I just found an old stock certificate for Windfall Oil and Gas in my Aunt Mabel's desk drawer, how do I find out if it's worth anything?
From FinancialPlanning
You'll need to do some detective work to find out what happened to the company. It may have gone out of business, changed names, or been acquired by another company.
First, if you work with a full-service broker, call them up and have them look it up for you - they subscribe to publications and services for researching this easily.
Next, the obvious one: see if it's still traded by looking up the company name on one of the many web sites that provide stock quotes, such as Yahoo! Finance.
If that doesn't work, try an internet search for the company name to see if you can figure out what happened to it. Unless it's a very old company you should be able to find something. You might dig up a press release announcing a merger, or a bankruptcy order. If the company has merged with another, or been acquired, your next step would be the investor relations department at the new company. Try the company web site or pick up the phone and call the headquarters until you get to the right person. They can tell you how to turn that old certificate into new shares, if that's still possible (Aunt Mabel may have already done that, but had misplaced the stock certificate at the time -- until you found it in the bottom of the drawer).
If an internet search doesn't turn up anything, look at the stock certificate to determine the state where the company incorporated. It should be mentioned on there somewhere. Each state has a branch that administers corporate filings, and there should be a paper trail for every corporation starting with its Articles of Incorporation and ending with a Dissolution or Merger filing. So figure out what branch handles these filings in the state of incorporation (for example in California it would be the Secretary of State). Call them up or visit their web site and see what types of searches you can request. Depending on the type of search you need done, there may be a fee for this.
Still nothing? Try one of the paid services listed on the SEC site, frame it and put it up on the wall, or list it on eBay and see if you can sell it to a collector.
