Who Runs OldCompany.com and How Is It Related to Scripophily.com?

Updated

OldCompany.com is run by Bob Kerstein, CPA, CGMA, who is its founder and CEO. The site's Old Company Stock Research Service operates as part of Scripophily.com, and it is the successor to the archives, publishing rights, and copyrights of several older research reference services. That lineage is why the site describes its research as continuous since 1880, even though it has been online since 1996.

Who runs OldCompany.com

The page identifies Bob Kerstein as the founder and CEO of Scripophily.com's Old Company Stock Certificate Research Services. His stated credentials include:

  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1978
  • Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)
  • Member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
  • Prior experience as a Chief Financial Officer at both public and non-public companies
  • More than 44 years in communications and entertainment, including cellular, satellite communications, internet development, cable TV, motion pictures, and professional sports

The site also notes he has written an article published in the Journal of Accountancy from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

How OldCompany.com relates to Scripophily.com

The relationship is one of ownership and branding rather than two separate businesses:

Entity Role
Scripophily.com The parent company; Old Company Research is described as one of its services
OldCompany.com The site presenting the Old Company Stock Research Service
Bob Kerstein Founder and CEO of Scripophily.com's Old Company Stock Certificate Research Services

In other words, if you order research through OldCompany.com, you are ordering from a service that sits under the Scripophily.com umbrella and is managed by the same founder.

Where the research archives come from

OldCompany.com states it is the successor to the archives, publishing rights, and copyrights on obsolete research reference material originally published by:

  • Marvyn Scudders Manuals
  • Robert D. Fisher Manuals
  • R.M. Smythe
  • Herzog & Co., Inc.

These obsolete research services, according to the site, "have been performed continuously since 1880." This is the basis for the "142 years of continuous service" claim, and it explains why the service positions itself as a long-standing source rather than a new lookup tool.

What this means if you are deciding whether to use it

  • The service is tied to a named, credentialed operator. Bob Kerstein's CPA and CGMA credentials and his stated professional memberships are the main signals the site offers about who is behind the research.
  • It is not a standalone startup. The research service is presented as part of Scripophily.com, which matters if you are trying to trace accountability or understand the brand's history.
  • The archive lineage is a claim about continuity, not a guarantee about your certificate. The site says it inherited older reference material; it does not say every company ever issued will be found in those archives.
  • Accreditation is stated on the page. OldCompany.com says it is an Accredited Member of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating, and that it has no hidden fees.

If your goal is simply to know who is behind the service before you order, the answer is Bob Kerstein, operating through Scripophily.com, with research archives inherited from four named predecessor services and a stated history dating to 1880.