ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 26, 1994                   TAG: 9409260011
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BOND REDEMPTION MAY BE MORE TROUBLE THAN ITS WORTH

Q: I recently found a World War I bond that belonged to my great-grandfather. It was a Third Liberty Loan bond with his name handwritten on it. Besides the bond, I found a brochure about the bond and a bank receipt for the $50 cost, dated May 4, 1918. I am trying to find out if the bond is worth anything. My great-grandfather died in the early 1930s.

A: A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Public Debt at the United States Treasury in Washington, D.C., said the bond is worth $50, since interest ceased being paid long ago. The catch is that, because the bond is registered in his name as holder instead of being payable to the bearer, you must prove that you are entitled to claim the $50. This may be hard to do in the absence of wills and estate records. Besides, there are probably many other great-grandchildren as well, so the $50 would have to be split too many ways to be of value. The bond may be worth more as a keepsake, a memento for your children.

If you do want to cash it, the spokeswoman said, you would have to do this through the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond.

A librarian at the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond searched her records and found that Third Liberty Loan bonds were coupon bonds, the traditional way of paying interest. They are not like U.S. Savings Bonds, which have been issued only since 1941 and which accrue their interest. She said people turned in the coupons that came with the World War I bonds in order to claim their interest.

She said these bonds were called June 15, 1935, which may have been subsequent to your great-grandfather's death. At that time, the librarian said, all of the bonds were redeemed for payment or else converted into U.S. Treasury bonds or notes. Obviously, nobody in your family ever took care of this matter, so the money in the bond earned no more interest.

Even U.S. Savings bonds stop earning interest after 30 or 40 years. Bonds purchased in 1944 or earlier should be collected and redeemed, because they are no longer paying interest.

More on recovering lost bond

Q: My grandmother bought me a $50 U.S. Savings Bond when I was born. That was 30 years ago. My parents have had two houses burn down in that time.

We do not have the savings bond or know the number, either. We don't know what to do about it or if I can still get it. Is there any way I can still recover the bond?

A: You can either write to the Bureau of Public Debt with information about the U.S. Savings Bond or, probably more simply, visit any bank and ask for a claim form for a lost bond. Someone at the bank can witness your signature as the bond owner. The bonds are registered to specific owners, so you can have it traced.

Only the owner or co-owner of the bond may file such a claim. An exception is the executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased registered owner, who may also write for a replacement.

Whether you write a letter or use a claim form, you will be asked for the name and address of the owner at the time of registration, the Social Security number, the denomination of the bond, the approximate date of purchase and the circumstances of the loss.

The claim form or letter should be sent to the Bureau of Public Debt, 200 N. Third St., Parkersburg, W.Va. 26101.

Larry Harding, regional coordinator for U.S. Savings Bonds in Roanoke, said work at the Parkersburg Center is backed up some three to four months. But he said the center will search the records to find the bond in your name. If the record is found, the bond will be replaced, depending on the circumstances of the loss

Cusip number identifies security

Q: What is the Cusip number on a brokerage statement?

A: Tyler Pugh, senior vice president and branch manager of Wheat First Butcher Singer in Roanoke, said the Cusip number is a unique identification for every security on every market. Every stock, bond, option and the like has its own Cusip number.

Cusip numbers generally appear on the order confirmations for purchase or sale of the security. On newer issues, Pugh said, the Cusip number is also usually printed on the security itself.

When a customer asks Pugh the status of some security, such as a bond, Pugh often requests the Cusip number so he can be sure what the customer owns. He enters the number in his computer, which identifies the specific security.

New numbers are issued as new issues hit the market. 


 by CNB