Product Details

Nicely engraved antique stock certificate from the Continental Vending Machine Corp. dating back to the 1960's. This document, which contains the printed signatures of a company President and Secretary, was printed by the Security-Columbian Bank Note Company, and measures approximately 12" (w) by 8" (h).

This certificate's vignette features an eagle on a crag.

Images

You will receive the exact certificate pictured.

Historical Context

The Continental Vending Machine Corporation was incorporated in Indiana and produced a line of cigarette vending machines. The company's trademarked "Push-A-Pack" Selector Button was the key feature of the units.

The company also manufactured coffee, pastry, candy and sandwich vending machines as well - thoough these came late in the company's history, which was cut short by a scandal.

The company ran into problems when company President Harold Roth came under the scrutiny of the SEC because of some irregular accounting practices.

Continental Vending Machine Corporation (Continental) and Valley Commercial Corporation (Valley) were two corporations controlled by Harold Roth. Continental loaned $3,500,000 to Valley, which subsequently advanced the money to Roth. The loans were called Valley Receivable on Continental’s books. Carl Simon (defendant) was a senior partner with the accounting firm Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery. Simon and other outside auditors (defendants) reviewed Continental’s financial statements and found that Roth could not repay the loans made by Valley. As a result, Valley would be unable to repay Continental. The auditors asked Roth to transfer collateral to secure the debt. However, 80 percent of the collateral was Continental stock, and $1,000,000 of the collateral was subject to prior liens. The accountants were aware of these facts regarding the collateral but made no mention of the facts on Continental’s audited statements. Further, the accountants did not indicate that the term Valley Receivable represented amounts loaned to Roth. The auditors also failed to note that the amount of Valley Receivable had increased by $400,000 in the time between the close of the fiscal year and the date upon which the auditors certified the financial statements. The auditors were charged with making a false or misleading financial statement. At trial, the defendants asked for specific jury instructions, but this request was denied by the judge. The jury then found the defendants guilty.