Transamerica Corporation - Transamerica Building Vignette

Beautifully engraved specimen certificate from the Transamerica Corporation. This historic document was printed by the Security-Columbian Banknote Company in the 1970's and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical man with a globe infront of a city skyline. This item has the printed signatures of the Company’s Chairman of the Board and Secretary.




Certificate Vignette



Transamerica Corporation was established on October 11, 1928. The company acquired Occidental Life Insurance Company of California during the same year. Over the next 30 years, Transamerica prospered with banking and non-banking activities (primarily insurance), helping Giannini achieve his dream of providing financial service to the general public.

In 1956, the Bank Holding Company Act forced the company to separate property and casualty insurance operations from banking activities. The company completed the divestiture of its banking activities, but during the next 20 years, Transamerica became a major diversified operating company. At one time, Transamerica owned a motion picture distributor, an airline, a car rental company and a machinery manufacturer, in addition to its insurance and financial services businesses.

During the latter part of the 1960s, Transamerica entered the life reinsurance market. Transamerica Reinsurance became one of the leading life reinsurers in the U.S. market, based on new business and inforce volume, serving approximately 500 companies in the U.S., Latin America and Asia Pacific regions.

In 1981, Occidental Life Insurance Company of California became Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company. The company motto was "First Rate Service at a Fair Price," and the company mascot was a goat.

During the mid-1980s, Transamerica re-evaluated its business focus and returned to its roots in financial services, including life insurance, leasing and real estate services. In 1988, four of the Transamerica Life Companies joined the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, which is a voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to promote high ethical standards in the sale of individual life insurance and individual annuity products by its member companies.

In 1992, Transamerica Reinsurance established its home office in Charlotte, NC, relocating from Los Angeles, CA.

Interesting facts about the famous Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco:

Designed by architect William Pereira, the Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest building in San Francisco. Originally designed to be 1,000 feet tall, the building was lowered to 853 feet due to protests against changing the San Francisco skyline dramatically.

The building is covered with white, pre-cast quartz aggregate panels. The slender, pyramidal configuration allows more light to reach the street than a conventional, box-like building design.

The building features 48 stories with 3,678 windows. It takes a month to wash all the windows. At its base, the building is 152 feet by 152 feet. The 48th floor is 45 feet by 45 feet.

The spire rises 212 feet above the top floor and is covered with vertically louvered aluminum panels. Begun in 1969, the Transamerica Building was completed in 1972 and is located at 600 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. The Pyramid cost $44 million and is a federally registered trademark.