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.
  Quick scanning hints for certificates  

 

If you'd like to learn much more about scanning certificates, start here. If you want to scan and contribute images for this project, here are some quick suggestions:

  Scan and save at 200 dpi. This preserves adequate details for most certificates. The basic suggestion is to scan at a resolution that allows you to read the printer's name.
  Save as "medium high quality" JPGs (JPEGs). The JPG format is a highly compatible format. However, JPG is considered a "lossy" format in that it purposely discards repetitive information during the save process. Your image deterioration is usually acceptable when you scan at at resolutions close to your final needs.
  Scan against a WHITE background. Black backgrounds make your certificates look dirty. Colored backgrounds impart peculiar color casts which can be impossible to remove without altering the color of your certificates.
  Do not worry about getting your certificate perfectly square on your scanner. Those problems are easy to correct with image manipulation software (such as Photoshop.)
 

If your document is too large, scan in pieces. Most certificates are too large for most entry-level and mid-level scanners, anyway. So, scan in several pieces with at least 2" of overlap . When scanning in pieces, always keep the top of your certificate facing the same direction. (See Scanning Large Certificates for more information.)
  Avoid reducing images during scanning. (Why?)
 

IF your scanner allows,

  turn off automatic color adjustment
  turn off automatic exposure
  turn off automatic sharpening

Scanning software usually makes poor assumptions when scanning engraved certificates. Your eye is better. Again, see Scanning for substantially more information about scanning certificates.
 

Make sure you show all the edges of the paper.
  Do not scan coupons.
  Do not scan the backs of certificates unless there is something there that is absolutely critical.

Images from electronic cameras

Electronic cameras are terrific at taking snapshots. They are not terrific at photographing certificates. I almost never use camera images because of distortion, lack of detail and odd color casts.

Back to Scanning home page

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(Last updated July 18, 2011)
 

 
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.