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Auction: 323 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1551

New Jersey Oil Company (New York) 1853. 40 shares. No.259. Whale hunting on the high seas. A whale boat tossed into the sky by an angry leviathan can be seen in the distance. Sailor and map of New York Bay indicating the location of the New Jersey Oil Company "works." W. L. Ormsby, printer. Issued, uncancelled. Pinhole, otherwise Very Fine. In the 1850s, before the petroleum industry began, whale oil was widely in use for illuminating and lubricating purposes, but the whale oil had to be refined before it could be utilized. W. L. Ormsby, the printer and engraver of this certificate, also printed bank notes, and his work is widely collected.
From the John E. Herzog Collection.

Sold for
$1,700