The origins of scripophily

Where does the name "scripophily" come from?

Numismatics, already rich with many specialties (coins, tokens, medals, paper money...), gained a new field in the early 1980s: scripophily, a term that has been recognized by the Petit Larousse dictionary since 1985.

Scripophily, also spelled scriptophily, refers to the collection of old securities — shares and bonds — that are no longer listed on the stock exchange, with the exception of a few foreign loans (Chinese, Argentine, Belgian, etc.). Either the certificates have been dematerialized, or the issuing companies have gone bankrupt.

In France, the dematerialization of securities took place in 1984.

Scripophily is interested in all forms of old financial securities that were once listed on a financial market. These documents are engraved and numbered.

Among the six million certificates recorded, some of them, richly illustrated, offer genuine testimony to the activity of the issuing company, in every field: the arts, the sciences, major public works, cinema, and more.

Scripophily thus allows enthusiasts to trace, through these documents, the little-known richness of one aspect of our economic, industrial and financial historical heritage.