Stack’s Bowers Galleries Presents Historic Canadian Banknote Certified by PMG
Posted on 1/20/2025
Rare and collectible Canadian banknotes certified by Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) are on the auction block this month, in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ World Collectors Choice Auction: The Canadian Banknote Sale on January 28, 2025.
Among the highlights of this auction is a Dominion of Canada 1870 $2 graded PMG 35 Choice Very Fine (lot 70102), with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000. Only 24,000 of these notes were printed for Victoria, making it an extraordinary rarity. Even the National Currency Collection lacks an example of this $2 note, and none has ever been seen or rumored to exist until now, according to the auction house.
Issued when Victoria was a small frontier city of fewer than 4,000 residents, reliant on gold and silver coinage, this note highlights the challenges of a remote economy transitioning into Canada’s financial system. Victoria’s role as the capital of British Columbia and its strategic position following the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush likely justified the issuance of such notes despite limited demand.
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Adding to its allure, the note is graded Choice Very Fine 35 by PMG, making it not only a unique artifact of its place of issue but also the finest example of its type.
Other PMG-certified notes in this auction are:
- a Dominion of Canada 1925 $500 Specimen graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated (lot 70119), with an estimate of $35,000 to $45,000
- a Canada 1937 $1,000 graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ (lot 70184), with an estimate of $15,000 to $25,000
- a Canada / French Administration 1729-49 24 Livres graded PMG 25 Very Fine (lot 70096), with an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000
- a Canada Pictou Bank 1882 partially uncut sheet of three $5 and $10 notes graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine (lot 70070), with an estimate of $7,500 to $15,000
- a Canada, Bank of Canada 1954 $5 Replacement / Star graded PMG 58 Choice About Uncirculated EPQ (lot 70204), with an estimate of $5,000 to $9,000
- a Canada, The Bank of Toronto 1920 $50 graded PMG 20 Very Fine (lot 70089), with an estimate of $5,500 to $8,500
- a pair of Canada 1935 $25 Front Archival Photograph graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ and Back Archival Photograph graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated (lot 70134), with an estimate of $5,000 to $8,000
- a Canada, Banque du Canada 1935 $100 French graded PMG 25 Very Fine (lot 70141), with an estimate of $4,000 to $8,000
- a Canada, Bank of Canada 1935 $1,000 English graded PMG 25 Very Fine (lot 70142), with an estimate of $4,000 to $8,000
- a Canada, Bank of Canada 1954 $10 Replacement graded PMG 62 Uncirculated (lot 70210), with an estimate of $4,000 to $8,000
Estimates are provided by the auction house. The $ symbol indicates US Dollars.
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