Business

A name game in ’12 election

Dear John: How will Romney’s name appear on the ballot? If it is not as “Mitt,” how many votes will he lose because very few people know his real name? E.T.D.

Dear E.T.D. That’s a very good question, and nobody here at The Post knew the answer. So I made a few phone calls.

It seems that Romney will mostly be listed as “Mitt,” which you may already know is the Republican candidate’s middle name. At least that’s the case in Pennsylvania, Texas and probably New York. In Massachusetts I’m told the candidates will be listed as Romney/Ryan and Obama/What’sHisName.

Each of the 50 states has its own rules. In New York, a candidate can ask that his name be listed in a certain way. Presumably, Romney’s people will ask that Mitt be the name on the ballot although no request has yet been made.

But it’s interesting to think what would happen if Willard Mitt Romney — his legal name — were on the ballot. Willard, of course, is the name of a rat movie from the early 1970s. And a lot of great people are and were named Willard, although the NBC weatherman is the only one who comes to mind.

If I were a leader in the Democratic Party, I would certainly make it law — quickly — that only legal names can be used. Willard Mitt Romney might certainly lose a few votes if this was done.

Dear John: I hope you can help me out.

I recently found two stock certificates from many years ago. The first is for 100 shares of Scientific Resources Corp., dated Aug. 13, 1970. The other is 50 shares of National General Corp., dated Aug. 10, 1970.

At the top of this certificate, there is a statement that reads, “This warrant will be void if not exercised on or prior to Sept. 30, 1978.” I’m assuming this has no value.

Hope you can help out. I can send you a copy of each if needed. Mark.

Dear Mark: Scripophily.com tracked down information on your stocks.

Scientific Resources Corp. was originally incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania as the Atlas Credit Corp.

Atlas Credit merged into Sunasco Inc. on April 30, 1966. Sunasco’s name was changed to Scientific Resources Corp. on Oct. 11, 1968.

That company was liquidated in May 1975. Each share of common stock received common stock purchase warrants in Rocky Mountain Industries. The warrants expired in 1976.

Certificates were not required to be surrendered and are now valueless.

“Unfortunately, we have not found any funds available for distribution to equity shareholders. Consequently, your stock is assumed to have no redeemable value,” said the research firm.

National General Corp. was incorporated in Delaware as National Theatres, Inc. The name changed to National Theatres & Television in 1959 and to National General Corp. in 1962.

That company merged into American Financial Corp. in 1974. Each common share was exchanged for $44.75 principal amount of 9 1/2 percent debentures that was due to expire in 1989.

If the company was unable to find a shareholder for distribution, they were required to turn the funds over to the state of the last known shareholder address or in the state the company was incorporated.

Scripophily suggests you try the Association of Unclaimed Property website (unclaimed.org) or you can try MissingMoney.com to see if any state is holding property on your behalf.

Send your questions to Dear John, The NY Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10036, or john.crudele@nypost.com.