Heritage to Auction Belzbergs' Canadian Coinage in New York City

The Finest and Most Complete Canadian Coin Collection Ever Assembled


Heritage has been awarded the honor of auctioning the renowned Sid and Alicia Belzberg collection of Canadian coinage. The collection is virtually complete, and legendary among Canadian coin collectors. The auction will take place on Monday, January 13, 2003, in New York City.When the dollar was chosen to be the Canadian monetary unit in 1857, Queen Victoria was on the throne, and during the nineteenth century, Canada's coinage was struck in England at London's Royal mint or at the Heaton Mint. The first four denominations were issued in 1858 (1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 20¢) in the name of the Province of Canada.

During the early 1860s, the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick distributed their own coinage. Following the confederation of the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in 1867, a new "Canadian" coinage began in 1870 (5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢). Prince Edward Island, prior to joining the confederation in 1873, also issued coinage in 1871. Newfoundland, which didn't join the confederation until 1949, issued its own coinage from 1865-1947. Queen Victoria, George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II have appeared on Canadian coinage, as the Confederation continues its close ties within the British Empire.

Some of the highlights of this incredible 700+-piece collection include:

1873-H Newfoundland 5¢, choice mint state
1875-H 5¢, Large Date, gem specimen
1875-H 5¢, Small Date, gem specimen
1884 5¢, gem specimen
1921 5¢, gem uncirculated
1862 New Brunswick 10¢, superb gem
1875-H 10¢, borderline gem uncirculated
1889 10¢, choice uncirculated
1871 20¢, Dc-32 Re, gem specimen
1890 20¢, gem uncirculated
1872-H 25¢, gem specimen
1875-H 25¢, superb gem specimen
1880-H 25¢, Wide O, borderline gem specimen
1885 25¢, borderline gem uncirculated
1906 25¢, small crown, choice about uncirculated
1870 50¢, Newfoundland plain edge, gem specimen
1870 50¢, Newfoundland reeded edge, choice specimen
1870 50¢, lcw reeded edge, choice specimen
1870 50¢, No LCW, specimen
1871 50¢, borderline gem uncirculated, first strike obverse
1872-H 50¢, gem specimen
1880 Newfoundland 50¢, borderline gem specimen
1881-H 50¢, superb gem specimen
1885 Newfoundland 50¢, gem specimen
1888 50¢, choice uncirculated
1892 50¢, gem uncirculated
1894 Newfoundland 50¢, choice uncirculated
1894 50¢, borderline gem uncirculated
1899 50¢, gem uncirculated
1900 50¢, choice uncirculated
1901 50¢, choice uncirculated
1910 50¢, borderline gem uncirculated
1921 50¢, gem uncirculated (the only undisputed gem business strike known)
1932 50¢, gem specimen
1934 50¢, flawless specimen (PCGS SP69)
1872 Newfoundland $2, gem specimen
1916-C Sovereign, choice uncirculated

?and most important of all, the unique set of $10 and $20 1862 British Columbia gold coins, a Canadian national treasure. (Both coins are missing even from the collection of the Bank of Canada, which is said to want them badly.)

http://www.heritagecoin.com/auctions/highlights/1862o_ten.jpg
http://www.heritagecoin.com/auctions/highlights/1862r_ten.jpg

Sid Belzberg and his wife Alicia founded and remain the principal shareholders of Belzberg Technologies (TSX: BLZ), a fast-growing provider of financial information and trading systems, and one of Canada's top technology companies. "We still love coins," said Sid, "and continue to be avid collectors of ancient and medieval coinage. But our stock price has become so cheap in relation to our company's potential that we decided we would rather use the money from this collection to buy more BLZ stock."

Heritage plans to display the coins at the FUN convention in Orlando, Florida, then display and auction them at a Signature event in conjunction with the New York International Show in Midtown New York City. Full-color, enlargeable images of the leading rarities from the Belzberg collection will be posted on the Heritage website, www.HeritageCoin.com, by October 1. The entire catalog will be posted at www.HeritageCoin.com mid-December. Information about obtaining printed copies of the catalog can also be found at Heritage's web site.

Press contact: Cathy Hadd Cathy@HeritageCoin.com 214-252-4216