The only 1911 Canadian silver dollar known in private hands is being offered with several other major Canadian rarities Jan. 13 in New York City by Heritage World Coin Auctions.
The auction is being held in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention, which will take place Jan. 16 to 19.
The rarities are part of the virtually complete Sid and Alicia Belzberg collection of Canadian coinage, which encompasses more than 700 pieces of Canadian decimal coinage from 1858 on, and the separate coinages of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland prior to their joining the Confederation.
Only two examples of the silver 1911 Canadian dollar, nicknamed "Emperor of Canadian coins," are known to exist, one of which is permanently housed in the Bank of Canada Museum in Ottawa. The other is the Belzberg specimen. A lead version of the dollar is also known.
The Belzberg specimen, graded Specimen 65 by Professional Coin Grading Services, is the finer of the two silver coins, and it was listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the world's rarest coin throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
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EXTREMELY RARE silver and gold 1862 British Columbia pattern coins are part of the Sid and Alicia Belzberg collection, which is to be offered at auction by Heritage.
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The Belzberg specimen is deeply toned in purple, russet, gold and gray, with a "flawless" strike, according to Heritage.
Mystery surrounds the production of the 1911 Canadian dollar coin. According to Stephan E. Dushnick's Silver & Nickel Dollars of Canada: 1911 to date, Canada first examined producing a dollar coin in 1910. Later that year, Parliament authorized the production of a .925 silver dollar coin.
The British Royal Mint in England produced all new Canadian designs and master tools until the 1930s and 1940s, forwarding the equipment to Canada, so the design of the dollar coin took place in London.
Sir E. Bertram Mackennal designed the dollar coin's obverse, which features a portrait of King George V and the inscription GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP: ("George V, king and emperor of India, by the grace of God").
W.J. Blakemore rendered the reverse's design, which features a wreath of maple leaves.
A crown appears at the top of the design. The reverse reads ONE DOLLAR CANADA 1911.
While the designs were completed in 1910, dies were not produced until 1911. Test strikes were made that year in London before the dies were sent back to Ottawa.
However, the Canadian government evidently decided against striking dollar coins in 1911.
One of the trial strikes was acquired by the Royal Mint Museum in London, which eventually loaned the coin to the Ottawa museum.
The Belzberg specimen was unknown until 1960, when the London coin firm Seaby's announced it had bought the coin. Speculation points to the coin having been in the possession of the family of the BRM's mintmaster at the time of the striking.
The coin changed hands several times in the 1960s before being bought by noted Canadian collector John McKay Clements in 1965.
Clements sold the coin in 1976 for $110,000.
The coin brought $450,000 in 1988, then a Canadian record, when Nova Scotia collector Sandy Campbell bought it.
The coin changed hands several more times, each sale bringing a higher price, until 1998, when it was sold by Kansas City, Mo., coin dealer Jay Parrino for $1 million.
It was the first Canadian coin to crack the $1 million mark.
British Columbia patterns
The 1911 Canadian dollar is just one of the major rarities that will be offered Jan. 13.
A complete four-piece set of 1862 British Columbia $10 and $20 patterns is also listed in Heritage's auction catalog. Each pattern will be sold separately.
The set of patterns had last been offered at auction in 1935. The patterns are struck in both silver and gold.
It is believed that only five to 10 silver British Columbia pattern sets were designed and struck by Albrecht Kuner. The British Columbia government had commissioned the design and striking of the patterns, and the authorities claimed the dies from Kuner after the patterns were struck.
The patterns' obverse features a crown, and the reverse feature an oak wreath.
The silver $20 is graded at Specimen 61 and the silver $10 is graded at 58, both by PCGS.
Only five examples of the gold $20 pattern are known, with three of those permanently held in museums.
The Belzberg specimen, graded Specimen 60 by PCGS, is the finest privately held example.
The pattern in the Belzberg sale holds a Brand-Norweb pedigree.
Between three and five examples of the $10 gold pattern are known, with only the Belzbergs' pattern known to be held privately, not in a museum.
The Belzberg $10 gold pattern was once held in the Virgil Brand collection. It is graded at Specimen 62 by PCGS.
The coins will be displayed at Heritage's offices, at the Florida United Numismatists convention in Orlando Jan. 6 to 11 and at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City Jan. 12 to 13.
For more information, contact Heritage Numismatic Auctions Inc., 100 Highland Park Village, 2nd Floor, Dallas, TX 5205. Telephone (800) US COINS or visit www.HeritageCoin.com.
