Paper savings bonds and other bond certificates are considered old-fashioned investments, but many people still hold onto them. You may have these bonds due to prudent investing over a lifetime, or you may have received them from family or friends as Christmas or holiday gifts.
Key Points
It is possible to find paper savings bonds in the United States. You can purchase them through the Internal Revenue Service, and some people still hold bonds they bought years ago.
U.S. Savings Bonds
Almost all U.S. savings bonds are issued these days in electronic form because financial institutions stopped selling paper bonds in 2012. The U.S. Department of the Treasury currently issues only Series EE and Series I, and Series I is the only one available in paper form. Bonds can be redeemed after 12 months. However, you should keep them for at least five years if you want to avoid losing three months of interest that you would have earned.
Corporate and Other Bonds
Regardless of how you obtained them, these paper bonds will have some common features. Companies often issue bonds to raise funds. Federal, state, and local government entities also issue bonds to finance various projects.
If you own them in paper form, these bonds may vary significantly from one another. However, they will all contain some basic information about the issuer of the bonds, the investment itself, and the bondholder.
The bond certificate will display the face value in U.S. dollars if the bonds were issued in the United States, and in foreign currency if they were issued in another country. This is the amount that the issuer owes you when the bonds mature after making regular interest payments to you. The certificate may also show the interest rate and maturity date.
The name of the issuer is usually displayed at the top of the certificate. The bonds may also indicate the reason the issuer borrowed the money. The certificate should also contain a unique CUSIP number for those bonds.
The bonds may also display the name of the purchaser or their broker. This may be printed on the certificate or written in a blank space.
You may not be able to receive funds for the bonds from the issuer if the company or other entity that issued them has gone bankrupt or if you are unable to prove legal ownership. The ownership of the certificates may also have changed hands, or the bonds may have been redeemed. If the certificates are marked as “canceled” or have holes or tears, or have been otherwise defaced, they are likely no longer valuable as investments.
To determine if the bonds still have value, contact the issuer or the trust company listed on your certificates. If neither of these companies is still in business, contact the agency responsible for corporations in the state where the issuer was located.
Even if you find out that they are not valuable, you should check to see if the certificates you hold are sought after by collectors before disposing of them.
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/how-to-read-paper-savings-bonds-and-other-bond-certificates-4083242
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