An exceptional historical piece: Registered Share Certificate for 500 fully paid-up Francs, issued by the Compagnie Ardennaise des Porteurs de la Meuse, a public limited company with a capital of Three Million Francs divided into 6,000 shares of 500 francs. The articles of association were filed on 24 September 1881 with Maître Devillez, notary in Charleville (Ardennes). Dated 11 November 1881 in Charleville.

Issued to the Countess, wife of Count Hyacinthe de Thévenard, née Marie-Anne Henriette Cabon de Kerandron, residing in Lorient, the certificate represents a share in the Meuse barge-transport venture. The "Porteurs" referred to the river barges that carried goods and ore on the Meuse, a river essential to trade in the Ardennes and border regions.

The certificate is adorned with a magnificent full-length central vignette depicting an ore barge on the Meuse, within an ornate frame. The careful typography and the paper's patina give this document, over 140 years old, a solemn and historic character.

A piece highly sought after for themed collections of river transport, barge shipping, the industrial Ardennes, or 19th-century French scripophily. A document steeped in history, in fair condition despite visible holes