I only catalog railroad companies. Many people contact me about certificates from companies other than railroads. I would love to help, but I simply do not have the time to answer each letter.

The first thing I can suggest is to contact one or more dealers
listed on my dealers page.

What about value as securities? A large number of people wonder whether their certificates still have value as securities.

Determining whether certificates still have value as securities is a tough
problem. Overall, very, very few certificates retain value. About a quarter of all collectible certificates are uncancelled, so do not assume that a certificate has value just because it is uncancelled.

However, some certificates are still valid.

Several companies research obsolete securities on a fee basis.

If you live near large libraries, you may do much of the research yourself. You may find some excellent hints about the process at

http://store.yahoo.com/antiquestocks/cerval.html

Another suggestion is to look in dealers lists and online catalogs. If you
find your certificate routinely offered for sale, there is little chance
that your certificate retains any value as a security.

What if your certificate is denominated in GOLD? I regret to disappoint you, but no matter what anyone tells you, NO certificates retain gold values. There are deceptive scams out there that you need to be aware of. See

Gold bonds
Scams and hypes
Link to U.S. Treasury department discussion.