As the dust finally settled from our September 30th live auction sale, held in partnership with Geoffrey Bell Auctions and the Toronto Coin Expo, it revealed itself to be a notable moment in the 20-year history of Alliance Coin & Banknote.
Online auction
Due to ongoing Covid restrictions, the sale was held virtually from our Almonte Gallery. Conducted by myself with Heather serving as “auction-master” in the recording of bids, we were joined by a talented young computer tech who was on standby all evening to remedy any glitches that might take our small “studio” off-line (and there were a few).
The sale began at 5:00 pm, and didn’t see the final hammer fall until 2:00 am. Over the course of those nine hours, a quarter million dollars worth of diverse material found homes both domestically and internationally, with winning bids coming in from as far away as Poland and Taiwan.
Highlights of the sale included a presumptive auction record for a Canadian Twoonie, with the fabled “beaded” 1996 example selling for $5,400, inclusive of buyer’s premium. An extraordinary set of early 17th century silver gaming tokens sold for $3,300, almost doubling the pre-sale estimate of $1,500-1,800, and the highlight of the very robust Canadian banknote section was a lovely Five Dollar “Queen Mary” note of 1924 certified as a VF-35, finding a new home for a remarkable $10,500 (once again, inclusive of premium).
Overall I was very pleased with the success of our sale, and sincerely thank our consignors for their confidence in us, as well as everyone who stayed up late that evening to help make our sale lively and engaging!
The Bells have been very kind in tentatively inviting us back to co-host the fall 2022 Coin Expo sale, and we look forward to the possibility of finally being able to return to the dynamics of a live in-person sale at the Toronto show.
In the coming months, we invite any of our customers who might be interested in consigning to our sale to reach out for a confidential chat.
Sean Isaacs
Highlights
Alliance Coin & Banknote 
Thank you Sean for your most deep and honest comments summing up your past two years! It is indeed very encouraging news for all of us collectors. You must have been a writer of books in another life as you demonstrate such talent and wisdom in your thoughts and use of language. Well done and wish you and your loved ones the very best 2022 can provide. Take care.
Sincerely Horst