Products and Services
Framing
Condition
Prices
 Products and Services

We are an online gallery. Whether you are looking for a single issue or a personal or corporate collection for the office, we will be happy to arrange a private visit with a collection of bonds for you to view.

If you have a collection of bonds and you wish to have them valued or sold we would also be happy to help you with this.


Framing

In order to display the certificates to their full potential special framing techniques are necessary which are relatively complicated. For example, where there are coupons attached to certificates it is necessary to "double frame" the certificates so that the coupons can be viewed on the reverse (see example below). In addition, it is important to make sure that the correct materials are used to frame certificates in order to avoid the damaging effect of humidity and light, especially in Hong Kong. If you have any queries in relation to framing or conservation please contact the Gallery.



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Condition

The majority of the bond certificates in the collection are negotiable instruments in bearer form, which means that title to the debt represented by the bonds passed by delivery of the physical certificates in the same way as cash/bank notes change hands today. As a result, the bond certificates will show signs or wear and tear and evidence of folding, especially the larger format bonds (the 1907 Canton-Kowloon Railway Bond for example), which is normal. However, the more damaged the bond certificates are, the less valuable they tend to be. Almost all our bond certificates are in the highest condition grade for their type.

In order to describe the condition of bond certificates, each bond is graded using the grading system developed by collectors to take into account the wear and tear caused by the certificates being in bearer form. The grading system is very different from that used for other works of art on paper, such as that used for posters. For those new to scripophily, the system may seem slightly misleading; for example, a certificate that is described as "Fine" will still contain small tears and show signs of heavy wear.

The grading system is as follows:

UNC - Uncirculated
Extremely Fine - crisp and clear
Very Fine - small creases, some wear
Fine - very creased, small tears, heavy wear
Fair - Tears, parts missing, extremely creased and worn




Prices

Each category of bond is priced primarily according to how scarce it is, and secondarily, within each category of bond there will be a range of prices corresponding to the condition of the individual bonds. For guidance only, we have specified a series of price bands. The price band applicable to each category of bond can be found at the end of the bond's description.

The price bands are as follows:

Band A: HK$0-2,000
Band B: HK$2,000-4,000
Band C: HK$4,000-6,500
Band D: HK$6,500-8,000
Band E: HK$8,000+

These guide prices are for unframed bond certificates. If you wish to have your bond framed, we can arrange this for you at an added cost.