How to Find Old Stocks & Shares

Trying to locate old stocks and shares is a difficult task and trying to ascertain their value once found can be even harder. There are numerous services, most of which charge a fee, to do the research for you. This article will help you to find these resources and provide a brief summary as well as contact information for each.

Go to www.Scripohily.com or call (888) 786-2576. For a fee, this company will research your old stock or bond certificates. They also might be interested in buying your certificates if found to be collectible. They currently have more than 4,500 images of stock from different companies.

Call the Financial Stock Guide Service at (800) 367-3441 and ask for the custom research department. They will be able to tell you, for a fee, whether or not your shares are active or obsolete. In business since 1927, they also publish a directory that updates annually.

Go to www.spinksmythe.com or call (800) 622-1880. R. M. Smythe & Co., Inc., publishes a guide you can buy to help trace the value of very old stocks and shares. They will also do custom appraisals for a fee.

Call Mergent Company at (800) 342-5647 to request, for a fee, a subscription to Moody's Industrial Manual and Moody's OTC Industrial Manual. Both of these manuals provide historic business information on mergers and acquisitions, subsidiaries and company history.

Go to www.pinksheets.com to view a database of over the counter (OTC) stocks. For a fee, they will prepare a research report and mail or fax it to you, usually on the same day. You can also call (800) LIST-OTC and ask for Library Research for more information on this service.