Chiquita Brands International stock certificate 2002 (New Jersey) 

Bananas! Amazing vignette and logo highlight this rare modern piece. The top vignette has classic male and female figures seated among agricultural products. The famous Chiquita logo starts the company name. Issued and not cancelled. Dated 2002. Approximately 12 x 8 inches.

Amazing history. Also see our listing for the United Fruit Company! 

Chiquita Brands International, formerly known as United Fruit Company, is a Swiss company producing and distributing bananas and other produce. The company operates under subsidiary brand names, including the flagship Chiquita brand and Fresh Express salads. Chiquita is the successor to the United Fruit Company.

Chiquita Brands International's history began in 1870, when a ship's captain, named Lorenzo Dow Baker, purchased 160 bunches of bananas in Jamaica, and resold them in Jersey City, eleven days later. In 1873, Central American railroad developer Minor C. Keith began to experiment with banana production in Costa Rica. Later, he planted bananas alongside a Costa Rican railroad track to provide revenue for the railroad. In 1878, Baker partnered with Andrew Preston to form the Boston Fruit Company.

United Fruit Company was founded in 1899, when the Boston Fruit Company and various fruit exporting concerns controlled by Keith merged. In 1903, United Fruit Company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and became the first company to use refrigeration during open sea transport.

In 1944, the company premiered the "Chiquita Banana" advertising jingle, which extolled the virtues of the fruit as well as when to eat them and how to store them. The song, which had an infectious calypso beat, began with the words "I'm Chiquita Banana, and I've come to say." The brand name Chiquita was registered as a trademark in 1947.

In 1952, the government of Guatemala began expropriating unused United Fruit Company land to landless peasants. The company responded by intensively lobbying the U.S. government to intervene and mounting a misinformation campaign to portray the Guatemalan government as communist. In 1954, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency deposed the government of Guatemala, elected in 1950, and installed a pro-business military dictatorship.

In 1966 United Fruit acquired J. Hungerford Smith Company, owner of A&W Root Beer. In 1970, the company merged with AMK Corporation and changed its name to United Brands Company. AMK owned the meatpacker John Morrell & Co. In 1971 United Brands formed a wholly owned subsidiary, A&W Distributing Co., to retail A&W Root Beer.

In 1990, the company renamed itself Chiquita Brands International, as it undertook major investments in Costa Rica. However, the company began to see a decline in Honduran operations during the first half of 1990. As a result, Chiquita initiated the "Banana Wars" with rival company Fyffes over the limited banana supply. In March 2014, Chiquita Brands International and Fyffes announced that their boards of directors had unanimously approved a merger agreement.

Product descriptions and images
Please note that some pictures may only be representative of the inventory available.  If we have more than one piece, we are unable to scan and display every piece.  Unless otherwise noted, that there are variations for signatures, cancellation marks/holes, serial number, and dates.  Colors will be as noted and pictured.