Warrants

In the railroad collecting hobby, "warrants" refer to two distinctly different collectibles.

The most common types of warrants were checks issued by railroad companies. They may or may not be labeled "warrants." There are tens of thousands of such warrants available for check collectors from thousands of railroad companies. If you are interested in collecting checks, I recommend the American Society of Check Collectors. Visit the society's web site.

Warrants that resemble checks are NOT covered in this guidebook.

The text on most coupon bonds refers to attached coupons as "warrants." Coupons are NOT covered in this guidebook.

Conversely, I DO catalog warrants that resemble ordinary stock certificates. They are often burdened with voluminous text explaining their exact purposes. In general, they represented dividend payments or interest payments. Many were redeemable only by purchasing more company stocks or bonds.