This rare Quaker State Oil Refining Corp Specimen Stock Certificate was printed in 1976 and features a fantastic vignette of a Quaker with their first oil well on the left and the modern oil refining plant on the right.

The name "Quaker State" got its roots from the nickname for Pennsylvania which was founded by Quaker William Penn. The Quaker State Oil Company goes back to the early 1900s. They became the Quaker State Oil Refining Company in 1924 when Easter Refining Company purchased the Quaker State brand. Through growth and acquisitions the company grew to become a well known brand throughout the U.S. They were purchased in 1998 by Pennzoil to become Pennzoil-Quaker State Company. The companies were late purchased by Shell but both brands are still produced today.

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.