A set of unissued 1937 Bank of Canada bilingual $1 banknotes depicting King Edward VIII will be displayed at the Regina Coin Club Spring Show next weekend.
According to an article published by George Manz in the April 2018 Regina Coin Club Newsletter, a set of photographic tintype proofs of the obverse and reverse sides of the proposed $1 note—dated Jan. 3, 1937—will be on display at the April 21-22 show. They are the only known examples of Canadian currency with a portrait of Edward VIII in private hands.
“By October 1936, both the Canadian Bank Note Company and the American Bank Note Company had received orders from the Bank of Canada to design new banknotes that would replace those issued in 1935,” wrote Manz, the founder and owner of George Manz Coins and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association. “These proofs were the fruits of their labour. The face of the note depicts the central vignette of Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, in the uniform of the Seaforth Highlanders, while the back of the note depicts an allegorical figure of a woman representing agriculture.”
The display will also include a die proof vignette of Edward VIII used to make the tintype proofs.
“The vignette includes the hand signed signature of the engraver, Robert Savage,” wrote Manz. “The excellent book, Portraits of a Prince: Coins, Medals and Banknotes of Edward VIII by Joseph S. Giordiano Jr, indicates that the rarity of the tintype proofs is what the writer calls virtually unique, while the vignette is described as excessively rare.”
The Regina Coin Club also expressed its gratitude to the anonymous Canadian collector who lended the club the proofs for display at the upcoming show, which will be held at the Turvey Centre on the northern outskirts of Regina.