Bethlehem Steel Corporation - Old Cannon Vignette 1917

Beautifully engraved Scarce Specimen certificate from the Bethlehem Steel Corporation printed in 1917. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an old military cannon. EF.






Certificate Vignette



Bethlehem Steel Corporation is the nation's second largest integrated steel producer with revenues of about $2.6 billion and shipments of 6.1 million tons of steel products for the first nine months of 2001.

Founded in 1904 by Charles M. Schwab, Bethlehem Steel Corporation traces its origins to the Saucona Iron Company, which was established in 1857 in Bethlehem, Pa. Later renamed the Bethlehem Iron Company, this single plant became the nucleus around which the modern Bethlehem Steel Corporation was formed.

For 99 years, Bethlehem Steel has provided the steel to build, transport and defend America. Its products have produced enduring structures such as the Golden Gate Bridge, U.S. Supreme Court Building, Chicago's Merchandise Mart and much of the New York City skyline. A major producer of armaments for the military, Bethlehem Steel's workforce in World War II numbered about 300,000. In addition to its steel plants, Bethlehem had shipyards on both U.S. coasts that delivered a ship a day (1,121 in total) to the Allied war effort. The Company's support of the military continues today as it was the sole supplier of armor plate steel for the repair of the USS Cole.

Bethlehem Steel currently employs about 13,000 and provides benefits to about 130,000 individuals. The Company produces a wide variety of steel mill products including hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets, tin mill products, carbon and alloy plates, rail, specialty blooms, carbon and alloy bars, and large diameter pipe. Its principal markets include automotive, construction, machinery and equipment, appliance, container, service center, rail and energy.

Bethlehem Steel's principal operations include the Burns Harbor Division, located 40 miles southeast of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan in Burns Harbor, Ind.; the Sparrows Point Division located on the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore, Md.; and Pennsylvania Steel Technologies located in Steelton, Pa., just south of Harrisburg. The Sparrows Point Division also operates steelmaking and plate operations in Coatesville and Conshohocken, Pa. Burns Harbor's operations include a galvanizing mill in Lackawanna, N.Y., located just south of Buffalo. Bethlehem also has iron ore, lake shipping and trucking operations and operates eight shortline railroads.

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About Specimen Certificates

Specimen Certificates are actual certificates that have never been issued. They were usually kept by the printers in their permanent archives as their only example of a particular certificate. Sometimes you will see a hand stamp on the certificate that says "Do not remove from file".

Specimens were also used to show prospective clients different types of certificate designs that were available. Specimen certificates are usually much scarcer than issued certificates. In fact, many times they are the only way to get a certificate for a particular company because the issued certificates were redeemed and destroyed. In a few instances, Specimen certificates we made for a company but were never used because a different design was chosen by the company.

These certificates are normally stamped "Specimen" or they have small holes spelling the word specimen. Most of the time they don't have a serial number, or they have a serial number of 00000. This is an exciting sector of the hobby that grown in popularity and realized nice appreciation in value over the past several years.