Dutch history student finds world's oldest share - 10 Sept 2010

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Fri Sep 10, 10:35 am ET

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch history student has
unearthed the world's oldest share, dating back to 1606 and issued by
the sea trading firm Dutch East India Company.

Locked away in forgotten city archives, the share was made out to Pieter
Harmensz, a male resident of the Dutch city Enkhuizen who served as an
assistant to the city's mayors.

After his death in 1638, Harmensz left the share to his widow and their
daughter Ada and the document eventually ended up in Enkhuizen archives,
kept in the northwestern city Hoorn.

As the Netherlands' largest trading company in the 17th and 18
centuries, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was also the world's first
company to issue stock.

The 'Enkhuizen share' dates back to September 9, 1606, when more...