Canadian Bank of Commerce $100

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One note in particular was the 1913 Royal $10 in EF45 which fetched $3200. Even as the note is considered common the demand for it in VF+ and up is astonishing.

Yes, the $10 1913 Battleship note is quite common in Fine and below, scarce in original VF and very rare in higher grades. It's evident that there are many people out there who are willing to pay big money when rarity, condition and aesthetic appeal are combined in one note!

Another note that never does well in Fine and below but always does well in original VF and higher grades is the Dominion of Canada $1 1898 note.

I was also very impressed by most of the chartered material in the John Amen collection which topped the book values by double to tripple digit gains. One note in perticular was the 1913 Royal $10 in EF45 which fetched $3200. Even as the note is considered common the demand for it in VF+ and up is astonishing.

The unfortunate thing though is that there's virtually no hope in hell of getting "Heritage" prices when selling similar items on eBay! The major international auction houses like Heritage, Stacks and Smythe in the US, and Spink, Baldwin and others in Britain, have access to the richest collectors and investors in the world, most of whom probably don't have the time, inclination or even ability to monitor eBay.

eBay seems to be much more of a wholesale market where you can usually get 70%-80% of book but not much more, at least in my experience. Many of the better notes on eBay are purchased by other eBay sellers who then turn round and deposit their purchases in their eBay Stores at higher prices (and often at higher advertised grades!) and those notes generally tend to languish there for a long time.

The eBay auction format is an excellent medium if you want to actually SELL your material and aren't overly worried about the final price. eBay is best for lower and medium priced items (less than $500). It's certainly not the best medium for unloading rare chartered notes in the $2,500+ range.

I think your both right in the sence that it is very dificult to sell high end notes on ebay. It is an uphill battle but I will continue trying. Some sellers have proven that there is a market for these notes on ebay.
 

In theory added compitition should result in lower prices!

Two more Bank of Commerce $100 1917 notes have come out of the woodwork and will be offered at the Charles Moore Torex auction in Toronto on October 25-27, 2007. One is described as being Crisp Unc (Serial # 13857, Plate B), the other VG with several tape repaired tears (Serial # 10717, Plate B). Wow!

I have yet to see the auction catalog for Torex yet! Is a PDF version of it posted anywere?

An UNC 1917 Commerce $100 that is amazing. I would sure love to be called the owner of that one but judging by the Heritage prices I think my pockets won't be deep enaugh.

I also find it kind of strange that when a certain scarce note appears on market, usualy a few more will shortly follow. For example, in 2005 I purchased one of the 8 remaining 1919 Banque Provincial $10. At that time there were 3 or 4 to come to market. I was able to get mine reasonably cheap because of this. Same goes for the Royal Bank 1909 notes and many others.

Jason

I have yet to see the auction catalog for Torex yet! Is a PDF version of it posted anywere

The October catalogue is not yet available in PDF on the website but should be shortly I was told. Guess we will just have to keep checking
FRIEDSQUID

I have yet to see the auction catalog for Torex yet! Is a PDF version of it posted anywere?

I don't think Charles Moore posts any of his catalogues on line. You have to buy the hard-copy catalogue.

I don't think he has a web site but his email address is: moorecoins@astound.net.

http://www.torex.net/torex_coin_show/auctions.htm

This is the link to the Torex website and on the site there is a download for the Oct Auction cat.  But like I said, it will be a few days I was told that it would be available.
FRIEDSQUID

Here are some of the other better chartered notes in the Moore sale: Bank of BNA $10 1911 (VG+), Eastern Townships Bank $1 1859 (VG), Bank of Hamilton $4 1872 (VG), Imperial Bank $5 1896 (VG), Bank of London $5 1883 (VG), Merchants Bank $1 1864 (VG+). Merchants Bank $10 1917 (VF), Metropolitan Bank $10 1909 (aF), Bank of Montreal $4 1871 (aVG), Bank of Ottawa $5 1900 (Fine), Royal Bank of Canada $20 1909 (AU, yes AU!), Bank of Toronto $1 1859 (Fine), Union Bank of Newfoundland $5 1889 (VG) ... and lots more including rare Specimen and Proof notes.

Thanks Ottawa for a sneak peek into the upcoming Torex auction. This is a list of amazing material, many of which could be considered “trophy” notes.

1909 RBC $20 AU 

I will also look into procuring an auction catalog to see these notes 

Jason