“The first completely new car in fifty years”, a mantra that resounded with the ambitious premise of the 1948 Tucker 48 ‘Torpedo’: an innovative vehicle featuring an air-cooled helicopter flat-6 (even before the Porsche 911!), fuel injection, a fully independent suspension, disc brakes, a directional headlamp that moved alongside steering, and a plethora of safety features in the event of a crash.

Despite its cutting-edge design and features, the Tucker 48 never succeeded as a full-fledged production car —only 51 units were built. However, despite the different views of the company’s demise, the tale of Preston Tucker reached legendary status, and was immortalized by Francis Ford Coppola in his 1988 film, ‘Tucker: The Man and His Dream’.

This freshly-framed 100-share certificate, worth $100 in 1948, is one of the means used by the Tucker Corporation to secure funding for their new setup and their pioneering ‘Tucker 48’ model. With an issue date two months before the reveal of the ‘Tin Goose’ prototype, this quarter-century-old certificate remains a snapshot in time of the optimism and promise of the Tucker Corporation, back in 1948.