FAQ

There are many theories about how "bull" and "bear" became market terms, but the most common explanation comes from the nature of the animals. The bull tosses things up with his horns, while the bear tears fruit and honey down from trees with his claws. The bull, therefore, represents an upward moving market, and the bear represents a downward moving market.

In 1653, a wall was constructed on the northern part of the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam to protect the colony from an attack from New England. The wall was made of 16 foot logs sunk four feet into the ground and sharpened at the top. The English did attack in 1664, and the wall was torn down in 1699. The street where the wall once stood was subsequently named "Wall Street."

From time to time the Museum purchases new objects for the permanent collection from its small collection acquisition budget. The overwhelming majority of the items in the Museum's collection were donated to help the Museum pursue its educational mission. Owners of old certificates wishing to sell them should consult a commercial appraiser to assess their value.

First, you will need to find out whether the security is still active or is obsolete. To do this, you can begin by either searching for the company name and/or trading symbol on a financial website, such as cnnfn.com, or asking your broker to find out for you. If you would like to do the legwork yourself, you can call the state securities regulator's office in the state of the company's incorporation (which you'll find printed on the certificate) to find out the history of the company, including stock splits, mergers, acquisitions, etc. Or you can use the following resources -- found in most libraries -- to determine this information:

Financial Information, Inc.
30 Montgomery Street
P.O. Box 473
Jersey City, NJ 07303

Moody's Industrial Manual
Moody's OTC Industrial Manual
Moody's Investor Service, Inc.
99 Church Street
New York, NY 10007

National Stock Summary
National Quotation Bureau, Inc.
An Infobase Holdings Company
150 Commerce Road
Cedar Grove, NJ 07009-1208

Security Owner's Stock Guide
Standard & Poor's Corp.
25 Broadway
New York, NY 10004

If the stock is still paying dividends, you can call the company or your broker to determine the value of your stock. However, even if the company is no longer in business and the stock is worthless, the certificate itself might have value as a collectible. Please e-mail our curator to request a list of antique securities dealers, or search online for dealers specializing in scripophily (collecting antique financial documents) to learn the value of your certificate.

Among the media saved by museums, archives and libraries, antique paper is fairly durable. The high rag content of old paper and good quality of ink used by our forbearers helps explain why we are able to read John Hancock's signature on the Declaration of Independence over two centuries later. Enemies to long-term conservation are fire, exposure to extreme light, great fluctuation in temperature and humidity, bugs, and contact with corrosive materials. Tape and glue should not be used in the vicinity of antique paper; if present they should be left in place or removed by a trained conservator. Institutions and collectors take care to store documents in acid-free sleeves, files, and boxes, available from library supply companies. Curators handle antique paper documents with gloves, to avoid contact between the object and the contaminating substances found on our skin. Professional museum resources found on the links page can lead you to further information on proper document care and conservation.

Unfortunately, no. These notes, bearing the number 8894, were produced as souvenirs and sold in gift shops throughout the country.

The original DJIA consisted of a dozen stocks: American Cotton Oil, American Sugar, American Tobacco, Chicago Gas, Distilling & Cattle Feeding, General Electric, Laclede Gas, National Lead, North American, Tennessee Coal & Iron, U.S. Leather (preferred), and U.S. Rubber. Only one, General Electric, is still in the average today.

The NYSE has 1,366 seats. As of June 2005, each seat cost $2.45 million.

The jackets identify which firms the traders work for, so it is easier to tell them apart on the exchange floor.

The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) began trading on February 8, 1971, and it became the largest stock market in the U.S. by volume in 1999. It is unique because it is not limited to one location. Trading is executed through Nasdaq’s sophisticated computer and telecommunication network that transmits real-time quote and trade data to more than 1.3 million users in 83 countries. As the world’s first electronic stock market, it is made up of the Nasdaq National Market and the Nasdaq SmallCap Market.

Nasdaq allows multiple market participants to trade through its electronic communication networks structure, thus increasing competition. The Small Order Execution System (SOES) was introduced in 1984 as another Nasdaq feature to ensure that during turbulent market conditions small market orders are not forgotten but automatically processed.