A newly discovered 1924 $5 Queen Mary note with serial number A000002 and an extremely rare Victorian 50-cent brockage headline Alliance Coin & Banknote’s 501-lot sale on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, at the Toronto Coin Expo.
Auctioneer Sean Isaacs describes both items as “astounding” – a word he says he rarely uses – and expects them to generate major excitement among collectors.
The Queen Mary note, certified EU58, has not been seen on the market since it was printed more than a century ago, remaining hidden in a private collection for roughly 100 years. Isaacs called it both visually striking and historically important, with its exceptionally low serial number making it unprecedented in Canadian paper money collecting.
“Not only is it a gorgeous note, but the serial number makes it unprecedented,” he said. “It hasn’t seen the light of day since Dominion times.”
The Victorian 50-cent brockage, last sold by long-time dealer Doug Robins in the 1970s, is also being offered publicly for the first time in 50 years. Robins, who died in 2021, was a well-known figure in Canadian numismatics. A brockage occurs when a freshly struck coin sticks to a die and impresses its incuse, mirror-image design onto the next blank planchet. As a result, one side of the coin shows the correct design while the other bears a reversed, indented impression of the opposite side.
While brockage errors are scarce for any Canadian issue, they are extremely rare on Victorian-era silver 50-cent pieces, making this PCGS-certified error a trophy item for advanced collectors.
The auction also features a Hudson’s Bay Company gold service medal from 1920, struck in 15-karat gold and awarded to a staff member of the historic firm. Isaacs called it a “great piece of Hudson’s Bay memorabilia,” highly unusual and seldom encountered. Hudson’s Bay-related material has always been well sought after by collectors, and with the company’s demise in 2025, this medal is expected to generate significant interest.
Additional sections include a strong run of Canadian tokens and medals, among them early coronation medals and a rare Prince of Wales school medal presented to Canadian students for academic achievement.
Rounding out the sale is what Isaacs describes as the finest U.S. selection Alliance has ever offered. It includes a virtually complete set of commemorative 50-cent pieces highlighted by the coveted Hawaiian issue, a famous 1937-D three-legged buffalo nickel, and several other key U.S. varieties across denominations.
“We always try to have at least one piece in our auction that has either never been offered or hasn’t been seen in a generation,” Isaacs said. “In this sale, we have more than one.”
Collectors can preview the full listing online through the auction website and at the Toronto Coin Expo.