interest in Scripophily was primarily focused on Railroads, Mining
Companies, Utilities, and Manufacturing.
The tide has now shifted to modern companies that people can connect
with….good and bad.
BACKGROUND
Scripophily.com LLC,
The Gift of History, is a leading provider of
collectible stock and bond certificates and other old paper items. The company also offers an old stock
research service at OldCompanyResearch.com. Scripophily.com was founded by Bob (Bob.com)
Kerstein. Bob has more than 25
years of senior management experience in the Communications, Internet,
Professional Sports and Entertainment Industries.
Scripophily.com
® has experienced over 9 Million page views on its
websites during the past 12 months. There are over
7,000 different selections including
categories such as Frauds, Scandals, Bankruptcies, Dot
Coms, as well as the more traditional areas such as Railroads,
Telephone, Entertainment, Sports, Manufacturing, Mining, Utilities, Oil and
Gas, Retail, Tobacco, Food, Banks, Insurance and others. For more information on Scripophily.com®, visit
www.scripophily.com or www.bob.com
or call 1-703-579-4209.
The Museum of American Financial
History, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian
Institution, is the nation's only independent public museum dedicated to the
history of growth, opportunity, and entrepreneurship in our democratic free
market economy. The Museum serves members, visitors to its gallery and
website, and program participants nationwide with exhibits, events,
publications and scholarly resources. Educational programming promotes
financial literacy and empowerment, drawing upon the Museum's unsurpassed
document collection. For more
information, visit www.financialhistory.org or call 212-908-4695,
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