Realizations include buyer’s premium and all prices in USD.
Nearly all of the 78 lots offered as part of the Adem Karisik Collection of Canadian Currency sold during a single-session online auction held in late August.
Offered by the Texas-based Heritage Auctions, the collection featured Bank of Canada, Dominion of Canada and chartered banknotes spanning nearly a century from 1898-1989. A total of 75 lots were sold with realizations topping $69,000 (about $92,450 Cdn.).
The top-earning lot was a 1937 Series $50 note issued by the Bank of Canada and dated Jan. 2, 1937 (BC-26a). Certified as Choice Uncirculated-63 by Paper Money Guaranty (PMG), it sold for $10,800, failing to meet its pre-sale estimate of $15,000-plus as Lot 88024.
A 1935 Series $5 note brought $4,200 on a $2,800 estimate as Lot 88011.
Another early Bank of Canada note, this a 1935 $25 commemorative issue (BC-11) – the central bank’s first – crossed the block as Lot 88013. This example, a “Pick 48” variety certified as Choice Extremely Fine-45 by PCGS Banknote, also features a low serial number of “A000167.” Dated June 5, 1935, it brought $6,600, topping its estimate of $6,400.
Also issued by the central bank, a 1954 $1,000 “Devil’s Face” note, this a “Pick 73” variety (BC-36), sold for $6,600 on an estimate of $9,000-plus. Certified as About Uncirculated-53 by PCGS Banknote, it was offered as Lot 88043.
Rounding out the highlights are a pair of 1935 Series bills plus a chartered note from the same year. These lots include:
A 1935 Canadian Bank of Commerce $5 note brought $3,120 on a $1,600 estimate as Lot 88072.
- Lot 88011, a 1935 Series $5 note (BC-6) in PMG Choice Uncirculated-63 EPQ (exceptional paper quality) that brought $4,200 on a $2,800 estimate;
- Lot 88014, a 1935 Series $100 note (BC-15) in PMG Choice Very Fine-35 that brought $3,855.60 on a $3,200 estimate; and
- Lot 88072, a 1935 Canadian Bank of Commerce $5 chartered note in PMG Very Fine-30 EPQ that brought $3,120 on a $1,600 estimate.
Consigner Adem Karisik is a Vancouver-based collector and dealer who owns Rare Collectables Trading, a father-and-son team with more than 25 years of experience buying and selling paper money.