Ford Motor Company - 1979 dated Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock Certificate dated 1979. Early prototype car with Henry Ford. Security-Columbian US Banknote Corp. Popular!

The Henry Ford Company marked Henry Ford's initial venture into automobile manufacturing, established on November 3, 1901. This enterprise transitioned into the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902, following Ford's departure and retention of the rights to his name. In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was founded in a repurposed factory, backed by $28,000 in cash—equivalent to approximately $950,000 in 2023—contributed by twelve investors, including the notable John and Horace Dodge, who later established the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company.

Interestingly, the inaugural president was not Ford himself, but rather local banker John S. Gray, selected to alleviate investors' concerns regarding Ford's potential departure from the new venture, similar to his exit from the previous one. In its formative years, the company produced only a limited number of vehicles daily at its Mack Avenue factory and subsequently at its Piquette Avenue facility in Detroit, Michigan. Small teams of two or three individuals assembled each vehicle from components primarily sourced from supplier companies contracted by Ford. Within a decade, the company emerged as a leader in the development and enhancement of the assembly line methodology, with Ford increasingly bringing component production in-house through vertical integration.

At the time of founding the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford was 39 years old. The company has since evolved into one of the largest and most profitable enterprises globally, remaining under family control for over a century, making it one of the largest family-run businesses in the world.