Real Compania De Comercio Establecida En Barcelona

1759, Spain. Certificate number 1354 for 250 pesos. Attached ornate embossed paper seal. Wonderfully engraved multi-vignetted certificate depicting royalty, religious and allegorical figures. An outstanding harbor view of Barcelona with numerous sailing ships and buildings. Printed on Vellum. 16" x 12". This company was established in 1755 with a capitalization of 1,000,000 pesos comprised of 4,000 shares at 250 pesos each, of which only 1,785 were purchased by investors. It was immediately granted a virtual monopoly on trade with Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico and Venezuela (Margarita Island). Numerous slaves were brought to the Islands the company was trading with to foster the development of agriculture and thus a better trade. Following trade concessions allowing trade with Buenos Aires, dividends were finally paid to investors in 1771. A lack of growth capital led to the company being taken over by the Filipinas Company in 1785, the most important of the Spanish overseas trading companies. In excellent condition. Mounting traces on verso. With the Sevilla share, one of the finest and most attractive large format certificates in the field, although more available than the former.