# What happens to the stock market money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2000, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631 "2000-03-11T01:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/21 "2000-03-11T16:28:00Z")
Also, those who want to play the market just for fun: [http://www.virtualstockexchange.com](http://www.virtualstockexchange.com) ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/22 "2000-03-11T16:50:00Z")
Maybe I can get three posts in a row? I don’t have any stock. My father once bought some probably in the 50’s or 60s, Ajax Corporation. I tried to find a stock price on Ajax. I searched the net for Ajax Corporation. You know what’s funny? So many web sites use “Ajax Corporation” as a dummy corporation, like John Doe. So no price quotes, stock symbols, etc on it. sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Akatsukami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@Akatsukami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akatsukami)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/23 "2000-03-11T17:09:00Z")
**handy** writes: > [@](#): > > My father once bought some probably in the 50’s or 60s, Ajax Corporation. I tried to find a stock price on Ajax. I searched the net for Ajax Corporation. You know what’s funny? So many web sites use “Ajax Corporation” as a dummy corporation, like John Doe. **handy** , if you’re seriously interested in tracking the company, may I make two suggestions: First, try [the SEC’s web site](http://www.sec.gov). They have on-line documentation for many publicly-traded companies, although, I admit, only back to 1994. Still, it’s a start. If you have access to a public or university library, and time to spare, I’d recommend looking through Moody’s for older information. Second, your father almost certainly purchased the shares through a broker. He must have either taken physical delivery of the certificates (not recommended), or kept them in the account in “street name”. If the former, the certificates may still be around to get the company’s name, etc., off of. If the latter, the account may still be active, and the brokerage firm ought to have this information. The company may well have gone belly-up, of course, and the shares now be worthless. Still, it probably doesn’t hurt to check. * * * “I don’t just want you to feel envy. I want you to suffer, I want you to bleed, I want you to die a little bit each day. And I want you to thank me for it.” – What “Let’s just be friends” _really_ means ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2000, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/24 "2000-03-12T06:10:00Z")
Step aside, folks. Professional investor coming through. Oh. The OP has already been answered in full. Bummer. Well, what the heck, I’m feeling verbose. The Ajax Corporation of old is long gone, but for the life of me I can’t remember where it went (probably to a consumer products company). In addition to the possibilities mentioned by **Akatsukami** , Ajax may have been purchased by another company. If that’s the case the shares (assuming you still have them; you didn’t say) are worth one of two things. If Ajax or a successor company was purchased for cash, the shares would have converted in to the right to receive that cash, usually without interest. I don’t know whether that right expires after some time certain, but it is worth looking into. If Ajax and all of its successors were purchased for stock, the old Ajax shares are probably still convertible into the shares of whatever survivor company is still extant. ## If you still do in fact own the shares, this may turn out to be a _very_ worthwhile exercise for you. If you’d like to pursue the matter, drop me an email and I’ll see what I can find out. [Change Your Password, Please](http://204.95.48.199/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ubbmisc.cgi?action=getannounce&ForumNumber=3&Start=2451545.99&End=2451911&Session=2451598.1854) and don’t use HTML, as it has been disabled, but you can learn about superscripts [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000795.html) ---
**Author:** ![Poto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Poto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poto)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/25 "2000-03-11T20:26:00Z")
Stock is like money, you trust that it means something. And stock does not often represent the real value of a company. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Masterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@Michael\_Masterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Masterson)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/26 "2000-03-11T20:58:00Z")
Thanks Bricker, but I already knew that. You see I made some good moves in the past(bought Qualcomm for about 2 bucks a share, the it went up a few thousand percent, bought Dell and AOL early on too) so I started out with 10,000 and I do have over a million bucks now (even though im immature, im rich). Even though the Nasdaq (where all my money is) was down last week I still made money. I don’t have to work, but I do. I like working. * * * ~-MCM-~ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/27 "2000-03-11T21:24:00Z")
Congratulations, Michael. That’s a heck of a story. When was Qualcomm at $2 per share, by the way? ---
**Author:** ![StrTrkr777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@StrTrkr777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrTrkr777)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/28 "2000-03-11T22:24:00Z")
Well, it looks like that adjusted for Stock splits it could have sold for $2 per adjusted share around 1996 or so. Jeffery ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Masterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@Michael\_Masterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Masterson)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/29 "2000-03-11T22:31:00Z")
got it in 95 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2000, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/30 "2000-03-12T01:10:00Z")
Akatsukami & manhattan, yes Ajax was bought I guess by someone & the stock still has value but by whom I haven’t a clue. Some stock fella actually looked it up like 10 years ago. I remember using Ajax, its just like Comet cleanser. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631/31 "2000-03-12T16:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Michael Masterson: > \*\*(bought Qualcomm for about 2 bucks a share, the it went up a few thousand percent, bought Dell and AOL early on too) …Even though the Nasdaq (where all my money is) was down last week I still made money. \*\* How interesting Michael. Qualcom and Dell are sold on Nasdaq but AOL isn’t. Also, Nasdaq was at an all-time high last week. * * * “I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-stock-market-money/14631.md?page=1)