1898 Time capsule found in Quebec City

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

A time capsule from 1898 that contained news papers, coins and two banknotes was just found in Quebec City. The box had been hidden in the statue of Samuel de Champlain who founded Quebec City in 1608. The statue was built in 1898 and it is presently in restoration.

Inside the box there was an 1898 $2 note that I would grade VF. The note as the Courtney signature and I think it's a DC-14b but I'm not 100% sure because it could be the extremely rare DC-14a that would be worth a fortune.

You can take a look at the CBC news clip if you click here (it's in French):

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Quebec/2007/11/19/005-coffret_Champlain.shtml

Then you have to click on: Un message de 1898

The sealed box also contained five coins and also what might look like an 1897 $1 note. What a great find !

Hi Phil,
Thanks for sharing this clip with the forum. I am always interested in Quebec history. The notes discovered should be worth much more than market value since they have such a great provinance associated with them.
Ken

Yes this is very interesting news.

Thank you for sharing

Yes, this was a nice surprise from the past! We heard of it (I live a few blocks from where they found it) when they found it, earlier this year. Nice to see what's inside! 

The funny thing is that they're going to bury it again when all the restorations will be done on the "terrasse Dufferin" (where the statue stands), with a few objects from our time! When will this one be open? No one knows...

The bill we see in this footage is a 2$ 1897, Courtney, #184039 (for what I can see), looks like VF/EF...

....... they're going to bury it again when all the restorations will be done on the "Terrasse Dufferin" (where the statue stands), with a few objects from our time! The bill we see in this footage is a 2$ 1897, Courtney, #184039 (for what I can see), looks like VF/EF...

Personally speaking, I feel it would be more educational to display the contents of the 1898 time capsule in a local museum. If the authorities are going to rebury the loot then it's just as well that there were no excessively rare or unique chartered notes present, e.g., from the Quebec Bank issue of 1898!

How would rare buried notes be listed in the CPMS Rare Note Registers? "Institutionalized" or "Buried"?

 I think it says that the same container will be buried again but with "objects from our time"

I think it says that the same container will be buried again but with "objects from our time"

Thanks, Gary. That's very good to know.

Yes, that's what I meant... but I found this info saying:
"La Ville examine maintenant la possibilité de déposer le contenu de la caissette dans une boîte en acier inoxydable afin de replacer le tout sous le monument l'an prochain."

which means approximately...

"The city now examine the possibility of putting the content of the box in another one made of stainless steel and bury it back under the statue next year."

That means they would bury it back as it was, and where it was, but with the addition of a few objects from our time (I heard they were thinking about including messages written by some kids).
Personnaly, I would at least include the section of the newspaper saying "1$can = 0,95$US"  .

But I agree with Ottawa when he writes that they should put it in a museum.

How would rare buried notes be listed in the CPMS Rare Note Registers? "Institutionalized" or "Buried"?

  Funny one! 

Can anyone confirm what the two notes were? Is there a contact with the municipality/authority who could provide that information. It would be very informative to know if it was an1897 $1, or if the (apparent) $2 is a red back note...

I know someone who might be able to get these informations. If so, I'll let you all know.