Collins Radio Company Stock Certificate

Description

Product Details
Beautifully engraved antique stock certificate from the Collins Radio Company dating back to the 1950's. This document, which carries the printed signatures of the company President and Secretary, was printed by the Franklin-Lee Division of the American Bank Note Company, and measures approximately 11 1/2" (w) by 7 1/2" (h).
The certificate's vignette features an allegorical male figure (Mercury) flanked by a globe, cornucopia, books and industrial scenes.
Images
The images presented are representative of the piece(s) you will receive. When representative images are presented for one of our offerings, you will receive a certificate in similar condition as the one pictured; however dating, denomination, certificate number and issuance details may vary.
Historical Context
Arthur Collins (whose printed signature appears on this document) first won national acclaim in 1925 by maintaining reliable communications with a scientific expedition to Greenland. Just 15 years old at the time, he accomplished this feat using a hand-built radio. In 1933 he formed the Collins Radio Company, the predecessor of Rockwell Collins. One year later he entered the national spotlight again, providing voice communications for Admiral Byrd’s historic expedition to Antarctica.
The Collins Radio Company entered the 1930s aerospace industry with a splash by developing an autotune system that literally revolutionized aircraft communications. This innovation would save thousands of American lives during World War II by preventing the enemy from jamming or intercepting radio transmissions by American pilots.
Significant milestones fill the entire history of Collins Radio. A few of those include:
Completing the first transmission of a message using Ultra-High-frequency signals bounced off the moon.
Completing the very first two-way voice transmission via artificial satellite. A week later, the first image, a wire photo of President Eisenhower, was sent over the same path, foretelling the dawn of our modern satellite television industry.
Collins Radio equipment bringing the famous words of Neil Armstrong, "That’s one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind," back to a world anxious to hear from our astronauts on the lunar surface.
These and many other "firsts" contributed to a Collins legacy of quality and reliability. But by the early 70s, limited resources had taken the company as far as it could go. In 1973, Rockwell International purchased the Collins Radio Company.