As an offshoot of the Rare Note Registers, I thought it would be fun to show how some notes have changed over time. It is quite rare to track down images of a note before and after it was enhanced to alter its appearance and/or condition. In old auction catalogues, it is usually only the rarest notes that have pictures to accompany the descriptions. On the Internet, one has to be a watchful sleuth to catch a person buying a note in one auction and selling it in another. There are no limits to what can be done to change a piece of paper money. In one instance, a rare Northern Crown Bank $10 note with obvious edge damage previously graded as VF turned up in a major auction with the edge damage repaired and with a grade of Unc. Fortunately, the deception was caught before the note could be sold to an unsuspecting buyer! Other changes to notes are much more minor but nonetheless interesting, as you will see below. Kids, don't try this at home!
NORTHERN CROWN BANK 1914 $10
This note had extensive damage to the right edge. It was repaired, trimmed, and probably cleaned (as evidenced by the manuscript signature on the right side disappearing).
CANADIAN BANK OF COMMERCE 1917 $100.
And now for something completely the same... A chartered note with extensive repairs to the right edge. Also notice that the minor edge nicks along the top border appear to have been sealed.
MERCHANTS BANK OF CANADA 1907 $50.
Another high denomination chartered note, this time with internal holes, tape stains, and missing design. Like the Northern Crown $10 note above, this note also failed to sell at auction before it underwent major repairs, but unlike the previous notes, this piece's repairs are much more obvious (can you say "white goop?").
DC-13b 1898 $1. mss.-Courtney Series I
This note was purchased from a major Canadian dealer. A purple teller's stamp is seen on the back. The note I received was washed and scrubbed to remove the teller's stamp. The enhancement succeeded only partially, and the surface of the note was damaged as a result. In addition, the note has about 20 pinholes that the dealer forgot to mention (and repair). Yes, I got a refund and an apology!
PHONEY 1878 DOMINION $2.
A seller in China was trying to unload this counterfeit 1878 $2 note on an unsuspecting buyer. The serial number (669226) was initially outside the range of known genuine notes. No problem, the seller changed it (269226)!
BANK OF CANADA 1954 $1 LAWSON-BOUEY X/F
This was previously reported in the CPMS Newsletter. One enterprising eBay seller added fake asterisks to regular 1954-series notes to make them appear to be replacement notes. In each case, the serial numbers of the notes are outside the known range of true asterisk replacement notes.
*** IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE FOR CONSIDERATION IN THIS GALLERY, USE THE E-MAIL LINK AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE TO CONTACT ME.
******** PLEASE NOTE: THE AUTHOR OF THIS WEBSITE WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE ENHANCEMENTS SHOWN ABOVE.
