Financial Shares Corporation - 1933-1938 dated Financial Institution Stock Certificate

Stock printed by Franklin Lee Division - American Bank Note Co. Shares are units of ownership in a company. The terms "shares" and "stocks" are often used interchangeably, but they represent a company differently. While this may seem confusing, it is a matter of how you're talking about a company and how much ownership you have in it. For example, say XYZ company issued stock and you purchased 10 shares of it. If each share represents 1% of ownership, you own 10% of the company. The company issued stock, and you bought shares of it. Another way to think of it is that you purchase shares of a stock, you don't buy stock. Stock is a more general term, used to refer to the financial instruments a company issues, while shares are what you actually buy. Read more at https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shares.asp