Cody's Wyoming Coal Company

W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum

University of Nevada, Reno, USA

The ColliderCase system is doing great. It has been a big hit here...

- Garrett Barmore, Museum Curator

Cody’s Wyoming Coal Company Certificate signed by Wm F. Cody (Buffalo Bill)

The certificate displayed in this ColliderCase belonged to William F. Cody, in his time the most famous American in the world and better known to us as Buffalo Bill.

Cody invested his money in many projects and he also required cash from investors to start producing products and making profits. These investments were recorded using Stock Certificates. The certificate displayed in this ColliderCase names Cody as the owner of the shares, and he has also signed it as the President of the company.

Due to the age of the document the signatures are very faint and difficult to discern. The ColliderCase digitally traces over Cody’s original writing, defining the faded script without having any detrimental effect on the delicate paper.

Because of the value and importance of these documents the best printing techniques of the time were used to create them, a decorative printing technique called guilloché. The etchings used to print the certificates were purposefully intricate and complex to deter counterfeiters.

The designs are so elaborate that the true extent of the detail is difficult to see with the naked eye. High resolution scans of the document were taken so that the illustrations could be digitally magnified beside the original, meaning the symbolism and design detail can be fully appreciated.

This ColliderCase had dual functionality, as well as being a display in it’s own right the certificate acted as a taster for an upcoming exhibition, to excite and inform potential visitors about it, and once open, to direct and entice them towards the full exhibit.

The ColliderCase gives the option of an audio-track or large-type version for improved accessibility should this be desired.