Do you have old stock certificates and want to know how much they are worth? There are a few steps you can take to find out the value of your stock certificates that will likely take you most of an afternoon immersed in corporate exchange databases if you know where to look. You will need decent business knowledge, the name of the corporation and transfer agent for your shares (both are on the share certificate), and access to corporate exchange directories (check your local library). There are reasonably priced databases, although local libraries often have these resources readily available. Resources you are looking for; Directory of Obsolete Securities, Robert D. Fisher Valuable and Worthless Securities Handbook, survey of predecessor and defunct companies by The Financial Post or Capital Changes Reporter.

Any one of these books will suffice. In most cases, these books are kept in the reference section. To find the value of our certificates, simply follow the name of the corporation found on your stock certificate through one of these directories. Let’s do our example Kaufmann Department Stores Securities Corporation, let’s say we have 1000 shares. Kaufmann Department Stores Securities Corp. is found on page 1045 of the Obsolete Securities Directory. The book states that Kaufmann Department Stores Securities Corp. merged to form Kauffmann Department Stores, Inc. Each common share was exchanged for 0.3069438 preferred shares and 3.069438 common shares in Kauffman Department Store, which was later merged into May Department Stores in 1946. The book shows that on August 30, 2005 May Department Stores merged into Federated Department Stores, Inc. Now let’s follow the last entity, Federated Department Stores, Inc. on its own page.

Federated Department Stores, Inc. is found on page 674 of the Obsolete Securities Directory. The book states that the company was reorganized in 1994, which is irrelevant since our shares were acquired in exchange for the company in 2005, it follows with information that the company changed its name to Macy’s in 2007. Notice in addition to the name of the company there is in parentheses an abbreviation of the state, the abbreviation of the state refers to the state in which the company was incorporated and it will be valuable to keep it. In this case (DE) is next to the name, as such we can assemble that Delaware is the state of incorporation.

Now that we have established the current state of the stock, the current corporation is Macy’s. If your shares were lost or if you have other problems with the logistics of the certificate. The best way to investigate this would be to contact the company’s transfer agent. Our next step will look at how to do it. Let’s continue with Macy’s from the previous steps. The company was (as we gather it from the Obsolete Securities Directory) incorporated in Delaware (DE). From the state of Delaware we can receive the termination date of the company and the last transfer agent of the company, which will be essential later.

The site below provides links to all business entity searches in all states, including Delaware.

http://www.secstates.com/

If the company you are investigating is incorporated in Canada, the site below provides links to all provincial resources

http://goldsheetlinks.com/obsolete.htm

Most states have online search options, although some are still handled only by phone. This changes from state to state, although the state used in our example, Delaware, has a commercial online search that will allow us to retrieve all the records. The Delaware Business Entity Search retrieves for us corporate contact information, transfer agent contact information, and in some cases extensive company details. Contact information to help you retrieve information about your certificates will always be available here.

To review our research, we started at the local library where we were able to trace the various corporate changes the company had been involved in. Then, from the Delaware Secretary of State website, we found a Business Entity Search, where we were able to locate the Transfer Agent information.

The transfer agent will be able to confirm with you all the corporate changes, the ownership of the shares that your company has undergone and the result for you. In some cases, the shares are divided and acquired, so your initial ownership could currently be a different number of shares in a different company, in the event that the transfer agent can send you a correct certificate.

At this point, you have gathered all the corporate history of the stocks you own. If the transfer agent requires you to obtain proof of purchase of your shares or if any other legal matter arises, it is at this point that professional help can be an invaluable resource. There are some securities research firms that are there for the more complex corporate stories with restructurings and things like that that we haven’t covered. (Stock Certificate Expert) is if you choose the route of having a professional stock research service to guide you, the above Gold Sheet Links references also show many professional research firms.

We wish you the best of luck in establishing the current monetary value and corporate status of your share!