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Bear Stearns 10K Tie Tac
貝爾斯登 10K金領帶夾飾
Item number: M267
Year: AD 2008
Material: 10K Gold
Size: Case 55.3 x 45.4 x 31.0 / Tac 13.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 mm
Weight: Case 36.75 / Tac 4.55 g
Provenance: Private Collector, USA, 2024
This is a tie tac that belonged to Bear Stearns, once the fifth-largest investment bank and a major securities trading firm in the United States. It is notable for being the first major domino to fall in the AD 2008 U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
This 10K gold tie tac is housed in a black leather case with an inner lining made of thick cardboard wrapped in black velvet. The tie tac itself is rounded rectangular in shape. The obverse side features the company name “BEAR STEARNS” in two lines aligned towards the top left corner, with an L-shaped line decoration tilted 90 degrees to the left below it. The reverse side of the tie tac bears the hallmark “LA 10K,” indicating the gold content. Additionally, the tac has a round pin back connected to a chain for securing the tie tac in place.
Founded in New York in AD 1923, Bear Stearns witnessed the AD 1933 Great Depression and several financial crises, becoming one of the premier securities trading companies in the United States. Starting in AD 2001, the booming U.S. real estate market saw many individuals with poor credit scores entering the market. In response, banks and financial institutions introduced various “subprime mortgages,” loans offered to those with less-than-ideal credit, to further stimulate the real estate market. These subprime mortgages were then repackaged in the financial markets as “Collateralized Debt Obligations” (CDOs), derivative financial products that bundled bonds of varying credit ratings. These CDOs, offering higher returns, attracted many investors and contributed to the formation of a massive economic bubble.
In AD 2006, as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates and lending standards changed, the real estate market began to cool down. Under these conditions, subprime mortgages faced delays in repayment and defaults, leading to the collapse of related lending financial institutions. The AD 2015 American film “The Big Short” portrays this period in detail.
Starting on June 14, AD 2007, Bear Stearns faced massive losses in its hedge funds composed of CDOs derived from subprime mortgages, marking the first time in four quarters that the company experienced a decline in profits. The impact of subprime mortgage defaults on the company intensified, and on March 10, AD 2008, Bear Stearns experienced a bank run, with its reserves plummeting from $18 billion to $2 billion in just four days. This forced the company to declare bankruptcy on March 14, making it the first major financial firm to collapse in the subprime mortgage crisis. The film “The Big Short” vividly depicts the panic as Bear Stearns’ stock price plummeted by 38% in less than a day.
To prevent further panic, the U.S. government announced on the day of Bear Stearns’ bankruptcy that the Federal Reserve would provide loans to JPMorgan Chase to facilitate the company’s liquidation. Ultimately, the 85-year-old investment bank was acquired by JPMorgan Chase, marking its exit from the financial world. However, the government’s intervention did not restore market confidence. On September 15 of the same year, Lehman Brothers, another major financial institution, declared bankruptcy, marking the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
物件編號: M267
年代: 公元 2008 年
材質: 10K 金
尺寸: 盒子 55.3 x 45.4 x 31.0 / 夾子 13.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 mm