Tangible vs. Intangible Property

Now, you may have noticed in that list that one of those things is not like the others. Can you guess which one it is? That is right, it’s the stock certificate. What makes a stock certificate different is that the value of it is not in the thing itself – a stock certificate, in and of itself, is simply a piece of paper. But it represents something much more valuable than a piece of paper, therefore illustrating another division in property – that between “tangible” and “intangible” property.

Again, “tangible property” is defined in the 1st Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary as:

Property which may be touched; such as is perceptible to the senses; corporeal property, whether real or personal.[1]

“Intangible” property, formally defined, is:

Such property as has no intrinsic and marketable value, but is merely the representative or evidence of value, such as certificates of stock, bonds, promissory notes, and franchises.[2]

While we will not deal much with intangible property generally, some intangibles (such as promissory notes) will be covered later on.

[1] Black, Henry Campbell. Black's Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern. West Pub. Co., 1910;  finding Indiana cases which define these terms is difficult, due to their ancient lineage. Most Indiana cases simply assume the knowledge of the meaning of these terms.

[2] Id.