By Jesse Robitaille
An 1884 Bank of British North America $5 note is expected to bring $22,000 at the combined coin and stamp auction hosted by Colonial Acres in conjunction with this weekend’s National Postage Stamp and Coin Show.
The note (CH-55-20-02) will be offered as Lot 1062 of the three-session sale, which begins today with a live auction today, a day before the show kicks off.
“Only seven of these notes are known to exist with two in institutional collections,” said Todd Sandham, co-owner of the Kitchener, Ont.-based auction house.
The Bank of British North America was founded in 1836 and operated branches in Toronto, Montréal, Québec City, Saint John, Halifax and St. John’s. The bank issued notes between 1852 and 1911, and seven years later, it merged with the Bank of Montréal.
Other paper money highlights include Lot 1231 and 1232, a pair of consecutive 1937 Series $1,000 notes certified by Banknote Certification Service (BCS). Both are expected to bring $8,000.
An English 1935 Series $100 note with a pre-sale estimate of $6,000 will be offered as Lot 1192.
A $5 note issued by the Royal Bank of Canada in Basseterre, St. Kitts in 1938 (CH-630-60-02) will be offered as Lot 1109. Certified by Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) as Very Fine-25, this note is expected to bring $7,500.
“This is the highest graded example by PMG, and it’s one of only six known examples,” said Sandham.
A 1954 Series $1,000 “Devil’s Face” note also certified by BCS will be offered as Lot 1258 and has a pre-sale estimate of $7,500.
Lot 1129 is an 1882 Dominion of Canada $4 note (DC-10) in PMG Very Fine-20 expected to bring $6,000.
An English 1935 Series $100 note in BCS Extremely Fine-40 will be offered as Lot 1192.
“This is an original, very tough note and is in the top five graded by BCS,” who added the note is expected to bring $6,000.
Lot 1092 is a 1919 $10 note issued by the Merchants Bank of Canada (CH-460-22-04). In PMG Very Fine-20, this example has a pre-sale estimate of $4,000.
“Only six of these notes have been certified by PMG.”
Described as “very rare and highly sought after,” a 1991 $20 note with an inverted design (BC-58d-E27-iv) in BCS Extremely Fine-45 will be offered as Lot 1322. It’s expected to bring $3,500.
Rounding out the paper money highlights is Lot 1134, a 1902 Dominion of Canada $4 note (DC-17b) in PMG Very Fine-25.
“These are nice mid-range notes that will command considerable attention,” said Sandham, who added there’s a pre-sale estimate of $3,000.
COINAGE, TOKEN HIGHLIGHTS
A 1919 Merchants Bank of Canada $10 note will be offered is expected to bring $4,000 as Lot 1092 of the Sept. 7-8 sale hosted by Colonial Acres.
Moving on to coinage, an 1893 10-cent “Round Top” variety in International Coin Certification Service (ICCS) Very Fine-30 will be offered as Lot 473.
“This is always a tough coin to find in a mid-range grade,” said Sandham, who expects the coin to bring $2,500.
Lot 683 will see an 1870 “No LCW” 50-cent piece in ICCS Very Fine-20 cross the block.
“This is a nice-looking coin and should command a premium bid,” Sandham said, adding this lot also has a pre-sale estimate of $2,500.
For exonumia collectors, the sale will also offer sought-after tokens, including Lot 1017, a “very rare” blacksmith token (BL-53A1) in ICCS Fine-12. It’s expected to bring $1,250.
Another token highlight is Lot 1024, an 1822 half dollar anchor (CH-NC1a2) in ICCS Extremely Fine-40. It has a pre-sale estimate of $800.
A 1969 double-struck ‘flipover in collar’ cent is expected to bring $300 as Lot 1547.
EDMONTON VARIETY COLLECTION
The three-session sale will also feature part one of the Edmonton Variety Collection, which offers a “wide assortment of tougher-to-find varieties, many of which are unlisted,” Sandham said.
“These rare varieties seldom come into the market place.”
These highlights include Lot 1633, an 1858 five-cent “Blundered I in DEI” variety expected to bring $500.
“This is unpublished and very rare,” said Sandham, who added “there are many other errors in this auction.”
A 1995 50-cent off-metal error stuck on a loon dollar planchet will be offered as Lot 1558 and is expected to bring $800.
Rounding out the errors is Lot 1547, a 1969 double-struck “flipover in collar” cent expected to bring $300.
GENERAL LOTS
General highlights of the upcoming sale to be held in conjunction with the National Postage Stamp and Coin Show include a “nice assortment” of 1912-14 $5 and $10 Canadian gold coins; an “amazing selection” of gold from the U.S., Australia, China and Russia; a “selection of scarcer” Engelhard and JM silver bars; and an estate lot of Roman coins and other ancients. There will also be a “wide assortment” of chartered and dominion banknotes. “With the new Charlton chartered book finally coming out this fall, it may be the last time to get these notes at the older pricing levels,” said auctioneer Todd Sandham, co-owner of Colonial Acres, which is hosting the three-session sale this September. There will be “many scarce RCM products, including a select few kilo coins and low-mintage gold coins.” Sandham added: “We have all of the uncut sheets issued by the Bank of Canada including the scarce $5 and $10 sheets. We also have an amazing selection of specimen notes, some replacement and test notes and many top-graded certified notes. Many 1935 Series Bank of Canada notes are available in French and English from the $1 to the $100 denominations.” There will also be an “almost complete collection” of Royal Canadian Numismatic Association medals from the 1950s to date.
SECOND TRAJAN AUCTION
“We had tremendous success on our first inaugural auction in Mississauga, and we are excited to continue the tradition with our second auction this September,” said Sandham. “The show was well attended in the spring, and I think that helped because our viewing room was very busy and in turn we had a tremendous amount of bidding in the auction.”
The sale will conclude on Sunday with an online auction. Both evening live-auction sessions on Sept. 7-8 will be preceded by lot viewing throughout the day.
Lot viewing begins on Friday at noon and Saturday at 10 a.m., followed by the live auction at 5:30 p.m. each day. An online sale held on icollector.com will begin on Sunday at noon. In addition to bidding from the floor, bids will be accepted online before and during the event as well as by phone and mail.