MCL Reference Dept.--historic stock prices

Morris County Library > Reference > Historic stock prices

Historic stock prices

Most investment Web sites offer current stock prices; some of the bigger ones also offer historic price data. This is what you need to know about stock price databases on the Web:

Companies that are no longer being traded are not included.
Coverage for each stock varies.
Prices do not reflect stock splits and other capital events.
Cross-references to acquisitions/mergers/bankruptcies are not included.

BigCharts.com
Prices for single dates only. Enter the stock symbol and date at the top of the page. Very easy to use!

Yahoo! Financial
Create your own daily historic prices tables; requires stock symbol. Don't know the company's stock symbol? Look it up here.

Company Web sites
Historic prices, dividends, splits and payouts are often included on a company's web site in the "shareholder/investment relations" section. This is also the best place to find answers to tax liabilties arising from complicated securities transactions.

The standard format for a company's Web site is www.companyname.com or www.companyinitials.com . If this doesn't work run it through Google.

Penny stocks
Prices for these stocks are not reported in the newspapers. They are databased and published by Pink Sheets LLC (formerly National Quotation Bureau). Daily prices may be purchased from this company. Price ranges are available from:

Moody's OTC Unlisted Manuals (1986+)--annual range
National Quotation Bureau Semi-Annual Stock Summary (current only)--6 month range

Local securities
Some local stocks (bank stocks, for example) are only listed in the local newspapers. MCL owns the Daily Record (1900+) and the Star Ledger (1945).

Historic prices & defunct stocks
MCL owns several sources that provide historic prices for defunct companies. These sources are not available for free on the Internet. If you live in a different county/state ask your local librarian where you can access the following sources:

Capital Changes Reporter, Commerce Clearing House
Directory of Obsolete Securities, Financial Information Inc.
FP Survey Predecessor & Defunct, Canadian companies 1929-present
Moody's Manuals (1909+)...annual price ranges, not specific dates
New York Times (1851+)
Robert D. Fisher Manual of Valuable and Worthless Securities, 1904-present
S & P's Daily Stock Price Record 1960+
Wall Street Journal (MCL owns 1967+, paper began 1889)

Mining stocks
Robert D. Fisher Mining Manuals, 1940A & 1941A. These list defunct mines, by name and ore. Includes Canadian operations.

Want to sell your worthless stock certificates? Check Scripophily.com for current values (they also purchase certificates).

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