I see Canadian bank tokens for sale pretty regularly on Ebay from the 19th century, but I don't know how to find out much about them. What is the best way to find out the types available and populations, what they are worth, etc? Are they considered collectible? A more general observation is that Canadian coins seem underpriced at time compared to US coins. The designs are every bit as nice, the populations are low compared to most US coins, but the prices are more modest. I'm not sure what that would be. What am I missing here?
I'm sure one of the Canadian collectors will be able to help with resources for info. As for the prices - it's not unusual. You'll find it to be quite similar with coins from just about any other nation if compared to the US. In fact I would say that coins from Canada ( and those of the UK ) are one of the exceptions - they typically bring higher prices than most other world coins. So you're not missing anything - you have in fact just discovered why so many collectors have been switching to world coinage for the past few years. Simply put - you get more bang for your buck
There is a book that lists them.It is called 'Coins of Canada' by J.A. Haxby & R.C. Willey.There are also some pieces listed in the 19th Century Krause at the start of the Canadian chapter. Aidan.
Agreed that the Krause Standard Catalog World Coins has good information on mintages and prices. Grading is tricky because the Bank of Upper Canada tokens were privately struck to high standards with the latest technology. It is easy to overgrade them. They all look so nice, that VFs become AUs in the eye of the beholder. Here is an article from Notre Dame's numismatic pages: http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Blacksmith.intro.html Charlton Press specializes in books about Canadian numismatics: http://www.charltonpress.com/NumismaticsBook.asp?v_ISBN=0-88968-277-1 The Bank of Canada Currency Museum has an online presentation about Tokens. Click on The Collection and take the appropriate choices. Start here: http://www.currencymuseum.ca/eng/ The Government of Canada has another presentation about tokens here: http://collections.ic.gc.ca/bank/english/banktken.htm You google "bank of upper canada" and follow many links, to learn the history, including one from The Canadian Encyclopedia, this from the Canadian Historical Review: http://www.utpjournals.com/product/chr/701/bank6.html and this one: http://www.brucebelltours.com/html/bank_of_upper_canada.html Finally, there is this overview for collectors: http://www.limunltd.com/numismatica/articles/rowdy-penny-tokens.html
Supply and Demand As GDJMSP pointed out, it is a matter of supply and demand. Demand for US coins is high among US collectors. America rules the world's numismatics markets. Even though the supply of other kinds of coins is low, the demand for them is low. That is one reason why Frank Robinson recommends specializing. In his book, Confessions of Numismatic Fanatic, he tells of sitting around with his coin pals when he was a kid and a Brasher Doubloon was in the news and the other guys were all agog. Frank said that he had several coins more rare than a Brasher Doubloon. They scoffed, but he proved his point. I have ancients that are museum pieces for their rarity, but they cost less than a slabbed Morgan Dollar. In U.S. Numismatics, you can find the same things true of Hard Times Tokens, among other little areas. A rising tide lifts all boats and coin prices have been trending upwards. At a 2004 meeting of the Conder Token Sociey, there were the usual stories about "when I started collecting, the material was cheaper than it is today." That applies to Chinese Cash and Medieval Pennies as it does to Buffalo Nickels. But overall, if you get out of the mainstream reported in The Red Book and Coin Prices, you find supply and demand on your side if you are a true collector.
Thanks Mike! This is a great start and gives me a lot to look at. So far I own exactly one Civil War Token. The Hard Times Tokens and Canadian Bank Tokens looked equally collectible to me but some of the low prices for the Canadian items made me think I was missing something. I'm glad you mentioned the part about overgrading because you are correct, they really look to be in nice condition on Ebay at least. It's nice to find items that (1) are old, (2) have relatively low populations, (3) are attractive, (4) have interesting stories behind them, and (5) are still reasonably priced. I hate the thought of relying on Ebay as a primary source for raw tokens. Are there internet dealers that carry tokens [US and Canadian]? For Canada in particular, I can't seem to locate internet dealers north of the border.
Thanks. Hopefully there are a lot of photos. It's tough to learn about something new without being able to see what the coins look like.
I see them at the coin shows quite a bit - so they gotta be out there, never really looked for any though. cwtokenman should be able to offer more help in this area - it's his specialty. But meanwhile, I'll see what I can find.
Cloudsweeper99,I collect Canadian tokens.The St George pieces from Upper Canada often turn up over here in New Zealand.The only date that does not usually turn up is the 1857's.I waited something like 5 years before I bought a pair of the 1857's in a coin auction. Aidan.
