Released on: January 30, 2008, 2:33 am

Press Release Author: Mary Herzog

Industry: Internet & Online

Press Release Summary: February 6-7, R.M Smythe & Co. sale of 1310 stock and bond
lots at their Manhattan office, will include a visually stunning certificate from
\"Buffalo Bill\'s Wild West\" show.

Press Release Body: Manhattan, New York - January 29, 2008 - The R.M. Smythe &
Company winter auction on February 6-7, 2008 will offer 1310 lots of stock and bond
certificates at their Manhattan office. One of the more interesting lots being
offered is a truly spectacular example of a certificate for \"Buffalo Bill\'s Wild
West\" show. This certificate is beautifully illustrated with a portrait of Buffalo
Bill featured at the top center of the certificate flanked by an Indian on horseback
and Buffalo Bill on horseback. Other illustrations on the certificate include
Indians hunting bison, a log cabin, a woodsman chopping a tree and cattle. In 1883
Buffalo Bill and Nate Sanders teamed up to form Buffalo Bill\'s Wild West Show. The
show was inaugurated in 1883 in Omaha and entertained audiences across the country
and the world until 1913, when Buffalo Bill sold the production. This certificate is
signed by Nate Salbury as treasurer.

Other noteworthy scripophily lots being offered at the Smythe\'s winter sale include:

Lot # 1099 - Edison Phonograph Works (NJ) 1888 [Estimate $2500 - $3500]. #24. 80
600/1000 shs. Brown. Small eagle, bottom. Issued to and twice signed by Thomas
Edison. Signed by him as president, and signed a second time by him on the back. The
signature as president is lightly cancelled, the other signature is bold and
uncancelled. EF.
While Thomas Edison was not considered a profound scientific genius, he had a
tremendous talent for applying scientific principles to practical applications.
In 1876, while experimenting with a needle attached to a telephone receiver,
Edison discovered a method that reproduced sounds on a wax cylinder, and the
recording industry was born. Edison\'s invention relied on mechanical
amplification, but by the 1920s his competitors were manufacturing electrically
amplified, higher fidelity phonographs. Edison was hard of hearing and could not
appreciate the difference in sound quality. He refused to allow his sons to
waste time and money to develop an improved electrically amplified phonograph, a
decision that would have dire consequences for the Edison Phonograph Works.

Lot # 1198 - Boston, Massachusetts Feb. 22, 1787 [Estimate $2000 - $4000]. One
Hundred Pounds. Mostly typeset receipt on laid paper. Issued to Elias Hasket Derby,
Esquire. Signed \"Edwin Payne & Son \". One -inch round glue mounting remnant on back
only, else VF+.
After the Revolution, there was an economic depression throughout New England.
Small property holders who could not pay their taxes faced imprisonment. Town
meetings talked of tax relief, and the issuance of paper money, but these issues
were opposed by the legislators. Daniel Shay emerged as the leader of a
localized rebellion which tried to close the courts in order to prevent action
against debtors. Neither the Federal government, nor the state, would supply
money for the militia to put the rebellion down, but some $20,000 was borrowed
from \"private sources\", probably through a subscription campaign. On January 25,
1787, Shay and his supporters attacked a Confederation arsenal in Springfield,
but they were repulsed by General Lincoln. Shay escaped to Vermont, and was
eventually pardoned. This note is a receipt given to Elias Hasket Derby for
paying in the one hundred pounds subscribed by him to the \"...Loan for procuring
Provisions and Necessaries for the Militia ordered to Worcester...\" A similar
item, dated three months later than this one, brought over $4,000 in our
September 2003 auction.

Lot # 1220 - Potomac Company 1786 [Estimate $7500 - $12500] . #43. 25.3.3 Pounds.
Receipt. Handwritten document. Receipt signed 11/17/1786 by Richardson Stuart for
payment of 25.3.3 Pounds by Potomack Navigation. Three of the directors have signed
on the reverse: George Washington, John Fitzgerald and George Gilpin. EF.*
Stuart was the manager of the construction operations of the firm. In September
1784, Washington joined with others, then chiefly Virginians, to form the
Potomac Company, whose purpose was to remove the impediments of the navigation
of the river past the falls and so clear the way to the development of the lands
beyond, all the way to the Ohio. Washington, in common with others, held
substantial lands in the Trans-Alleghany region, and these men combined to
induce the legislatures of Maryland and Virginia to charter a canal company for
that purpose. The Potomac Company was only the second such corporation in
America, the Susquehanna Canal Company having been founded in the preceding
year. The Potomac Company started with a capital of 250 shares with a par value
of only $100. The shares were to be evenly divided between the citizens of
Maryland and Virginia, with Washington getting fifty shares that were given to
him gratis by the Commonwealth of Virginia. By May 1784, 403 shares had been
sold and Washington was elected President with John Fitzgerald and George Gilpin
among the four other directors. Initially, the directors wanted to build the
canal and clear the river of obstructions only with free white labor. But
despite liberal cash salaries and distributions of liquor, the work went slowly.
As a result, Washington arranged for the purchase of 60 slaves and the hiring of
100 freedmen, who could be better controlled. By 1786, a number of snags and
other obstacles had been removed, and work was in progress at Shenandoah Falls,
Harpers Ferry, Seneca Falls and Great Falls. In each of these places actual
canals were being built, but the wooden locks rotted and had to be replaced with
stone. From 1785 to 1789 and again from 1797 to 1799, before and after his
presidency, Washington was active in the management of this firm. Progress was
slow, the amount of capital needed proving to be much larger than expected,
reaching $500,000 in 1815. Robert Morris and John Nicholson bought large numbers
of shares as part of their plans to develop their properties in the District of
Columbia. Since the canal paid only one dividend for $5.50 in 1802, despite
having opened 338 miles to navigation, ownership of the canal was not
profitable. The company languished until the chartering of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal Company, which took over the Potomac Company\'s works.

Lot # 1302 - Standard Oil [Estimate $7500 - $12500] (OH) 1877. #122. 25 shs. Black.
Capitol Building. Liberty with flag and sword (\"The Standard Bearer\"). The original
Standard Oil founded by John D. Rockefeller and signed by him three times, once as
president, again on the transfer stub, and again on the reverse. Also signed by
Henry Morrison Flagler as secretary. Lightly cancelled in red pen through the
vignette and the officers\' signatures, hardly distracting. An extremely important
piece of American financial history representing the early days of one of America\'s
most significant industries.
When it was first incorporated in 1870, shares in the original Standard Oil were
very tightly held. There were only five shareholders at its inception, and ten
years later there were only forty-one. Standard Oil was the world\'s largest oil
refiner, controlling 90% of the U.S. Oil business at that time.
John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) was the dominant figure in the oil industry
until his retirement in 1911. He started his business career as a bookkeeper,
and by age 19 was a partner in a produce business. He began operating a small
refinery with his partners, and quickly became alerted to the growing investment
possibilities in what was then a fairly new industry. In 1870, he organized the
Standard Oil Company of Ohio and proceeded to achieve control over 90% of the
oil refineries in the country. Rockefeller had little interest in discovering
oil; he left that to wildcatters and other speculators. He concentrated on the
transportation, distribution and sale of petroleum products, building a fortune
estimated at over a billion dollars.
Henry Morrison Flagler (1830-1913) with J.D. Rockefeller organized the Florida
East Coast Railway (1886) and built great hotel resorts in St. Augustine and
Miami (1892-1896).

Lot # 1396 - Accessory Transit (of Nicaragua) (NY) 1856 [Estimate $15000 - $25000].
#12. $5000. Bearer Bond. Auxilliary ocean going steamship. Signed twice by Cornelius
Vanderbilt as president, and on the reverse. Not cancelled. John W. Amerman. NY.
VF.*
Cornelius \"The Commodore\" Vanderbilt (1794-1877) was an American financier and
founder of his family\'s fortune. At the age of 16 he bought a boat and ferried
passangers and goods between Staten Island and Manhatten. He later made a
fortune in the steamship business, earning himself the nickname \"Commodore.\" In
1862 he sold his ships and turned to financing railroads, where he amassed a
greater fortune estimated at $100,000,000 making him one of the richest men of
his time. Accessory Transit was organized by Vanderbilt to move passangers and
freight to the West Coast through Nicaragua. Vanderbilt hired C.K. Garrison as
his agent through San Fransisco, and Charles Morgan as his agent in New York.
Shortly after this bond was issued came the \"war of the three commodores,\" between
Charles Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt and George Law. Accessory Transit competed
openly with the Law-Aspinwall mail subsidy line. Morgan and Garrison, on the other
hand, manipulated the Transit\'s stock in such a way that they profited while
Vanderbilt lost heavily. Vanderbilt is said to have stormed at them, \"I will not sue
you because the law takes too long. I will ruin you.\"
Vanderbilt did manage to unseat Morgan and Hoyt from the board of directors, but
another headache immediately developed in the form of William Walker, who invaded
Nicaragua with the support of Morgan and his Associate! William Walker made himself
President of Nicaragua. In order to get the money needed to keep a 1200 man army
together, he took sides in the in-fighting within Accessory Transit Company.
Foolishly backing those who had double crossed Commodore Vanderbilt, Walker
confiscated the company assets and handed them over to the insurgent faction.
Vanderbilt retaliated with a blockade, cutting Walker off from reinforcements while
inciting the neighboring states. Vanderbilt sent mercenaries to Costa Rica, where
they obtained a small force of native troops to attack Walker. As a result Walker
suffered defeat and had to flee in May 1857. Vanderbilt was then back in business
with Nicaragua.
The first Accessory Transit Certificate signed by Cornelius Vanderbilt that we have
sold in over a decade. A museum quality certificate that may not be obtainable again
in a lifetime of collecting.

\"We are seeing some very strong pre-sale interest in many of the featured lots being
offered in our winter sale.\" said Mary Herzog, Vice President of R. M. Smythe &
Co.\"If a collector is interested in a particular lot, I would encourage them to use
our Web site to place a bid now, because we are expecting heavy bidding activity
during the sale.\"

Lots will be available for viewing at Smythe's offices at 2 Rector Street, in New
York City, by appointment only. To arrange for an appointment call R. M.Smythe & Co.
at 800-622-1880. For updates on this auction check Smythe's website at
smytheonline.com. This auction will be conducted with eBay Live/LiveAuctioneers. A
complete catalog of all 1310 lots including photos and estimates can be viewed
online at: http://static.smytheonline.com/ . Select \"Current Auctions\" in the left
column.

Accredited media interested in scheduling an interview to discuss this release or
past & upcoming auctions are encouraged to contact Mary Herzog at 212-943-1880. High
resolution photos are also available upon request.

About R. M. Smythe & Co.
R. M. Smythe and Co., established in 1880, buys, sells, and auctions coins, paper
money, stocks and bonds and autographs at their corporate headquarters at 2 Rector
Street in the heart of the Financial District in New York City. To order a catalog,
to contact any of the firm's specialists, or to make general inquiries, call
212-943-1880 or 800-622-1880, or visit the firm's website at:
http://www.smytheonline.com.


Web Site: http://www.smytheonline.com

Contact Details: 2 Rector Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10006
Email: webmaster@smytheonline.com
Phone: 212-943-1880