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Spokane Stock Exchange Board

Spokane Stock Exchange Board - Signboard
Accession #: 3256.1
Title: Spokane Stock Exchange Board
Object Type: Signboard
Participants:
Harrison, Ben (user)
Physical Description: 10 foot board represents 1/3 of total original board. Matte green finish painted onto press board, front of which is divided vertically into sections with painted lines. "Spokane Stock Exchange" in red/black/gold and white letters. Included with the board are the individual mining company issue signs (37), which are white lettering on a green background. Each issue sign is 2" x 18". Four of these signs differ from the others in that the letters are yellowish. Board came to us with a metal frame.
Description: The Spokane Stock Exchange used this board from 1962 until 1987, when the company relocated to the Seafirst Financial Center also in downtown Spokane. Although other stock exchanges adopted new technologies during these years, the Spokane Stock Exchange continued to post transactions manually on this chalkboard. From 1897 to 1991, the Spokane Stock Exchange represented Inland Northwest mining companies within regional and national markets and systems. Operating in conjunction with trade fluctuations, the Spokane exchange at the height of its success was on par with mining exchanges in much larger cities. The Spokane exchange survived a crash during the Great Depression, recovered after World War II, and expanded again during the 1960s silver boom. Its decline began in the 1980s when questionable trading activities came to the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Losing the loyalty of its brokers, the Spokane exchange closed in 1991, the last regional mining exchange in the United States. Sources: Bolker, Norman. "A Market Place for Dreams," Pacific Northwesterner Vol. 30, No. 1 (1986), 1-11. HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, "Spokane Stock Exchange" ( Laura Arksey), http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8883 (accessed June 2010).
Category: History
Geographical Reference: Spokane (Washington->Spokane County)
Dimensions:
Object H x W 4 x 10 "
Materials/Techniques:
particle board (Material)
cardboard (Material)
Marks/Inscription:
"SPOKANE STOCK EXCHANGE" is in red/black/gold and white letters. See worksheet in document file for individual investment listings (35 total).
Related Exhibits:
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Nelson, Spokane Stock Exchange

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