Stock Certificate

An old stock or bond certificate may still be valuable even if it no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate. The company may have merged with another company or simply changed its name.

A stock certificate is a physical piece of paper that represents a shareholder's ownership in a company. Stock certificates include information such as the number of shares owned, the date of purchase, an identification number, usually a corporate seal, and signatures.

Contact your stockbroker to search the stock's worth via its CUSIP number if the steps given earlier yield no results. This number is printed on the back of the stock certificate. Use a fee-based service to search your stock's history if the earlier steps come up empty. Fees can range from $40 to $85 or more.

Date: Including month and year. The certificate's identification number: At the top of the document (generally on the left side), write the number of the certificate. Share's identification number: This line is also at the top (generally on the right side). Put the shares number and the prices of the transaction.

Brokers may charge up to $500 for issuing a paper certificate, though this fee can be avoided by either holding share in street name (in the United States street name securities are securities held electronically in the account of a stockbroker, similar to a bank account) or registering shares directly with the stock

Locate the Company. The first step is making sure the company is still in business. Find the CUSIP Number. The secretary of state's office in the state of incorporation must be listed on the stock certificate. Contact the Transfer Agent. Complete the Transfer Form. Place an Order. Keep Old Certificates.

The simplest way to get a stock certificate today is to ask your broker. If you bought your shares through a brokerage firm, it will have an account with your name and the number of shares you purchased.

An old stock or bond certificate may still be valuable even if it no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate. The company may have merged with another company or simply changed its name.