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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Tonight I thought I'd post a few of my specimens; one of my favorite sub-collections. Specimens are considerably scarcer than most issued stock certificates, often only a dozen were printed. In the last decade or so interest (and prices) have been growing. I used to find these in the '80s and '90s for $5 or less; today you're lucky to find them at $15, usually more. They were produced for a variety of reasons, but most often surviving examples are those that were kept in the files of the issuing company or the bank note printing company. Most of my specimens were printed by the American Bank Note Co. The other two major bank note printers were Security BNC and Columbian BNC. Security-Columbian combined in 1957 to form what eventually became United States Bank Note Corp. I'll start out posting some from the major printers, and follow up later with specimens by the smaller bank note firms. American Bank Note:      Columbian Bank Note   Security Bank Note   Security-Columbian Bank Note   Edited by GregAlex 01/27/2018 01:33 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
Wonderful group and great flat photos.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
987 Posts |
Thank you for posting. Those are quite beautiful. I know little about anything in this sub forum but have been enjoying the content since joining here.
So were the specimens, in the case of being kept by the issuer, just like blank examples, or templates of the sort? If that is way off, excuse me, but I am brand new to any non- coin subject.
Thanks again for sharing these!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Hello Show -- welcome to the new sub-forum! I think specimens are pretty nice myself. Sometimes these are the only remaining examples of a particular stock or bond variety. And some varieties were never issued, just designed in advance, and then the client decided they didn't like the design or the color or the bond type wasn't needed after all. American Bank Note company (and I assume other banknote printers) kept extensive archives with specimens of pretty much everything they produced. Here are specimens of an award certificate, a medicine bottle label, and a certification for an insurance agent.    Specimens were sometimes given out as sales samples, to show other clients what their stock or bond might look like. But ABNC always kept at least one specimen on file, which was stamped "Last Specimen--Reserve". Here's an example.  As for specimens retained by the business client, I suspect this was a legal requirement. If not, then most businesses at least wanted to have a sample for their files, in case they decided to have more printed, but chose to take the printing business somewhere else. (ABNC did great work, but they were the most expensive.) Here's a specimen that was probably retained for legal reasons. On the back it's signed by the company secretary -- whose engraved facsimilie signature appears on the front.  
Edited by GregAlex 01/27/2018 5:07 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4562 Posts |
Great looking specimens Greg 
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Moderator

United States
120727 Posts |
Very nice! 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Here's a more modern specimen from U.S. Banknote Corp. from 1976. I think USBNC was trying to create name recognition for itself with the intent of phasing out the Security-Columbian Banknote brand.  
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Okay, some specimens of the smaller banknote companies. Most of these little fish eventually got swallowed by the larger firms like ABNCo and S-CBNCo. Hamilton Bank Note Co. - New York  Republic Bank Note Co. - Pittsburgh  E.A. Wright Bank Note Co. - Philadelphia   Northern Bank Note Co. - Chicago  Central Banknote Co. - Chicago  Kihn Brothers Bank Note Co. - New York 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4562 Posts |
Nice adds to the thread Greg. I like how the last one gives you a listing of colors options available. 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Edited by GregAlex 01/29/2018 5:27 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4562 Posts |
Interesting I have a stock certificate printed by De La Rue Bank Note Co - E.J. Korvette, Inc. 1964 Federated Bank Note Co - Builders Investment Group 1975.
I did not realize it was the same company. Great information Greg!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
I've got those, too! :-) Much of my information comes out of "The Engraver's Line" and "The International Engraver's Line" both by Gene Hessler. These books are must-haves for collectors of stocks, bonds, and currency. Okay, here's my oldest specimen (circa 1880) and the only one marked with a hand-written "Sample". It's from Excelsior Bank Note Company. Though it may not look like much, it is probably my rarest piece, too. In 30+ years of collecting, I've only seen one specimen bond from Excelsior and this is it. The company was only in existence for about 10 years; mostly likely it was founded with the hope of getting in on the printing of National Bank Notes (before the BEP brought everything in-house). But they didn't manage to secure any government contracts and quietly dried up. I happen to have a vignette proof of "The Gleaner" which is how I spotted this specimen when I saw it up for bid.   
Edited by GregAlex 01/30/2018 5:54 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4562 Posts |
That is a great specimen to be a centerpiece of a collection. And the proof vignette is beautiful. From what you have shown in this forum, you have an outstanding collection 
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Moderator

United States
120727 Posts |
Beautiful stuff. 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Quote: "From what you have shown in this forum, you have an outstanding collection." Thanks, Scott, I appreciate the compliment. I've been at it for about 40 years now. For a long time I toiled in silence, until I came across a paper money forum about 10 years ago. As I started posting images and learning from other members I realized the hobby is a lot more fun when you share. Now I'm on about five forums and I try to post interesting stuff in hopes of inspiring other collectors to get more active and share what they find.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
Here's a neat one I forgot to post. Very small specimen bond from an obscure little Mexican railroad: 
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