1726: "The Money’d Man’s Guide"

2023: "Stock Investing for Dummies"

I love that investors who read the 1726 book and investors reading "Stock Investing for Dummies" today both have the same goal: becoming better investors.

Some things never change. Same goal, +300 years apart. Familiar:

“It was not just the fear of being cheated in the present that advice manual writers used to motivate their readers.. but also the threat that appearing ignorant on such matters might result in a loss of face and exposure to be taken advantage of on a future occasion.”

Did you know famed economist John Maynard Keynes was a prolific *art* investor?

From 1917-1945, Keynes collected +100 pieces of art for £12,848.

By 2019, academic research shows that Keynes' collection was worth a staggering £76 MILLION.

(1/5) According to the Cambridge Judge Business School..

Keynes' collection generated a *real* return of 6.1% annualized through 2019!

This outperformed UK gov't bonds, and slightly lagged UK stocks.

Recently, the Masterworks Contemporary Art index returned 13.6% (1995-2020)

(2/5)

Everyone should study their family history.

This story of ancient Mayan ruins, a shocking discovery and my upcoming trip to Tulum, Mexico proves it.

You really never know what you might find: This story started with my friend from college suggesting we take a trip to "Tulum" when he visited me this month.

I responded: "What is Tulum?"

You'll soon learn why this question was so stupid...

1/25

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• Did Economics Cause WWII ?

• Wartime Liquidity: NYSE & WWI

• Currency Wars: Dollar vs. Pound

• Centuries of Alternative Currencies

• Best Strategies for Inflation Regimes

• Commodities, Capital Flows & Default

investoramnesia.com/2022/03/27/his… Table from a paper in today’s newsletter:

“The Best Strategies for Inflationary Times”

A look at how various strategies performed during 8 episodes of inflation since World War II.

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• How Invasions Impact Markets

• Market Reaction to WWII Events

• Polish Stocks & Hitler's Invasion

• War & Inflation in USA Since 1780

• Regime Changes & Debt Default

• WWI Impact on Stock Markets

investoramnesia.com/2022/02/27/a-h… This is a monster post filled with great data like this:

Nuts to think that the stock exchange closed for *four months* during WWI.

Can you imagine if that happened today? What would FinTwit even talk about? For those interested in learning more about this unique period of financial history read below.

Basically, though, the unofficial “New Street” market formed for trading in place of the NYSE closure

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• The Benefits of Bucket Shops

• Embracing Speculative Frenzies

• Manias & Democratization

• Liberty Bonds & Stock Ownership

• Where Common People Can Speculate

investoramnesia.com/2022/01/09/tha… "One particularly ironic aspect of this whole saga was that the most vocal critics of bucket shops were also those responsible for their creation. Bucket shops started because smaller investors were priced out of traditional stock exchanges and financial services industry."

@moseskagan Not threads, but I've done 9 posts in my Panic Series covering exactly this!

(1/9)

investoramnesia.com/2021/09/05/the… @moseskagan Panic of 1819

investoramnesia.com/2021/09/12/the…

(2/9)

Financial History: Sunday Reads

*Panic Series (Pt. V) - 1857*

• Congress Fueling Speculation

• The Telegraph & Stock Prices

• Our First Railway Panic

• California Gold Rush

• Westward Expansion

investoramnesia.com/2021/10/17/pan… Somehow we’ve made it until the 5th installment of this Panic Series without mentioning railroads.

But that changes with the Panic of 1857!

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• The History of American Defaults

• Sovereign Debt: 13th Century to Now

• A History of US Debt Limits Since 1776

• 1840s US State Debt & Default Crisis

• Insights from Historical Defaults

investoramnesia.com/2021/10/10/his… Market Value & Par Value of Gross Debt as % of GDP

Do people want a Sunday Reads on the history of sovereign defaults and debt limits this weekend? Going to be a lot of @KimOosterlinck !!

Financial History: New Library??

Instead of a new 'Panic Series' post today, I'm thrilled to share the new Investor Amnesia Library!

Financial history resources stretching back to the 17th century, and new materials will be added constantly.

investoramnesia.com/library/ Find gems like this one from an 1885 finance book:

"The Causes Influencing Investment and Speculation”

Fascinating visualization of US economic growth from 1900-1925.

Love telephone “subscribers”.

Taken from a 1925 “Magazine of Wall Street” issue I ordered! Beaut.

Financial History: Sunday Reads

*The Panic Series (Part III) - 1825*

• Latin American Bond Fever

• BoE & Lender of Last Resort

• Bond Issues for Fictitious Countries

• Widespread Banking Failures

• (Discount on New Course!)

investoramnesia.com/2021/09/19/the… Find the first two installments below:

Panic of 1792: America's First Panic

investoramnesia.com/2021/09/05/the…

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• Railroads & Speculative Feedback Loops

• The East India Co. & VC History

• Market Value of Innovation

• Investor Returns in New Industries

investoramnesia.com/2021/08/29/pri… Not too shabby.

Growth of $1 in Western Union stock:

April 1851: $1

December 1865: $1,816.75

🚨New Project!🚨

Thrilled to announce a new financial history project with @chapter_HQ . An exciting new way to learn market history as a community.

• 4 Weeks of Curated Content

• Insights linking past & present

• Q&A

• Community interactions

getchapter.app/@jamie/hindsig… Week 1 covers: "The Market as a Game".

Looking back at how markets have been perceived as a game by investors and speculators since the very first exchange in 1688.

Meme stocks and the "gamification" of markets is nothing new!

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• Suez Canal IPO

• Sinking The Florida Land Bubble

• Suez Crisis & Currency Markets

• Medieval Shipping Contracts & ETFs

• 19th Century VC: Whaling

investoramnesia.com/2021/03/28/a-h… While the events of this week at the Suez Canal have been extremely costly, this is certainly not the first time the Suez Canal has stoked international controversy.

Let's take a quick look at the history.

Thread on some of my favorite pieces from today's new post:

Technology & The Financial Printing Press

This thread will cover three main sections:

• The Printing Press

• Ticker Machines

• A 1930 Quant Fund

(1/25)

canvas.osam.com/Commentary/Blo… (2/25)

The honorable @wolfejosh said on his podcast with @patrick_oshag :

"If you want change and progress, somebody's got to look at something and literally go back to those two words and say, what sucks? That sucks.

And then you have to be motivated to want change it."

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• Electric Cars: 19th Century Tech

• Tech Revolutions: Bicycle Mania

• Startup Fraud & South Sea Bubble

• The Birth of Electric Cars

• The 17th Century Tech Bubble

[Repost - New posts next week!]

investoramnesia.com/2020/08/09/spe… I think this is my favorite Sunday Reads of the last 2+ years

Financial History: Sunday Reads

• An Exciting Announcement

• The Bubble Triangle

• The First Bubble: New Evidence

• Speculative Finance: Cycle Mania

• Fraud & Financial Scandals

• Another 20's Bubble?

investoramnesia.com/2020/11/22/bub… "Wall Street Bubbles; Always the Same"

(1901)

Blows my mind when people 100+ years ago say stuff like this, and nothing has changed.

Take the time to read this 1886 Economist piece. Trust me. (Seriously)

An all time favorite historical source I like to re-read.

Excellent insight into human nature via a description of the Guinness IPO in 1886, and investor mania.

Gem. This writing...

"It was doo delightful; it was betting on a certainty, or subscribing to a lottery in which all the tickets were prizes...

The world which desires money, quickly and easily made - and that world is the largest of all - was stirred to its foundations."