1870 – A $1,000 share stock certificate issued by The Railroad Car Trust of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvanis: 1870. Unbound. This certificate, measuring approximate 10.75” x 7”, was issued by The Railroad Car Trust of Philadelphia to Thomas M. Drysdale on March 2nd, 1870. It features an illustration of an industrial scene showing factories, a steamship, a locomotive, a freight car, and a passenger car. It bears a 25-cent Washington revenue stamp (Scott #R44).
. Very good. Item #010629Railroad car trusts provided rolling stock to cash-strapped railroads that could not afford to purchase it. In an arrangement akin to a rent-to-buy agreement. The trusts retained titles until the cars were paid for.
The Railroad Car Trust of Philadelphia, which was created for the benefit of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, was the first trust of this type. It was created on July 1, 1868. It raised $750,000 with which it purchased eight locomotives, 50 flat cars, and 2,250 coal cars. It proved to be the model for all railroad car trusts that followed which became more common during the severe depression of the mid-1870s.
(For more information, see Frajola’s “Philatelic Scripophily: Taking a Bite from the Bulls and The Bears Revenue-Stamped Stock Certificates of the Civil War Tax Era, 1862–1872,” available online.)
These certificates occasionally turn up on eBay or in philatelic or scripophily auctions.
.Price: $250.00