4 ms·

They were a gift from a relative who liked to hold physical certificates. They do give the holder a feeling that a small chunk of the company is truly theirs.

by ISL 6y ago

They were a gift from a relative who liked to hold physical certificates. They do give the holder a feeling that a small chunk of the company is truly theirs. I didn't redeem the (very low-value) shares because I didn't want a tiny slice of Oracle or a few dollars; I'd rather have an actual chunk of Sun. Looks like it became very difficult to get physical certificates beginning in the late 2000s (see right sidebar): https://www.giveashare.com/stockcertificates.shtml https://www.giveashare.com/stockcertificates.shtml

SilasX 6y ago
Aren't those ornamental at this point, though? Like I thought they use some other record-keeper as the source of truth on who owns the stock, rather than whether you hold a certain piece of paper (bearer shares).
- bananapear 6y ago
  Certificates are still perfectly valid, but most stock is “dematerialised” and held at a central securities depository, like DTC - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depository_Trust_Company https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depository_Trust_Company This allows transfer by “book entry” rather than mailing the physical documents - much like an electronic bank transfer.
- Scoundreller 6y ago
  Stock certificates usually have your name on them, and then there's a process to sign them over to someone. The corporation has a register of its shareholders, and in this case it's you. At least in Canada, once you get a physical share, you can then buy shares directly from many companies by writing them a cheque without any commissions. Less important as trades here now average around $10, but that's fairly recent for many. I still have a share of a Canadian bank that spiked in value by the time I got my certificate sorted out. They still mail me a cheque every 3 months for <$1 in dividends.
JumpCrisscross 6y ago
> it became very difficult to get physical certificates beginning in the late 2000s For publicly traded shares, yes. In private equity, we still get to play “who tore the stock certificate.”
anm89 6y ago
I think it was more of a novelty thing for when you gifted someone else stock but yes, they did.

by ISL 6y ago

SilasX 6y ago

Aren't those ornamental at this point, though? Like I thought they use some other record-keeper as the source of truth on who owns the stock, rather than whether you hold a certain piece of paper (bearer shares).

bananapear 6y ago
Certificates are still perfectly valid, but most stock is “dematerialised” and held at a central securities depository, like DTC - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depository_Trust_Company https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depository_Trust_Company This allows transfer by “book entry” rather than mailing the physical documents - much like an electronic bank transfer.
Scoundreller 6y ago
Stock certificates usually have your name on them, and then there's a process to sign them over to someone. The corporation has a register of its shareholders, and in this case it's you. At least in Canada, once you get a physical share, you can then buy shares directly from many companies by writing them a cheque without any commissions. Less important as trades here now average around $10, but that's fairly recent for many. I still have a share of a Canadian bank that spiked in value by the time I got my certificate sorted out. They still mail me a cheque every 3 months for <$1 in dividends.

JumpCrisscross 6y ago

> it became very difficult to get physical certificates beginning in the late 2000s For publicly traded shares, yes. In private equity, we still get to play “who tore the stock certificate.”

anm89 6y ago

I think it was more of a novelty thing for when you gifted someone else stock but yes, they did.