Seat As a consequence of its merger with Archipelago, the NYSE ceased having seats. Prior to its merger, the NYSE had 1366 memberships, traditionally referred to as a "seats," because in the early years of its existence members sat in assigned chairs during the roll call of stocks. Originally, the number of NYSE memberships increased or decreased as new members joined or older ones died or resigned. Then in 1868 the Exchange established a fixed number of memberships and revised its rules to allow members to sell their seats.