Stock certificates used to be the standard way of denoting ownership in a publicly held company, but that has changed dramatically during the past decade as the securities industry has shifted to electronic record-keeping to reduce costs.

 

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., which settles most U.S. stock trades, now has just 3.4 million stock certificates in its vaults, down from roughly 30 million in 1990.

 

Certificates are expected to become even more rare with the passage of a new law last year in Delaware, where more than half of the nation's publicly traded companies are incorporated because of the state's favorable business rules. Delaware has dropped a requirement forcing all companies to issue stock certificates, making the choice optional.

 

In addition to the paperless movement, mergers, bankruptcies and simple having the company change their stock certificate design can impact the supply and demand of a company's stock certificate.  The ornate designs, logo's, printed signatures, and even the issue date can impact the collectible value of a stock.  Enron's certificates with Kenneth Lay's (convicted in the scandal) printed signature is highly sought after.  "We have recently seen people buying Playboy stock for Hugh Hefner's printed signature" said Leslie Roman, Founder of GiveAshare.com.