West Indies Sugar Corporation Stock Certificate - Assets Seized by Castro in 1959

Beautifully engraved Stock Certificate issued by the West Indies Sugar Corporation issued in the 1940's. This item has the printed signatures of the company's officers. It has an ornate green border with an vignette of allegorical woman sitting on both sides of sugar cane and is over 56 years old.




Certificate Vignette

In 1959, Cuban rebels began taking control of private property in Cuba. American citizens and companies lost $1.8 billion in property, which, with interest alone, would be worth more than $6 billion today Cuban exiles lost much more, upwards of $100 billion in properties, by some estimates.

More than 5,000 U.S. citizens and 898 companies have pending claims with the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. Whether they'll get compensation is unclear.

Eighty-five percent of the 5,911 certified claims were filed by individuals. The rest were filed by companies. The corporate claims represent most of the value - $1.6 billion of the initial $1.8 billion in nationalized properties.

Of these claims, the West Indies Sugar Company claimed a loss of $84.9 million.

Other claims included:

Cuban Electric Company , $267.6 million (1960 dollars) International Telephone & Telegraph , $130.7 million North America Sugar Industries, Cuban-American Mercantile Corp., West India Company , $109 million Moa Bay Mining Company , $88.3 million United Fruit Sugar Company , $85.1 million American Sugar Company , $85.1 million Standard Oil Company , $71.6 million Texaco, Inc. , $50.1 million Coca-Cola Company , $27.5 million Lone Star Cement Company , $24.9 million