Collectible Stocks and Bonds from North American Railroads             by Terry Cox

A guidebook and catalog of prices (I neither buy nor sell stocks and bonds)
Search hundreds of pages on this web site for information about collecting railroad stocks and bonds.
 

Click to search the special Coxrail database. Information for 23,700+ certificates from over 7,400 North American railroad companies.
 

Collectible Stocks and Bonds from North American Railroads: 
guide with prices, 2nd edition

by Terry Cox

  

Welcome to COXRAIL.com. This site is maintained by Terry Cox, author of Collectible Stocks and Bonds from North American Railroads, second edition.

BNR Press published the first edition of the catalog 1995. Since then, collectors from North America and Europe have helped add over 7,500 new varieties of certificates!!

The second edition is available from major scripophily dealers, worldwide. See particulars.

The retail price of the book is US$35.99. You can usually find the book at a discount. PLEASE contact your favorite dealer.

I want to hear from you. Please understand that I catalog stocks and bonds related to railroading only. I catalog the value of certificates AFTER they sell.

 
  I do NOT give appraisals.
 
  I do NOT authenticate autographs
 
  I do NOT estimate values of items in active online auctions.
 

 

NEWS!
  Schedule for the third edition.
  German Glossary added. This page lists the most common terms you will find in German language catalogs and price lists to describe collectible railroad certificates.
  ephemera blog logoRead an interview I did with Marty Weil for his huge and timely Ephemera blog.
  Before contributing new names of railroad companies, you might check out this page on deceptive company names. These are names that closely resemble railroads but are either model railroads, bus companies, shipping companies, or others kinds of non-railroad companies.
  Questions continually arise about identifying specimens and proofs. Whereas proof coins are specially manufactured coins, proof certificates are the exact opposite. Proofs are merely test impressions of vignettes and plates prior to regular certificate production. Specimen certificates, on the other hand, are certificates identical in every way to regularly-issued certificates. I have a page that explains More than you EVER wanted to know about Specimens and Proofs.
  Million dollar bills. Some of these fantasy notes were printed by American Bank Note Company, so people continually contact me to find out how to redeem them. (They can't!) Regardless of the fact that these notes have no relationship to stocks and bonds, people still ask me to explain more. For them, I've created a special page on million dollar bills.
 

I receive this question more often than any other:
Do individual COUPONS or sheets of COUPONS have value?

In my opinion, NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

We are seeing more and more people trying to sell individual bond coupons in internet auctions. Let me be blunt. I hate this trend! We are witnessing people purposely destroying perfectly good collectibles for what purpose? TO TRY TO GET MONEY FROM UNSUSPECTING BEGINNERS!!!! I consider selling coupons a serious problem with the potential of hurting the hobby. I get many letters from beginners who think coupons are bonds or some sort of currency. They think they are worth lots of money! Please read my Letter About Coupons.

 
Imprinted Revenues - I am fond of imprinted revenue stamps that appear on financial documents from the 1860s and 1870s. Please see my identification guide to imprinted revenues compiled with the help of revenue specialist Eric Jackson. At his suggestion, I have added large images to show what the revenues look like "on document."

 

Variations of this famous image of the "The Express Train" by Nathaniel Currier appear on over 60 stocks and bonds. This image was probably engraved in the early 1850s.

 
Currier & Ives. I do not collect Currier and Ives' colored lithographs. However, I have collected images of all the the rail-related Currier & Ives lithographs I could find and compiled them in one place. See Currier & Ives collection. Please write if you know of more.
  The Professional Scripophily Trade Association organized in January, 2004. Its efforts are to promote the hobby through clear standards of customer service, ethical behavior, and education. The association is planning series of educational articles, links to dealer web sites, and schedules of upcoming events. Ultimately, the goal is to demystify the hobby and allow collectors to buy with greater confidence. Look for the Association logo.
  For those interested in events from the era of your certificates, I have compiled a TIMELINE. This feature is intended to help you understand the events that affected the development of the railroad industry.
  CATALOG NUMBERS. Discover how I create catalog numbers.
 

SELLING? Don't know where to start? Should you sell through online auctions? Or through dealers?

1) Contact dealers listed on my dealers page.
2) Read about pricing
3) Read hints to sellers

There are currently over 400 pages in this site and I add new pages all the time. My goal is to give collectors as much information as I possibly can. In as many different areas as you want.

 In return, I need your help.

Visit my MYSTERIES page. It shows vignettes, questionable companies, and any other things that I need help researching.

 

Before you send any copies, check How to Send Images. You can save yourself a lot of effort.

 

      
       
 

 
Papermental logo Help support this free site! Please visit my eBay store called Papermental by Terry Cox. My inventory includes (or will include) railroad ephemera, newspapers, magazines, engravings, and all sorts of paper collectibles. The current inventory is about 1,700 items building toward an estimated 3,000.

Please contact me if you have certificates not yet listed. (See How You Can Help) Try to limit images to 250 Kb each.

Please contact the many fine dealers on my dealers page to buy certificates.