By Jesse Robitaille
With more than 2,200 lots across three sessions and a total value surpassing $2.5 million, the upcoming Torex auction promises a diverse offering of numismatic material in what will be one of the “most prestigious numismatic events of 2015.”
Lot viewing for the show’s auction, led by Marc Verret and Eric Pacquet of the Canadian Numismatic Company, begins on Thursday, June 25, running between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. that day and until 5 p.m. the following day. Sessions one and two will be held Friday and Saturday evening, respectively, with session three taking place online on Monday, June 29.
“This auction will be unlike any other seen in this country,” said Verret, who added a portion of the coins on offer had been stored away for 20 years. “This is a quality auction, which includes over 2,200 lots of mainly Canadian and Newfoundland numismatic material.”
With the sale of the Kingston and Phil Harter collections – plus offerings from nearly 40 consignors across North America – Verret said the auction features some interesting chartered and Dominion banknotes and some of Canada’s finest known specimen and proof-like pieces.
“Up for offer is the Kingston Collection, which consists of a vast assortment of high-end Mint State [MS] coins dated 1937 to 2012,” said Verret.
An avid collector throughout the 1990’s, the consignor’s main focus was high-end MS-65 or better George VI coinage, but he also found interest in collecting “early original Brilliant Uncirculated rolls of George VI issues.”
Verret said a major highlight is the “quite rare” 1870 $1 DC-2e Payable at Victoria bank note.
“This superb piece is believed to have been purchased in the early 1940’s by William Wright, a Canadian-born citizen who moved to Seattle, Wash. in and around 1898,” said Verret. “While in Seattle, he began the art of collecting diverse banknotes, and the notes have since been passed down through three generations of family members and is now being put up for offer.”
Other highlights include some “fantastic and rare” banknotes, including an 1897 Traders Bank of Canada $5 note; an 1898 Molsons Bank $5 note – the only issue offered to the public; an 1878 Dominion Bank $1 in PCGS Choice Uncirculated-63; a 1935 Bank of Canada $25 BC-11 in PCGS Choice Uncirculated-64; and a 1935 $25 BC-12 in CCCS Uncirculated-60.
For coinage, the auction offers “several solo and tied-for-top-graded issues”, including an 1870 Newfoundland 10-cents in PCGS MS-66; an 1896 one-cent in PCGS MS-66; an 1891 one-cent SLSD Obverse 3 in ICCS MS-65; an 1893 five-cents in PCGS MS-67; a 1900 Oval O five-cents in PCGS MS-67; an 1891 10-cents 22Lvs in PCGS MS-66; an 1898 10-cents Obverse 6 in ICCS MS-66; a 1903 10-cents in PCGS MS-66; an 1890H 25-cents in ICCS MS-65; an 1883H 25-cents in ICCS MS-65; an 1871 50-cents in PCGS/ICCS MS-63; a 1909 50-cents in ICCS MS-64; and a 1935 $1 J.O.P. counterstamp in ICCS MS-66.