Canadian Government Paper Money, 26th Edition

The pricing panel once again report a soft market, but there has been a noticeable strengthening of demand for popular, low cost, entry level notes, which can only bode well for the hobby. Pricing changes mainly reflect fine tuning rather than broad trends. That said, it is true that price increases outnumber decreases by a substantial margin. Rare and popular notes continue to shine, as they would in almost any market, as demonstrated by recent sales of a Province of Canada $10, a 1924 Queen Mary $5 and a 1986 $5 GOG0 test note on Luminus substrate, all at prices north of $20,000.

The error note section at the back of the book has seen some rather sharp upward revisions as a result of the sale of the Tom Merritt collection in 2012. Recent very strong sales of Newfoundland cash notes, 1901 - 1909, are reflected in significantly higher prices for most, particularly in VF grade. Depression scrip continues to trend higher, by modest increments, and most of the Specimen notes continue to gain ground. Premiums for Gem Uncirculated Dominion notes are, generally speaking, considerably higher than previously. On the negative side, most 1986 $2 notes from the first signature changeover period remain too plentiful to support even their reduced valuations, and have therefore been subjected to further cuts.

Pricing has been tied to Canadian grading practices, as described in the front of the catalogue, which should help clear up confusion resulting from the prevalence of notes of the market which have been graded by incompatible standards.

In addition to the annual updating of prefixes and census data, a few more images are now in colour. There is a new 1971 $10 replacement range, and new listings for Prince Edward Island treasury notes have been added. A brief reference explains Province of Canada bond proofs from the American Bank Note Co. Archives Sale, as we get so many questions about them.

The 26th Edition of the Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Government Paper Money will be available at the RCNA Convention, Winnipeg, in July.