Probe shares represent your percentage ownership of the company. Yes, they could be viewed as paper assets if not in your physical possession. If held with a broker they could be pledged as collateral for a loan from another lending institution for their own gain. If held in an IRA or any other retirement account they could also be used for similiar purposes. Personally, all but a few small positions we have are in certificate form held by us. I know there is a process to segregate your broker held securities so they can't be borrowed or pledged as collateral but we just have never done it.

We have a about a 1% interest in a historical, still semi-productive, gold mining concern on the western flanks of the Sierra Nevada that we visit occassionally. We hold all of our own certificate in this company. I don't feel those certificates are paper assets. We are part owners and to me, these certificates are more like a deed on all of the assets along with some federal mining claims in good standing along with our water rights.

Of course the State of California and the federal government could, basically, seize anything that law permits and in the end maybe the shares turn out to be paper assets, Who knows?