The British Joint-Stock Company That Took Over Most of the National Debt in 1720 and Whose Share Price Rose Tenfold in Six Months Before Collapsing in September
The South Sea Company's January 1720 deal with the British Treasury exchanged government debt for company shares. The share price rose from £128 in January to £1,050 in late June. It collapsed to £190 by the end of September. Many of the Whig political class were ruined; several Treasury and Mint officials were imprisoned; Isaac Newton lost about £20,000 of his own money in the crash.
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