Tucker Corporation - 1948 dated Brown Automotive Stock Certificate - Only 50 Tucker Cars were Made

Stock with printed signature of Preston Tucker as president. Printed by Security Banknote Company.

Preston Thomas Tucker, born on September 21, 1903, in Michigan, was an American automobile entrepreneur. He is best known for his Tucker 48 sedan, initially nicknamed the “Tucker Torpedo,” which introduced numerous features that are now widely used in modern cars. However, production of the Tucker ’48 was abruptly halted on March 3, 1949, amidst scandal and controversial accusations of stock fraud. The 1988 movie Tucker: The Man and His Dream is based on Tucker’s spirit and the events surrounding the car’s production.

Preston Tucker was born on September 21, 1903, on a peppermint farm near Capac, Michigan. His father, Shirley Harvey Tucker (1880-1907), was a railroad engineer, while his mother, Lucille Caroline (née Preston) Tucker (1881-1960), was a teacher. After his father’s death from appendicitis when Preston was just two years old, Tucker was raised by his mother.

Tucker’s passion for automobiles began at a young age. He first learned to drive at the age of 11 and, by the time he was 16, he was purchasing late-model automobiles, repairing and refurbishing them, and selling them for a profit. Despite attending the Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Tucker eventually quit school and landed a job as an office boy for the Cadillac Motor Company. To make his rounds more efficiently, he used roller skates.

In 1922, against his mother’s pleas, young Tucker joined the Lincoln Park, Michigan, police department. His interest in the job was sparked by his desire to drive and ride the fast, high-performance police cars and motorcycles. However, his mother had him removed from the force, pointing out to department officials that at the age of 19, he was below the department’s minimum required age.

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