Warren Buffett's 1962 Signed Stock Certificate Sells At Auction: Here's What It Fetched

Legendary investor Warren Buffett is best known as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRK BRK, a conglomerate that he started buying shares in back in 1962.

A stock certificate signed by Buffett that wasn't Berkshire Hathaway recently hit auction.

What Happened: A signed stock certificate of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company from 1962 signed by Buffett could be among his oldest and rarest signatures, with only eight known to exist, adding to the list of memorabilia Buffett fans will likely be hoping to get their hands on.

The stock certificate is dated March 13, 1962 with the signature of "Warren E. Buffett." The certificate issues 100 shares of common stock to the Buffett Partnership. Buffett transferred the stock to a different party and appointed New York Hanseatic Corp. as his attorney to complete the transaction, according to University Archives.

The stock certificate was sold at auction for $15,000.

Lehigh Coal and Navigation no longer exists as it was dissolved in 1964. The company did play an early role in shaping the American Industrial Revolution as one of the first vertically integrated companies in the United States.

With a date of 1962, the stock certificate is older than the timing of Buffett taking control of Berkshire Hathaway, which happened in 1965.

University Archives also auctioned off a Tribune Oil Corporation stock certificate signed on May 24, 1966 that Buffett issued to his mother. That certificate sold for $300.

The Buffett items were part of the auction house's Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books & Memorabilia auction that included signatures from George Washington, Walt Disney, Bob Dylan and more.

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Why It's Important: Autographs of Buffett have become highly collectible by the investing community, given Buffett's legendary status and also his old age, as he turned 94 in August.

Benzinga previously wrote about an auctioned-off business card containing signatures of both Buffett and the late Charlie Munger, who was Buffett's right-hand man at Berkshire Hathaway for many years. The business card sold for $15,115 at auction, significantly higher than an estimate of $1,500 ahead of the auction.

For investors who can't buy a full Buffett autograph, there is a fractional alternative investment site, Rally, which has a Buffett signature.

Rally sold 5,000 shares at $3 each of a Buffett-signed 2000 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting pamphlet.

"We've been looking for Warren Buffett assets and collectibles for some time," Rally co-founder and Chief Product Officer Rob Petrozzo told Benzinga previously.

The autograph is on a Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting pamphlet, which represents the "Woodstock for capitalism."

Petrozzo called the event a "moment in time, something that he's known for," adding that Buffett is “somebody that people always want to hear from.”

Petrozzo said the annual shareholder meeting is symbolic and has served as a barometer for the market, which makes the autograph important for financial history.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.