Certificates are valuable because they are negotiable instruments like checks drown on a bank.
In addition, the transfer agent or broker-dealer will notify the SEC's lost and stolen program of the missing, lost or stolen securities. This report reduces the likelihood that people can traffic in stolen securities because broker-dealers and banks can inquire whether securities presented for sale or as collateral for a loan are reported as missing, lost or stolen. While many transfer agents, banks, broker- dealers and corporations choose to use registered or certified mail to deliver stock certificates to individuals, there is no specific Federal requirement that they do so, and some prefer regular mail so as not to call attention to the potential value of the item. A certificate lost in the mail can usually be replaced without cost to the owner if the loss is reported promptly. When a securities certificate belonging to a securityholder is lost, accidently destroyed, or stolen, the securityholder can obtain a new certificate to replace the missing one.