1924 $5 ‘Queen Mary’ note expected to highlight this weekend’s National Postage Stamp and Coin Show auction

A 94-year-old $5 Dominion of Canada banknote affectionately known as “The Queen Mary” is slated to highlight the combined coin and stamp auction hosted by Kitchener, Ont.’s Colonial Acres at the National Postage Stamp and Coin Show this April.

The 1924 Dominion of Canada $5 note (DC-27) will be one of 1,300 lots offered during the two-session sale, which begins on April 6 – a day before the show opens – and concludes on the following day. Both evening live-auction sessions will be preceded by lot viewing throughout the day.

The Queen Mary note features the Campbell-Sellar signature combination as well as a serial number reading “A052160/C.” In Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) Very Fine-30, this example is described by auctioneers as “well-centred and attractive” and a “respectable of an iconic piece of Canadian paper money.” It’s expected to bring upwards of $10,500.

While the obverse depicts Queen Mary (1867-1953), the wife of King George V, the note’s reverse features the an engraving of the East Block of Canada’s Parliament Buildings based on a photograph.

“This is a nice, attractive note,” said Kirk Parsons, co-owner of Colonial Acres, “but there are plenty of other Chartered, dominion and Bank of Canada notes up for offer. A few pieces haven’t been on the market in a while, and there are a few really nice examples. The auction has a really nice paper money section; I would say it’s a highlight of the sale, but overall, it’s looking really good.”

Parsons said among the 1,300 lots is a “wide variety of material across almost all fields of collecting.”

An 1882 Dominion of Canada $4 note (DC-10) is expected to bring $10,000 as Lot 981.

PAPER MONEY HIGHLIGHTS

Other highlights include Lot 981, an 1882 Dominion of Canada $4 note (DC-10) in PMG Very Fine-25. With a Various-Courtney signature combination and a serial number reading “279693/D,” this note has “several pinholes but overall very nice eye-appeal,” according to auctioneers. This example is also in the top six certified by PMG.

“You don’t see this too often,” said Parsons, who added the note has a catalogue value of $10,000.

An English text $1,000 note from the Bank of Canada’s 1935 Series (BC-19) will be offered as Lot 1024. Featuring the Osborne-Towers signature combination and a serial number reading “A01479/D,” this note has a grade of Very Fine-30 by PMG. It’s described by auctioneers as “well-centred and evenly worn, but has four pinholes near the top left corner.”

“These are always desirable,” added Parsons.

This note has a catalogue value of $9,000.

Another $1,000 note, this from the Bank of Canada’s 1937 Series (BC-28) will be offered as Lot 1051. With an Osborne-Towers signature combination and a serial number reading “A/K0004331,” this note also carries a grade of Very Fine-30 (Net) from PMG.

An English-text 1935 Series $1,000 note has a pre-sale estimate of $9,000.

“The note is free of any holes, tears or graffiti and is well-centred,” said Parsons, who added there’s a catalogue value of $8,750.

Another highlight is Lot 985, a 1902 Dominion of Canada $4 note (DC-17a) featuring the Various-Courtney signature combination, a serial number reading “072876/A” and a grade of PMG Very Fine-20 (Net).

“The note is free of any holes or tears but has a few rust spots,” said Parsons, who added there’s a catalogue value of $6,500.

Rounding out the notaphily highlights is Lot 1148, a 2001 Bank of Canada $10 “Ghost Note” error (BC-63a) with the “shoulder notes” included. With a Knight-Thiessen signature combination and a serial number reading “FDT4664748,” the error note is in Uncirculated condition, according to auctioneers.

“The lot includes the note before and the note after the error from the a brick of bills in sequence. A lot of people that collect those errors like to have those shoulder notes,” said Parsons. “The ghost note is a neat error; it’s striking and a vibrant.”

This three-piece lot has a catalogue value of $4,000.

Another $1,000 banknote, this from the 1937 Series, has a pre-sale estimate of $8,750.

COINAGE HIGHLIGHTS

Moving on to coinage, a 1946 Newfoundland five-cent coin will be offered as Lot 99. In International Coin Certification Service (ICCS) Mint State-64, this key date coin has a catalogue value of $4,500.

“For everybody that buys Newfoundland coins, the ’46 nickel is always what people are chasing after, and this is in a nice grade,” said Parsons. “They always sell strong and have good bidding action.”

Parsons said other highlights include a “really nice” eight-piece Newfoundland gold collection.

“As of late, this is becoming higher in demand, so it’s nice to be able to offer an almost-complete run of them,” he said.

“We also have over 20 unique medals from the 1800s; most are large City of London medals with exceptional quality.”

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