Publication of the CPMS note registers

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

CPMS plans to reprint all of its published registers (updated) as a separate volume in 2008.  Our good friend BWJM is going to be doing a lot of the work preparing the book for publication. Some members of this Forum regularly report unlisted finds and this is appreciated so much.  The book will be more complete if other Forum members would contribute as well.  Be prepared to submit a scan or photocopy.  Thanks!  Please email me (newsletter@cpmsonline.ca) if you can help.

I thought it would be useful to start a new thread dealing with this important topic rather than having it hidden within the thread entitled "The Demand for Low-Grade Notes".

What we call "Chartered" bank notes here in Canada are called "National" bank notes in the US. The corresponding US catalogue is entitled "National Bank Notes" and, like its Canadian counterpart "The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Bank Notes", is also into its 5th edition. The US catalogue includes basic population numbers but the detailed registers with the recorded serial numbers are published separately on a CD under the title "National Bank Note Census". That CD is currently into its 3rd edition:

http://www.donckelly.com/5_3promo.html

When you think about it, the publication of such useful and potentially powerful census information has to be updated on a regular basis in order to remain meaningful. I would imagine that after the first composite Canadian register has been formally published that many new notes would be reported by collectors around the world who are not members of the CPMS or this Forum. A second edition would therefore probably be required soon thereafter. The preparation of such a register would obviously be an onerous undertaking, especially if it were to include Dominion of Canada and Bank of Canada notes in addition to chartered bank notes.

I totally agree with Ottawa’s comment that the potential will be limitless. This book could easily start a new waive of collectors in the Canadian Paper money industry. Collectors and investors alike who needed the reassurance of knowing the population of notes will now have access to these. Being able to study the experience of past generation collectors will allow the next generation to pick up and push the bar even further. Good documentation is always the basis for success.

The register will most likely grow exponentially in the first few years. In reality it will never be fully complete. I fear many collectors will hide their notes to keep the overall population down and as such get a better return when they sell.

Jason

..... I fear many collectors will hide their notes to keep the overall population down and as such get a better return when they sell.

That's a very thought-provoking comment. I hadn't thought about the possibility of "hiding" notes before but I agree that it could certainly happen, but hopefully not on a widespread scale.

Was this book ever published? 

The Canadian Paper Money Society has (finally) published its Note Registry!

The CPMS Note Registry is the first compilation of all of the various note registers that have been individually published by the CPMS over the years. They have been diligently maintained and updated prior to publication. The introduction is written by R.J. Graham. Most registers were prepared or maintained by Harry Eisenhaur and R.J. Graham over the last thirty years. An array of other contributors including Graham Esler, Ronald Greene, Cliff Beattie, Geoffrey Bell, Paul Berry, Terry Fredericks, Ted Banning, Michael Zigler and more are responsible for the remaining registers.

Also available from the CPMS right now is the Index to the Canadian Paper Money Journal (1965-2005). The Index, with an introduction by R.J. Graham, covers every article found in every issue of the CPMS Journal from 1965 to 2005.

For more information and to order your copy, please visit the CPMS website.

Ottawa said: "What we call "Chartered" bank notes here in Canada are called "National" bank notes in the US."

I think that you are forgetting the US obsolete notes. Certainly, the early "chartered" Canadian notes are very similar to the early 19th century obsoletes.