This rare Jaguar Specimen Stock Certificate was printed in 1988. British luxury auto company Jaguar was founded in 1922 as manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars. As they expanded to manufacture their first car, they changed their name to the iconic Jaguar in 1945. They merged with the British Motor Corp in the 1960s and were later spun out and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1984.

Jaguar was later acquired by Ford in 1990 and later sold to Tata Motors who formed Jaguar Land Rover.

Specimen stock certificates are certificates that were archived by printers and the company as perfect examples of the company’s stock issue. Specimen’s can be identified by their “specimen” stamp, stamped holes spelling “specimen”, or they are often issued with a serial number of a series of zeros. Often, they are also issued with no serial number at all. Specimens can also represent a design that was never issued. All of these attributes make the specimen stock certificate rarer than the issued version of the share. Many enthusiasts collect specimens as a whole new category of Scripophily.