Featured in this lot is a collection of vintage and unissued stock certificates from ten (10) different Montana Companies: New Copper-Silver Company, Three-Mile Mining and Milling Co., The Alder Gulch Consolidated Mining Company, The Neihart Tunnel and Mining Company, The Brown-Eyed Queen Mining Company, Redrock, Salmon River and Thunder Mountain Stage Company, A check from Monida and Yellowstone Stage Co., Yellowstone National Park Transportation Company, Penn-Yan Mining Company, and three blank checks from the Missouri & Montana Gold Mining Co. Helena, Mont. The Penn Yan Mining Company is notable for having produced approximately $50.000,000 in gold and silver before operations ceased in the early 1890, certificate has a Vignette that contains the reverse and obverse of US Coins, dating from 1873 to 1880. A stock certificate is a physical piece of paper that represents a shareholder's ownership in a company. Stock certificates include information such as the number of shares owned, the date of purchase, an identification number, usually a corporate seal, and signatures. The certificates are most often a bit bigger than a normal piece of paper, and most of them have intricate designs to discourage fraudulent replication and counterfeiting, which was a problem for much of the pre-internet history of investing in corporate stocks. Before electronic record-keeping was available, stock certificates were a unique piece of work in their own right. It was fairly common to receive a stock certificate adorned with fancy designs and ornate engravings, which were like artwork in and of themselves. Certificates are in good condition, slight foxing, and some have rough edges. The largest measures 8 3/4" L x 15 3/4" W.