By Howard Shakespeare
Copyright ã International
Bond & Share Society 2001
One of the regions of France best known to the
scripophilist, is the Côte d’Azur, ‘the Blue
Coast’, the French Riviera. Although justly renowned for its beauty, sunshine, wealth
and elegance, it has few natural resources and little industry. Most regions of
France offer shares covering a wide range of business – mining, metalworking,
agriculture, financial, transport, etc – but in the case of the Côte d’Azur,
most of these are completely unknown or poorly represented. On the other hand,
there is an unusually large number of leisure shares !
First of all, where is it ? The term
relates to the Mediterranean coast of France, west from the Italian frontier,
certainly as far as St. Tropez, and for many people, to Toulon and a little
beyond. Today it comprises the coastal regions of the French départements of
Alpes-Maritimes and Var, and the independent Principality of Monaco. It has a
long history. Nikaea (Nice), Monoöikos (Monaco) and Antipolis (Antibes) were
Greek colonies in 400 BC. The region later became Roman but, being of little
economic value, was a backwater
after the Romans departed. It was only in the 1830s that the modern Côte d’Azur
started to appear, when outsiders, firstly the British, came to appreciate its
beauty and winter climate.The Nice area only became part of France in 1860, and
access was very slow and difficult until the railway arrived later in that
decade.
Money from elsewhere in France and Europe
flowed into the area from the late 19th century, to provide
facilities for the fast-increasing flow of wealthy visitors. The towns
expanded, especially Nice and Cannes, but many smaller towns too, and the
Principality of Monaco began to develop from a tiny fishing community among
barren rocks to the centre of wealth and glamour that it is today. Companies
were formed, locally and in Paris, London and elsewhere, to own and operate the
hotels and casinos, and also the amenities needed by modern towns – electricity,
gas, water, tramways, banks, shops, newspapers – together with just a little
industry, especially construction materials – cement, tiles etc – and,
surprisingly, seaplane construction at Cannes.
Before tourism, the only industry of importance
was the olive oil trade. The mostly poor soils of the Riviera are ideal for the
olive tree, if for little else, and the olive was long the principal source of
wealth for the local people. Several companies were formed to promote the
trade, of which the earliest known to scripophilists is the Société Générale des Huiles d’Olives de
Nice et d’Italie, whose fine certificates date from 1881.
The oldest certificate known from the
départments is dated 1853, the Mines de
Lignite de St Zacharie (Var), but this as at the far western tip of the
Var, and well inland – not Côte d’Azur at all. The earliest piece from the true
Côte dates from 1877 – a bond of the Hôtels
Réunies de Nice. This is something of a mystery company, as I have not been
able to find any information in reference books.
The earliest certificate on which I have
information dates from 1881 – a share of the Casino Municipal de la Ville de Nice. Nine issues of shares, dating
from 1884 to 1983 are known for the Monte Carlo casino – the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle
Etrangers à Monaco, or ‘SBM’, founded in 1863. As is to be expected, many
other casino shares are known from the Côte d’Azur.
The mining shares are from inland areas, well away from the coast. There is
something on the Côte for the railway and tramway collector. Several shares and
bonds of the tramway companies from Nice and Cannes are known, although they
are all undecorated. The railway shares are from the Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France and the Chemins de Fer de Provence (the latter a successor to the former),
and these are almost identical, decorative and rare certificates. Shares are
also known from two funicular railway companies, working near Monte Carlo and
Menton, but they are not decorative. No scripophily has been seen from the famous
perfumeries of Grasse.
The appeal of Côte d’Azur material to the
scripophilist lies in the outstandingly attractive, and often rare,
certificates. Altogether, some 360 certificates are known from Alpes-Maritimes
(214), Monaco (32) and Var (115) but many of the latter are not Côte d’Azur
(depending where we draw the boundary !). As in other fields of
scripophily, we know, from bourse reference bookds and other sources, of many
other bonds and shares issued, but not so far seen by collectors.
Copyright ã INTERNATIONAL BOND
& SHARE SOCIETY 2001
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