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By Hans Niedermair
The highest-numbered 1925 Dominion of Canada $500 of eight known heads up a paper-heavy Royal Canadian Numismatic Association convention sale in Saint John, N.B.
Serial numbered A013504, the note is hand-signed by Jno. R. Melin and C.E. Campbell and graded AU-50 by PMG. It is estimated to sell for between $150,000 and $200,000.
The note is one of about 600 lots of paper that will be offered in the July 14-15 sale, which will be conducted by Geoffrey Bell Auctions.
"Chartered banknotes in general, specifically the Molson stuff, will attract a lot of attention," said Brian Bell of the Saint John-based auction house.
Indeed, the 1,600-lot sale features about 370 chartered banknotes, including 26 lots from Molsons Bank, a Montreal-based institution that operated from 1837 to 1925.
The offerings from that bank include an 1871 $6 in VG estimated to sell for $20,000 to $25,000, a 1904 $20 in PMG Choice Uncirculated-64 expected to go for $20,000 to $22,500, and a 1914 $50 in VF, cancelled with nine punch holes and two red ink signatures, estimated at $12,000 to $15,000.
A pair of seldom-seen Canadian Bank of Commerce notes with "YUKON" overprints is also featured in the sale.
The overprinted 1892-dated notes were part of an emergency issue of notes sent in 1898 to a remote outpost in the Yukon, which was suffering a currency shortage during the Klondike Gold Rush.
The overprints were added as a security measure in case the notes were lost or stolen, Geoffrey Bell told Canadian Coin News.
"They had to be shipped from Toronto to get them to the Yukon," he said. "They had to go by boat, canoe, over mountains and through snow, so there had to be some security.
"They overprinted them in Toronto at one side, and when they arrived in the Yukon, they were overprinted on the other. It's a miracle that any of them survived, because I imagine many of them were lost in transit. It was a pretty rough journey."
Estimated to sell for $20,000 to $25,000, the overprinted $10 note offered in the sale is one of only three known, with one of the examples residing in the National Currency Collection.
The second note, a $5, is one of only 13 blue overprints recorded to exist. Estimated to sell for $10,000 to $12,000, it is formerly of the Sid and Alicia Belzberg Collection of Canadian Coinage, and was the first lot offered during the 2003 sale of that collection.
The $5 is in VG/Fine condition, while the $10 is described as Fine.
Other chartered bank highlights include a trio of uncut four-note sheets from the Halifax Banking Company, each estimated to sell for $8,000 to $10,000 and an 1862 Niagara District Bank $4 in PMG VG-10 expected to sell for $5,000 to $7,500.
The Bank of Canada section features a seven-lot run of commemorative $25 notes from the 1935 issue, plus several 1954 $1 Devil's Face replacement notes.
Many of the banknotes in the sale come from the collection of the late William King.
The sale is also strong in colonial tokens, with 210 lots kicking off the first of the auction's two sessions. The section includes a copper specimen of a 1756-dated Louis XV token (Breton #517c) in AU estimated at $1,000 to $1,200 and an 1832 Province of Nova Scotia penny token (Breton #870) in EF expected to fetch $1,200 to $1,400.
More than 20 lots of material from the Hudson's Bay Company, including scrip and tokens, are offered in the sale. According to Geoffrey Bell Auctions, "this may be the finest lot of Hudson's Bay material" since a sale conducted in 1994 by Jeffrey Hoare Auctions.
Among the nearly 100 lots of medals is an 1875-dated Indian Chief Medal estimated to sell for between $8,000 and $10,000. The medals were presented to tribal chiefs to mark treaties that saw native lands ceded to the Canadian government. This medal marks Treaty No. 5, which saw the Saulteaux and Cree tribes give up much of what are today central and northern Manitoba, plus parts of Saskatchewan and Ontario.
East Coast decimals are represented by 130 lots. The majority of the section is made up of Newfoundland coins, including a bronze trial of an 1864 cent in ICCS SP-62 estimated to sell for $3,000 to $4,000.
About 280 lots Canadian decimals will be offered, including a 1921-dated 5-cent coin, the "Prince of Canadian Coins," in PCGS AU-55, estimated at $12,000 to $15,000.
Other highlights in the decimal section are a 1969 large date 10 cents in ICCS VF-30 estimated at $15,000 to $20,000, an 1871H 25 cents in ICCS MS-65 estimated at $10,000 to $12,500 and a 1904-dated 50-cent coin in ICCS MS-63 expected to fetch between $12,000 and $15,000.
The 57th annual Royal Canadian Numismatic Association convention will take place July 14 to 17 at the Hilton Saint John Hotel. For more information on the show, visit www.rcna.ca. More information on the sale can be obtained from www.gbellauctions.com.
July 6 to July 19, 2010 issue of Canadian Coin News
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