oldcompany.com

OldCompany.com is the online home of the Old Company Stock Research Service, a paid research service that investigates old stock and bond certificates to determine whether they still carry value. It is aimed at people who hold certificates from companies that no longer trade on an exchange or cannot be found through a normal internet search. The site presents itself as an accredited Better Business Bureau member with an A+ rating and states that it charges no hidden fees.

What the service actually does

When a stock or bond certificate is old, the company name printed on it may no longer match anything active. The research service answers the questions that follow from that:

• Did the company go out of business?
• Is it operating under a different name?
• Was it acquired by another company?
• How do you contact the current company?
• Does the certificate have collector value?

The site notes that old stock and bond certificates may still be valuable even if the stock no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate. That is the core problem the service exists to solve: tracing a defunct or renamed company forward to whatever entity, if any, now carries its obligations.

Who runs it and how long it has operated

The service is managed by Bob Kerstein, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). He has been a CPA since 1978 and is a member of the California Society of CPAs, the Virginia Society of CPAs, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Before founding the service, he worked as a Chief Financial Officer for both public and non-public companies.

The site states the research has been performed continuously since 1880 — 142 years at the time of the page — and has been on the internet since 1996. It also states that the service is the successor to the archives, publishing rights, and copyrights on obsolete research reference material originally published by the Marvyn Scudders Manuals, the Robert D. Fisher Manuals, R.M. Smythe, and the Herzog & Co., Inc. obsolete research services.

Credibility signals listed on the site

These are the site's own claims. If you are deciding whether to use the service, treat them as the starting point for your own check — for example, verifying the Better Business Bureau listing directly — rather than as independent confirmation.

When this service is relevant to you

It fits a specific situation: you have acquired old stock or bond certificates from anywhere in the world, the company is no longer traded on an exchange, and you cannot locate it on the internet. If the company is still active and easy to find, you likely do not need a research service — you can contact the company or its transfer agent directly. If your certificate is from a company that is clearly still trading under the same name, start there instead.

OldCompany.com's Old Company Stock Research Service is built to answer four core questions about an old stock or bond certificate: whether the company went out of business, whether it still operates under a different name, whether it was acquired by another company, and whether the certificate itself has collector value. It also helps you figure out how to contact the current company if one still exists. The service is aimed at people who have acquired old stock or bond certificates from anywhere in the world and can no longer find the company on an exchange or through a normal internet search.

The Four Questions the Service Is Designed to Answer

According to the site, the research service exists specifically to resolve these points:

• Did the company go out of business? If the issuer no longer exists, the certificate's path to any payout usually ends there — but it may still have collector value.
• Is the company in business under a different name? Companies often rebrand, and a certificate printed under an old name may still trace to a live entity.
• Was the company acquired by another company? In an acquisition, the surviving company may inherit the obligation tied to the old certificate.
• How do I get in touch with the current company? If a successor exists, the service aims to identify who to contact.
• Does the stock certificate have collector value? Even when there's no financial claim left, the certificate itself may be worth something to collectors.

These are the questions the site says its research is set up to answer, so you can treat them as the scope of what you're asking for when you order.

Why an Old Certificate Can Still Matter

The site makes a point that's easy to overlook: an old stock or bond certificate may still be valuable even if the stock no longer trades under the name printed on it. That's because the printed name is just a snapshot in time. The company behind it may have:

• dissolved entirely,
• continued under a new name,
• or been absorbed into another company that now carries the obligation.

Because those outcomes lead to very different answers, the research service is essentially a tracing exercise — following the corporate lineage from the name on the certificate to whatever exists today.

Who Runs the Service

The research service is operated by Bob Kerstein, CPA, CGMA, who founded and manages it. He has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1978 and is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Before founding the service, he worked as a Chief Financial Officer and in other roles at both public and non-public companies.

The site also states that the service is the successor to the archives, publishing rights, and copyrights on obsolete research reference material originally published by the Marvyn Scudders Manuals, the Robert D. Fisher Manuals, R.M. Smythe, and the Herzog & Co., Inc. obsolete research services. It says this work has been performed continuously since 1880, and that the company has been on the internet since 1996.

What to Expect Before You Order

A few practical points from the site are worth knowing up front:

• Scope is worldwide. The service says it can help if you have old stock or bond certificates from anywhere in the world.
• It's aimed at hard-to-find companies. The clearest use case is a certificate where the company is no longer traded on an exchange or can't be located through a normal internet search.
• No hidden fees. The site states there are no hidden fees, though it doesn't publish specific pricing on the page.
• Accreditation. The company says it is an Accredited Member of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating.

If your certificate's company is still actively traded and easy to find, you likely don't need this service. If it isn't — and you want to know whether there's a live company, a successor, a contact, or collector value behind the certificate — these are the questions this research service is designed to answer.

OldCompany.com's research service is designed for people who hold old stock or bond certificates and cannot determine whether the issuing company still exists, was acquired, or has any remaining value. Before ordering, gather the exact company name printed on the certificate, the certificate type (stock or bond), and any dates or transfer agent details you can find. The service is most useful when the company no longer trades under its original name or cannot be located through a simple internet search. The site states there are no hidden fees, so confirm the current price and turnaround directly on the order page before submitting.

What the Service Covers

According to the site, OldCompany.com researches company stock and bond certificates from anywhere in the world. Its stated purpose is to answer questions such as:

• Did the company go out of business?
• Is the company operating under a different name?
• Was the company acquired by another company?
• How can I contact the current company?
• Does the certificate have collector value?

The service is positioned for certificates where the company is no longer traded on an exchange or cannot be found online. If your certificate is from a well-known, currently traded company, you may be able to contact the transfer agent directly instead.

What to Prepare Before Ordering

The more identifying information you provide, the more precise the research can be. Before placing an order, collect:

If you only have a partial name or an unclear scan, the research may still proceed, but results could be less definitive.

How to Decide If It Fits Your Situation

Use these conditions to judge whether the service matches your needs:

• You cannot find the company online. If a search returns nothing or only unrelated results, this is the core use case.
• The company name on the certificate differs from any current entity. Mergers and name changes are common reasons a certificate appears worthless when it may not be.
• You want to know about collector value. The service also addresses whether a certificate has value to collectors, separate from any financial claim.
• You have certificates from outside the U.S. The site states it handles certificates from anywhere in the world.

If your certificate is from a company that still trades under the same name, contact the company's investor relations or transfer agent first. That route is usually faster and may be free.

Ordering and Verification

The site provides an online order entry for the research service. Before you pay:

1. Open the order page and confirm the current fee and what is included.
2. Check that the service description matches your certificate type and location.
3. Note the stated turnaround time, if provided.
4. Keep a copy of your order confirmation and any reference number.

After receiving results, verify any successor company or transfer agent information independently before acting on it. If the research identifies a current company, contact that company's transfer agent directly to confirm whether any claim remains.

Background and Credibility Signals

The site states that the service has operated since 1880 and has been online since 1996. It identifies the founder as Bob Kerstein, a CPA since 1978, and says the company is an Accredited Member of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. It also states it is the successor to archives and publishing rights from Marvyn Scudders Manuals, Robert D. Fisher Manuals, R.M. Smythe, and Herzog & Co. These claims are worth noting when comparing alternatives, but you should still confirm current pricing and scope on the order page, since the input material does not list specific fees or payment methods.

Common Pitfalls

• Assuming a certificate is worthless because the company is gone. The site's core message is that value may persist through successors or collector markets.
• Ordering without enough identifying detail. Missing dates or incorporation state can slow or limit the research.
• Confusing collector value with financial value. These are separate questions; make clear which one you care about.
• Skipping the free checks first. A quick search of your state's secretary of state database or the SEC's EDGAR system may resolve simple cases before you pay for research.

An old stock or bond certificate can still have value even if the company no longer trades under the name printed on it, so the certificate is not automatically worthless. To find out, you need to answer four questions: did the company go out of business, is it operating under a different name, was it acquired by another company, and can you reach the current company? Separately, the certificate may have collector value as a piece of scripophily, which is a different question from whether it has financial value.

The two kinds of value to check

Old certificates are judged on two independent tracks. A certificate can fail one and still succeed on the other.

Because these are separate, a certificate from a company that vanished decades ago can still be worth something to collectors even when it has no financial claim behind it.

Questions that decide whether there is a financial claim

The research process comes down to tracing what happened to the issuing company:

• Did the company go out of business? If it was dissolved and its assets wound up, the certificate generally has no ongoing financial claim.
• Is the company in business under a different name? A name change does not erase the company; the successor may still be reachable.
• Was the company acquired by another company? In an acquisition, the surviving or acquiring company may inherit the obligations tied to old certificates.
• How do I get in touch with the current company? Finding the current entity and its contact point is what turns a research question into an actual claim you can pursue.

If you can identify a current company that succeeded the issuer, the next step is contacting that company directly, often through its transfer agent or investor relations function, rather than the name printed on the certificate.

What OldCompany.com does

OldCompany.com is the site of the Old Company Stock Research Service, which researches old stock and bond certificates. According to the site, the service has been researching company stock and bond certificates since 1880 and has been on the Internet since 1996. It is run by Bob Kerstein, a CPA, and the site states the service is the successor to the archives, publishing rights, and copyrights on obsolete research reference material originally published by the Marvyn Scudders Manuals, the Robert D. Fisher Manuals, R.M. Smythe, and the Herzog & Co. obsolete research services.

The site describes the service as useful when you have acquired old stock or bond certificates from anywhere in the world and the company is no longer traded on an exchange or cannot be located on the internet. It also states the company is an Accredited Member of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating and advertises "NO HIDDEN FEES."

How to work through a certificate yourself

1. Read the certificate carefully. Note the exact company name as printed, the state or country of incorporation, the date, and any transfer agent or registrar names.
2. Search the current name and known former names. Look for merger, acquisition, name-change, or bankruptcy records.
3. Check whether a successor exists. If the company was acquired, identify the acquiring company and whether it still operates.
4. Contact the current company. Ask specifically about the old certificate and which department or transfer agent handles legacy shareholder records.
5. Assess collector value separately. If there is no financial claim, the certificate may still be of interest to scripophily collectors based on its own characteristics.

Common sticking points

• "It's not on an exchange, so it's worthless." Not correct on its own. A company can be private, renamed, or absorbed and still exist.
• Confusing the two value tracks. A certificate with no financial claim can still have collector value, and a certificate with a possible claim may have little collector interest.
• Stopping at the printed name. The name on the certificate is the starting point, not the answer; the trail usually runs through mergers and name changes.
• Assuming a service is free. The site advertises no hidden fees but does not state that research is free, so confirm cost and scope before ordering.

If you want the company-history research done for you, OldCompany.com offers an online order path for its research service. If you mainly want to know whether the paper itself is collectible, that is a separate appraisal question from the financial one.

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:

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.