Smythe Realizes Strong Prices for Obsoletes Smythe & Co., which has brought to market some of the finest and most rare collectible currency and obsolete stocks and bonds, realized strong demand during its fall auction held on Thursday and Frida
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - On October 12th, the afternoon began with Session A consisting of antique stocks & bonds. As always, Smythe offered a broad assortment of certificates in various categories, such as automotive, aviation, brewing, mining and oil, railroad, and government bonds and certificates. Highlights included a 1902 American Witch Hazel stock with a whimsical vignette of a witch on her broom that was just in time for Halloween and realized $575 (all prices include a 15% buyer’s premium) against a $300-600 estimate; a 1919 Edison Phonograph Works certificate signed by the inventor, estimated at $1,000-2,000 realized $713; a Radio Telephone Co. certificate signed by inventor Lee de Forest was estimated at $800-1200 and realized $805; and 25 shares in the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1892 realized $287 against a $300-500 estimate. Two Standard Oil Trust certificates, from 1884 and 1885, each signed by John D. Rockefeller and estimated at $1,750-2,500, sold for $2,070 and $1,955, respectively; the earlier stock was issued to and also signed by Rockefeller’s brother, William. Among the railroad certificates was a very fine Alaska Central with an underprint map of the state across the entire sheet that was estimated at $750-1,500 and sold for $920; and a grouping of gold bonds for the New York, Boston & Montreal Railway realized $920. Highlights from government bonds and related documents included the last of three recently discovered Dominguez Grants which sold for $2,300 inline with its estimate of $1,500-3,000; a 1918 Second Liberty Loan 4-1/4% gold bond sold for $977 against a $1,000 estimate; and a newly discovered 2-1/2% U.S. postal savings bond exceeded its estimate of $1,500-3,000 and sold for $4,025. One extraordinary colonial note, a 1779 South Carolina $90 note, with a spectacular vignette of Hercules wrestling a lion sold for $977 against an estimate of $750-1,250. Two colonial sheets, one from Delaware in 1776, the other from Rhode Island in 1780, were estimated at $2,500-3,500 and $1,200-1,800, and sold for $3,565 and $1,495 respectively. Confederate currency auctioned featured a scarce Manouvrier $5 note which realized $1,035, one of the finest-grade $5 Jefferson Davis/Minerva T-33 known sold within its estimate at $690, and a fine-very fine T-64 $500 note with mismatched serial numbers sold midway between its estimate at $862. Among the obsolete currency offered in this first session was a Missouri Farmer’s Bank $10 note blue-tinted proof that was estimated at $2,000-4,000 and sold for $2,760.
Among the most active part of Session A was a western gentleman’s collection of U.S. postal notes, one of the top collections in the world of these scarce notes, of which there are only about 1,500 still in existence. This was the largest group ever offered in a single auction. Smythe auctioned two of only three Alaska postal notes known to exist, which were each estimated at $7,500-15,000, and each brought $9,775. An extra fine Dakota Territory 1¢ note, one of only five known from the Territory and the only one at that high grade, exceeded its estimate of $4,000 and
