Alberta collector sells rare $5 note from Bank of Vancouver
By John Mackie, Vancouver Sun
A rare $5 banknote from the long-defunct Bank of Vancouver has sold for a record $28,750.
Marc Verret of C&P Numismatics in Quebec City auctioned the note at the Canadian Numismatic Association convention in Ottawa on July 18. It had belonged to an Alberta collector, who purchased it in an auction in the United States about 15 years ago. Verret declined to give the buyer’s or seller’s names, citing client confidentiality.
The Bank of Vancouver was launched in the midst of a real estate and industrial boom in 1910 by some of B.C.’s most prominent capitalists, including the lieutenant-governor, James Paterson, and future Vancouver mayor William Malkin, of Malkin Bowl fame. But the boom went bust, and the bank went out of business on Dec. 14, 1914.
The bank’s headquarters was in the Flack Block, a beautiful heritage building at Cambie and Hastings that recently underwent a $20-million restoration.
It issued $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 banknotes, but only a handful remain, and they almost never come up for sale.
“I’ve only ever seen one Bank of Vancouver banknote in 25 years in the business,” said Brian Grant Duff of All Nations Coins and Stamps in Vancouver.
“In the past I’ve only ever been able to find [uncirculated] proof notes where archives had them, and they came to market. I’ve had good success with those, but I’ve never seen a real banknote [for sale].” (more…)

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