Face it: Most financial gifts are as appealing as discount coupons for gym socks. But not all financial gifts have to be boring. In fact, with a little effort, you can find some gifts that your loved ones will appreciate — and that may appreciate in value, too.

.....Or consider antique stock certificates. The scandal-minded can get an Enron stock certificate for $29.95 at scripophily.com, which is $29.95 more than it's worth on the stock exchange. Nevertheless, it's a conversation piece, particularly since it has the crooked "E" logo. (For ironic Enron memorabilia, though, it's hard to beat the coffee mugs inscribed with the Enron "Ask Why," marketing slogan. They sometimes turn up on eBay, the online auctioneer.)

Some stock certificates are valuable because of the signatures on them. For example, a company called Bayouboys Limited issued a stock certificate signed by Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood and subject of the recent movie Capote. You can buy the certificate for $595 on scripophily.com.

If that's too rich for your blood, look for stocks related to a person's interests, says Bob Kerstein, president of scripophily.net. For example, he sells a package of certificates from the four railroads in Monopoly — Cleveland Short Line, Pennsylvania, Reading and, Baltimore and Ohio railroads — for $39.95.

Of course, there's no guarantee that any of these will make money. For that, you'll need a Savings Bond. But combining the two could be good for fun and profit — and what's wrong with that?
 

Village Voice November 15th, 2005 - Elements of Style Taking the Fifth H&M, A&F, and Fendi by Lynn Yaeger

Apparently just one party isn't sufficient to mark the 80th anniversary of the house of Fendi......

Far more authentically vintage is a showcase displaying old skis, lacrosse shoes, and other well-worn sporting equipment. Is this an homage to the old Abercrombie & Fitch [www.scripophily.net], a much loved blue-blood sporting goods store on Madison Avenue in the 40s that went out of business decades ago? That place, with its stock of tweed hacking coats, khaki safari jackets, and an entire floor of guns never felt the need to rely on a half-naked boy toy in a doorway....
 

AERO SCRIPOPHILIACS - WHO WOULD BUY AVIATION STOCK THAT'S NOT WORTH THE PAPER IT'S PRINTED ON? BY ROGER A. MOLA October/November 2005 Air & Space Magazine

...In his office in suburban Virginia, Bob Kerstein presents his original 1936 A-1 for Bell Aircraft, with its pristine specimens and signatures of President Lawrence Bell and all officers. Kerstein's Web site, scripophily.com, currently lists 10,000 items. "Here's another cool one! " he says, flipping through a milk crate to fmd documents from Bonanza Airlines, a 1960s-era commuter line connecting Los Angeles with Las Vegas that Kerstein flew on regularly as a youngster. Another of Kerstein's treasures is a framed certificate issued in 1915 to Orville Wright, a stake of 440 shares signed by Wright's sister, Katharine, as secretary and by brother Lorin Wright as vice president. "It's a copy, or else it would sell for at least $30,000." He pauses, then lowers his voice. "At least, I think it ' s a copy Lacking the signature of a celebrity or obvious historical value, a certificate can sometimes attract an investor by the sheer quirkiness of the concept, product, or scheme it represents. Kerstein even relishes the artifacts of a scam. His Gray Goose Airways prospectus, written by inventor and pitclunan Jonathan E. Caldwell, brags: "Ours is one of the greatest opportunities yet offered." The Gray Goose was to take off with flapping wings and cruise with gas mileage of 100 miles per gallon. Today's poor investment may be tomorrow's collectible. But with more and more stocks being registered and transferred electronically, paper certificates are on their way out altogether. And the disappearance will only increase the value of paper now in circulation.

New Delaware law is another step towards elimination of Stock Certificates - Scripophily.com reports that effective August 1, 2005, Delaware Companies are no longer required to issue Stock Certificates.  The new rules eliminates the requirement that a corporation with uncertificated shares issue a certificate for such shares upon the request of the holder of such shares.  Notwithstanding this amendment, a corporation with uncertificated shares still is permitted to issue a certificate upon the request of a holder, but the corporation is not obligated to do so.

This is consistent with the process known as dematerialization which is the elimination of paper certificates.  According to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, paper stock certificates cost companies, investors, banks and brokers hundreds of millions of dollars each year to print, register, ship, examine, file and keep safe, even though they're involved in only about one-tenth of one percent of all trades daily on U.S. markets. One study, released by the Securities Industry Association (SIA) last year, puts the annual cost of handling paper stock certificates at $250 million or more.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation also noted that electronic ownership of securities are not only more economical, but much safer. Well over a million paper securities are reported lost, stolen or counterfeit each year, according to the Securities Information Center, which helps investors replace missing stock certificates. On 9/11, some $16 billion worth of certificates disappeared in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, and it took many months of record-checking and millions of dollars to replace them. Electronic shares, in contrast, were not affected at all.

The two states and one territory still require companies to issue paper certificates are Arizona, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico.

The Star-Ledger - New Jersey Wednesday, July 20, 2005- Ask the Biz Brain
My father-in-law recently died. While going through his possessions, I found some stock certificates that he bought over 30 years ago. How can I find out if these stocks have any current value?

Bewildered in Bloomingdale
The folks the Securities and Exchange Commission hear this kind of question so often, they've dedicated an entire section on their Web site to this very topic.

So, you are in luck.
As it turns out, stock or bond certificates may still be valuable even if they no longer trade under the name printed on the certificate or the company has merged with another company or simply changed its name.

The SEC has provided a list resources to help investors just like yourself find out if old stock or bond certificates have value.
You can find these resources on the Internet, at public libraries, stock exchanges or stockbrokers' offices.

1) Scripophily.com -- The company is named after the hobby of collecting old stock and bond certificates. For a $39.95 fee per company, Scripophily.com researches whether your stock or bond certificate has any value. Its telephone number is (703) 579-4209.

2.) Financial Stock Guide Service -- This comprehensive guide is a good starting point for all research on old stock certificates. This listing, updated annually, contains a directory of actively traded stocks and obsolete securities. The Custom Research department of Financial Information be reached at (800) 367-3441.

3.) Robert D. Fisher Manual of Valuable & Worthless Securities. Published by R.M. Smythe & Co., this is a multi-volume resource that is particularly helpful guide if you are trying to trace the value of old stock certificates.

and remember, even if you learn a certificate has no value, you may find the certificate itself has value as a collectable. Good luck!