Landmark test note enters the market

By Bret Evans

Fresh on the heels of news announcing the impending Moore Numismatics Auctions sale of three serial number "1" notes in Toronto, an unprecedented test note has been discovered in the holdings of an Ottawa-area collector.

Almonte, Ont.-based dealer Sean Isaacs, of Alliance Coin & Banknote, reports the discovery of a 1974 issue $2 test note with serial number "RS0000001."

"Spectacular," was the only word used by Isaacs to describe his first impression when presented with the note by an existing customer.

One of perhaps only two known surviving "#1" examples of any test note issue, the banknote was presented to its current owner by an officer of the Bank of Canada, and, remarkably, sat in his collection for almost three decades before its identity as a test note was even discovered.

Recently certified at BCS (Banknote Certification Service) as an UNC 60, the rare note has been consigned to Isaacs for sale on the eBay online auction site in early November. It will also be on display at the Nuphilex tables of Alliance Coin & Banknote during the Nov. 4-6 show in Montreal.

Isaacs expressed confidence that the sale of the note would be alandmark event.

"While an estimate has yet to be set, it will almost certainly set a pricing record for any modern test note sold to date," he said.

Test notes, while sometimes confused with replacement notes by the non-collecting public, are quite different, and less common. Test, or experimental, notes were created to test innovations in ink, printing processes, paper or durability. They were released into circulation by the Bank of Canada. When they eventually made their way back to the bank, they were measured as to how well they held up in circulation and how long it took for them to return.

November 22, 2011 to December 5, 2011 issue of Canadian Coin News