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Paper Doll has a group of oh-so-masculine college buddies (Paper Action Figures, if you will). When any of our group has a baby, we pool resources to buy the little one a savings bond. Sure, savings bonds may seem a little archaic in this era of ETFs and online trading, but after all, we did go to college in the Pleistocene era. Where else can you buy something at half the face value, just add 20 or 30 years, and voila, you double your investment–guaranteed! Just recently, one of the Paper Action Figures and his wife adopted a beautiful little girl from China, and the Baby Bond Brigade was at it again.

They’re called SAVINGS bonds – not “Throwing-them-in-a-box-hidden-under-the-bed” bonds. If a special occasion brings a Federal savings bond into your life, “Do not pass Go and do not collect $200 dollars” until you do the following:

a) Record the savings bond certificate numbers by any (or all) of the following methods:

• Photocopy the bond certificates (This is quickest, provided you are not easily distracted into leaving your originals in copy machines, whether at work or Kinko’s)
• Scan the certificates (so you can keep digital copies on a password-protected flash drive or burned disc)
• Write down the certificate numbers, preferably in a spreadsheet that allows you to keep track of additional information (like date of receipt/purchase and date of maturation) and sort the data accordingly. If you don’t own Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet program, there are multiple free spreadsheet programs (which we’ll discuss more in the future). Start with GoogleDocs or Zoho.com.
• Use the free Savings Bond Wizard developed by the Department of the Treasury to maintain and manage an inventory of your bonds.

b) Safeguard copies of the certificate numbers separate from your actual bonds. Keep the actual savings bonds in your safe deposit box at your bank, and keep the record of your certificate numbers in your fireproof safe. Better yet, also keep a digital copy of the certificate data in some other safe place (i.e., a burned disc in a responsible sibling’s safe deposit box, or digitally, in an online vault) so that in case of a widespread natural disaster in your area, the information might still be easily accessible from a distance.

That takes care of the future, but what about the past?

Did grandma buy you a Federal savings bond when you were born? Perhaps your parents saved some E or EE bonds you received for your birth, bar or bat mitzvah, confirmation, sweet sixteen, etc.? Maybe a wise relative gave you I-series bonds for your graduation or wedding? If you received those bonds more than 30 years ago, your bonds have likely stopped earning interest. The wisest course of action would be to cash them in so you can re-invest the money in other bonds, money markets, Wall Street, your (or your children’s) education, the improved value of your home, or some other worthwhile cause.

But to cash them in, you must have the bond certificates. Where, oh where, are the bonds? Perhaps know you saw them (but not so recently), or heard of their existence during a long-ago family chat.

If you’ve searched high and low and are sure you have savings bonds (either EE or the newer I-bonds), but can’t find your paperwork, here are some options to get you started:

Check your safe deposit box or fireproof safe—Free, except for the value of your time
(Ahem. This is why Paper Doll encourages (and by encourage, I, of course, mean nag) you to send papers, especially documents with financial value, to their “homes” as quickly as possible after receiving them.)

Search through those boxes of stuff your parents/guardians gave you when they retired to Boca, Phoenix or Shadytime Retirement Village. Again, free except for the value of your time.

Ask your parents (or grandparents, or former guardians) to check their safe deposit box(es) and/or fireproof safe(s) and send you (via secure shipping) your bond certificates—Variable cost: the value of your time (and theirs), the cost of a secure delivery service if they don’t live within driving distance, and the frustration you may feel if communicating with your loved ones involves a lot of shouting into the phone and repeating what you’ve just said.

Contact the Feds. To locate copies of and/or redeem Federal savings bonds, go to the U.S. Treasury’s website at www.TreasuryDirect.com and fill out Form 1048 to locate savings bonds registered all the way back to 1935. (Treasury trivia: EE savings bonds took the place of World War II era E-series or “Liberty bonds”, a practice, which itself dates back to President Wilson and WWI. Never let it be said Paper Doll isn’t educational!)

On Form 1048, you’ll be asked to provide as much information as possible, including the:

• Issue date (or a range of dates, if you are uncertain)
• Bond certificate numbers (hence my instructions near the top of this post)
• Inscription information on the bonds, including names, addresses as Social Security numbers.
• Whether the bonds were lost, stolen or destroyed. If the bonds were stolen and a police report was made, you will need to append that, as well.
• If you are not the named party on the bond certificate, you will have to explain your right to access the bonds; for example, are you the parent or guardian of a minor, the conservator or legal representative of another adult, or the executor of the will of a now-deceased party? (Note: if the person named on the bond is deceased, you will need to include a certified copy of the death certificate.)
• Be prepared to state whether you wish for substitute bonds or payment (in the form of a check or direct deposit)

You will need the form to be certified by a Notary Public; this service is almost certainly provided by your bank, accountant or attorney’s office. Some public libraries also have notaries on staff. (Nominal fees are determined by individual states.)

Finally, mail the form to the appropriate address:

For E, EE, or I-series savings bonds
Bureau of the Public Debt
Post Office Box 7012
Parkersburg, WV 26106-7012

For HH/H series savings bonds
Bureau of the Public Debt
Post Office Box 2186
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2186

All of the foregoing tells you what to do if you know you received the bonds, but they’ve since been lost, stolen or destroyed (i.e., irretrievably folded, spindled and mutilated). If, however, you purchased bonds and they have never arrived, or are trying to determine if you or a deceased loved owns/owned savings bonds, check out the Department of the Treasury’s Treasury Hunt link.

Beyond this, if you have more detailed questions, you can submit them to the Treasury Department via the following methods:

Savings Bonds/US Treasury
(304) 480-7711 (phone)
(304) 480-6010 (fax)

If someone was kind enough to start you down the road of savings with the gift of a Federal savings bond (especially if they did so before you were old enough to thank them), once you’ve made good use of the money, consider sending a letter of gratitude to share your story with your benefactor. (So says Paper Doll‘s mom, arbiter of all that is proper and just.)