Walt Disney Co, the maker of iconic cartoon character Mickey Mouse, had planned to stop the issuance of stock certificates to fans, said a Bloomberg report. The company would only issue shares in electronic form. This would be a blow to potential collectors of Walt Disney documents, including fans of stock certificates with drawings of Mickey Mouse and Bambi.

Yesterday, Disney said in a regulatory filing that when investors transferred their shares, they would now be reissued in electronic certificates. The change would take effect on October 16. The news agency deduced that the move could also lower the supply for websites pitching the items as a way to get children interested in investment.

Disney certificates had become popular to collectors at GiveAShare.com. The latter is an Arizona based firm that issues financial documents in a frame for a fee. Many companies had long eliminated share ownership in paper to cut spending costs. Meanwhile, Disney remained to be a top seller, according to stock and bond collector website Scripophily.com's founder Bob Kerstein.

Disney shares fell 0.9% to USD64 yesterday in New York trading.