CANADA. Merchants Bank of Halifax. 5 Dollars, 1.7.1880. CH #465-20-02. PMG Very Good 10 Net. Severed & Reattached. The Merchants Bank of Halifax was founded in 1864 and would eventually become the Royal Bank of Canada in 1901 and the largest bank in Canada. This note comes from a time when it had a more humble status, focusing on Nova Scotia. The 1880 series consisted of just two denominations, $5 and $10, with a $20 added in 1883. Any notes of this issue are downright rare, with the 2022 edition of the Canadian Note Registry listing this as one of just five known examples (one of which is in the National Currency Collection). It traces its pedigree back to a July 1975 CNA sale (lot 1402, sold for $250). While it has been severed and reattached the note faces up quite well, and with very few opportunities to acquire this rarity at auction over the past five decades this may be the chance youve been waiting for. PMG comments "Severed & Reattached."
