1935 Bank of Canada English Text $500 Boosts World Paper Money Auction to Nearly $2 Million
An exceptionally rare
Bank of Canada $500 1935 BC-17 English Text PCGS Banknote About UNC 53
PPQ sold for $228,000 to lead Heritage’s World Paper Money Signature® Auction to $1,975,746 March 7-8.
When the Bank of Canada opened in March 1935, its first issues were small-sized bank notes to replace the larger format notes previously issued under the Dominion of Canada and by government-chartered private banks. It produced notes in denominations ranging from $1 to $1,000 — some with English text and some with French — and the $500 had the smallest print total for both languages. One of just a dozen examples believed to remain in private hands, this example is stunning, graded About Uncirculated, and carrying the PPQ designation.
“This auction brought exceptional results for bank notes from all around the world,” says Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “The results show that the market for high-end world paper money is as strong as ever.”
A Palestine Currency
Board 10 Pounds 7.9.1939 Pick 9c PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ brought in 14 bids and more than quadrupled its pre-auction estimate when it closed at $45,600. This largeformat 10-pound was printed by Thomas De La Rue, and this magnificent example is the highest-graded note holding the “exceptional paper quality” designation.
A gorgeous Jamaica Treasury 10 Shillings 1918 Pick 30 PMG Choice Very Fine 35
EPQ , from the Drs. Joanne and Edward Dauer Collection, also brought in more than four times its pre-auction estimate when it ended at $33,600, setting a new record for the most ever paid at public auction for any Jamaican bank note. The island nation’s first series of Treasury notes was issued during the reign of King George V, and this example features the signature of W.M. Fraser, who
was Island Treasurer from 1926-35.
One of only a handful of known examples of a Turks & Caicos Islands Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands 1 Pound 12.11.1918 Pick 3b PMG Very Fine 20, from the British Overseas Territory, reached $28,800. Turks & Caicos is a small tropical colony that issued bank notes from 1903-30, after which Jamaican coins and notes, along with other British monies, circulated.
From Russia and The Willamette Collection Part IV comes a rare Russia Russian-American Company 10 Kopeks ND (1820s-60s) Pick Unlisted PMG Extremely Fine 40 that drew a winning bid of $25,200. This 10 kopeks note is moderately circulated, with all design elements clearly visible, and features a readable serial number, which is not always the case, as manuscript ink often faded from the parchment.
Other top lots in the auction included, but were not limited to:
• A Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 50 Riyals 1961 / AH1379 Pick 9a PMG Choice Uncirculated 64EPQ:$19,800
• A China Russo-Chinese Bank, Tientsin 1 Tael 1907 Pick
S549a S/M#O5-30 PMG Very
Fine 25: $16,800
• A Kiau Chau Deutsch-Asiatiche Bank 1 Dollar 1.3.1907 Pick 1a PMG Fine 12: $15,600
• A Government of Iraq 1/4 Dinar 1.7.1931 Pick 1a PMG Choice Very Fine 35: $14,400
• A French Indochina Banque de l'Indo-Chine 20 Piastres 16.3.1907 Pick 36 PMG Choice About
Unc 58: $13,800
• A Colombia Caja de Propietarios 50 Centavos 1880s Pick S881 Remainder PCGS Very Choice New64PPQ:$12,000