 |
 |
 |
|
This rare Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. Specimen bond certificate was from 1949. It was for $1000, paid 3% and was due in 1974.
The Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc was founded in 1857 in Waterloo, Ontario as a distiller of Canadian Whiskey and was once one of the largest Whiskey companies in the world. When American Prohibition hit in the 1920s, Seagrams flourished. They increased inventory and capacity so when Prohibition ended, their expansion into U.S. markets was lucrative. It's widely believed they sold to bootlegger through the duration of Prohibition.
In the 1980s, sitting on a pile of cash, they began to expand. They took on major state in oil company Conoco, Inc. and became the largest shareholder of DuPont. Their new wine cooler line began to explode with Bruce Willis as their spokesman. While their alcohol line was successful, Dupont made up the vast majority of their earnings. They sold their stake for $9 billion and used the proceeds to get into the movie business. They purchased MCA which owned Universal Pictures and Theme Parks and later PolyGram.
In the 2000s,they began divestiture of several of their major holding which ultimately led to their demise. Most of the brands and distilleries were sold to various companies however the Seagram name still lives on in many of their alcoholic beverages include Seagram Seven Crown.
Oversized certificate: 15.5" x 10"
Specimen stock certificates are certificates that were archived by printers and the company as perfect examples of the company’s stock issue. Specimen’s can be identified by their “specimen” stamp, stamped holes spelling “specimen”, or they are often issued with a serial number of a series of zeros. Often, they are also issued with no serial number at all. Specimens can also represent a design that was never issued. All of these attributes make the specimen stock certificate rarer than the issued version of the share. Many enthusiasts collect specimens as a whole new category of Scripophily.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
