United States Shipbuilding Company Securities Syndicate - New York 1902

Beautifully engraved $50,000 certificate from the United States Shipbuilding Company Securities Syndicate issued in 1902. This historic document was printed by American Bank Note Company and has an ornate border around it. This item is hand signed by the Syndicate Managers, including the President of the North American Company and is over 102 years old. The certificate was issued to Walter S. Wilson and signed by him on the back.

In 1899, the directors of the Bethlehem Iron Co. formed the Bethlehem Steel Company, a holding company, which immediately leased the properties of the Bethlehem Iron Company. In 1901, Charles Schwab, president of United States Steel Corporation, purchased control of the Bethlehem Steel Company. The Bethlehem Iron Company ceased to exist and Bethlehem Steel took its place. Schwab merged the Bethlehem Steel Company with the newly formed (1902) United States Shipbuilding Company. The shipbuilding company failed and after many lawsuits and a congressional investigation, Schwab organized the Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding in New Jersey in 1904, to succeed the United States Shipbuilding Company.