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I have some krupps from germany. Some kind of stock not sure what they are........acquired them from my grandmother......thanks
Interesting. In the late 1960s, Friedrich Krupp (a privately held company) went public, and now is part of ThyssenKrupp. I think the a-word stands for AG, which I don't know what it means but is a common suffix for publicly traded German companies, such as one I do hold, Siemens AG.
Your certificates might entitle you to shares of ThyssenKrupp. How many shares you got?
NOT SURE HOW MANY SHARES I HAVE SINCE THEY ARE IN WRITTEN IN GERMAN.........PHYSICALLY I HAVE AT LEAST 10 PAPERS.......THERE IS A DATE OF 1908....TOP SAYS 4%-M2000 AND AGAIN IN ANOTHER SPOT 4% IGE ANLEIHE VON 50000000 Mark...AGAIN NOT SURE WHAT THIS MEANS
NOT SURE HOW MANY SHARES I HAVE SINCE THEY ARE IN WRITTEN IN GERMAN.........PHYSICALLY I HAVE AT LEAST 10 PAPERS.......THERE IS A DATE OF 1908....TOP SAYS 4%-M2000 AND AGAIN IN ANOTHER SPOT 4% IGE ANLEIHE VON 50000000 Mark...AGAIN NOT SURE WHAT THIS MEANS
Those sound like bonds. F. Krupp issued no stock certificates before it went public.
Wondering what the difference is.........etc........thanks
Stock certificates represent shares of ownership in a company. Nowadays people usually don't get the actual certificates when they buy stocks.
Bonds represent debt obligations, on which the borrower (bond issuer) must pay interest of a specified amount at specified intervals, and repay the principal at maturity. Holding a bond bears much resemblance to holding a bank CD, except that your bank CD's principal is probably guaranteed whereas a corporate bond is not (as GM's bondholders know all too well).
If these are dated 1908, they can't be stock certificates. They might be bonds. I've only read one book about Friedrich Krupp (the company name, not the man) and I don't specifically recall if they sold bonds, but it's quite possible. They were thoroughly in bed with the Imperial government (like any key defense contractor in any country), and they were also a company with very progressive employee benefits policies. It was a proud thing to be einKruppianer, as employees were called.
In the ideal case, you'd contact a German attorney with a background in securities law. You probably don't have one of those on retainer. If you want to really know whether you have the right to claim anything from these securities, that's what it'll take to interpret and disentangle the situation. Thankfully, Krupp was the household name in its day, Germany's premier gunsmith, cannonsmith and steel works. A German business attorney who didn't know the basic history of Krupp would be like an American business attorney who couldn't briefly summarize the history of IBM.
The best way you could handle this would be through a trustworthy German friend currently living in Germany, and you'd have to send her/him money to cover attorney's fees. You'd copy the documents, send the copies, have your friend take them to the attorney and get your answer as to whether there was anything you could do. You could then decide how to proceed. That would be cheaper than suddenly deciding to take your vacation in Germany and then spending half of it hoping the attorney answers your question before you have to go home.
And thanks for stopping posting in ALL CAPS. Everyone hates it. You'll get more answers if you post normally.
I generally post in caps since my vision is not good.........not for any other reason
Understandable, but trust me: the grief you'll get is not worth the gain. Plus, what you really want to read are the responses, and none of those will be in all caps. Your computer should have readability features that will help you better see what you're doing as you compose. Not getting on you, please realize, just trying to help.
Like your other correspondents said, these are old bonds issued by Krupp AG the steelmaker. Whether or not they still have any value I of course wouldn't know, but depending on the maturity who knows (this presumes that after 2 World Wars they were not canceled)
Use your internet to find the ThyssenKrupp (or Krupp) website, find investor relations, and see if they have a inquiry email address. otherwise scan the web for firms which have data bases on old bonds.
Good luck.. Why do you have them so long anyway?
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Krupp
