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SHERBROOKE SEMINARY SALE SELECTIONSI stumbled across some great numismatic items earlier this week and began planning to compile an article for this issue. Then on Thursday I saw an article about them by Jesse Robitaille in Canadian Coin News. Here's an excerpt followed by a few highlights of the Champagne Auctions sale. -Editor Assembled by the Séminaire de Sherbrooke over more than a century and described by auctioneers as an “extraordinary collection,” more than 600 lots of rare material are set to cross the block this September. Hosted by Montréal's Champagne Auctions, it's the first of four offerings from the expansive collection put together by the long-running seminary's abbots. “I've been in this business for a while – I'm no youngster – and I've never seen anything like this,” said auction cataloguer Ron Seigler, of MTM International, another Montréal-based firm affiliated with Champagne Auctions. Located at 195 Marquette St., the Séminaire de Sherbrooke dates back nearly 150 years, to 1874, when Monseigneur Antoine Racine was appointed as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Sherbrooke. A year later, under Racine's leadership, the Séminaire Saint-Charles-Borromée opened. He served as the first superior until 1878, around which time the seminary's abbots began assembling a collection. “The seminary's first abbot was in charge and pretty well got to do what he wanted,” said Seigler, who added this interest in numismatics “passed down through the various abbots of the seminary through modern times.” “The collection kept building over a century, and none of it was sold until now. It's all what we might call 'virgin material' – it's never been offered before.” The two-session sale to be held Sept. 28-29 is highlighted by seldom-seen “Indian Chief” medals plus a range of British war medals. Among the top highlights is an 1872 Dominion of Canada “Chiefs Medal” offered as Lot 12. It's one of only 25 pieces commissioned to be produced by Robert Hendry, a Montréal silversmith, to replace the “inferior stock medals originally presented to the chiefs of Treaties I (Anishinaabeg) and II (Muskego),” auctioneers said. To read the complete article, see:
Lot 11: 1814 George III Large Silver Peace Medal
  75mm, 124. 7 grams. This medal was designed to be awarded to the chiefs of those First Nations — mostly from the American side of a border that, to them, had little meaning — who fought with the British during the war of 1812. The obverse features the laureate bust of George III, right, draped in an ermine mantle, secured in front with a large ribboned bow, wearing the collar and jewel of St. George. Legend is : GEORGIVS III DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM REX. F. D. The reverse features the Royal Arms, with the date 1814 beneath. The medal is officially pierced, with a silver loop, for suspension. This is a very nice example. The edges and rims are sharp and free of nicks. There are only very light traces of wear in the fields, otherwise like new, with an attractive light grey even toning. To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 12: 1872 Dominion of Canada Chiefs Medal
  Dominion of Canada 1872 Chiefs Medal - Indians of the North West Territories - 93 mm, 418. 9 grams; 7 mm in thickness, not the 10 mm as has been reported. One of only 25 pieces commissioned to be produced by Robert Hendry, silversmith of Montreal, as replacements for the inferior stock medals originally presented to the chiefs of Treaties I (Anishinaabeg) and II (Muskego). Though the medals are marked "Indians of the North West Territories", on the reverse outer ring, these peoples are actually in what is now southern Manitoba. The medals are impressive for their size; however, they are silver plated copper electrotypes, with an extra ring added to the basic 1867 Confederation medals. The obverse outer ring reads "Dominion of Canada Chiefs Medal 1872 " They were also not well received, as the silver plating easily peeled off, and were themselves replaced the following year, with a newly designed silver medal. With a production of only 25 examples, they are clearly very rare. On the other hand, there was no reason for any to have been melted down. Still, we can find no example of any recent sale. This is most likely the smallest production of all such "Indian Chief" presentation medals issued in North America. To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 43: Courteau Canadian Token Monographs
 By Eugene G. Courteau, M. D. , 1910 - 1934. All self-published, at St. Jacques, Que. Identical measurements: 200 x 245 mm. Bound in boards, with differently coloured taped edges. 1) The COINS AND TOKENS of NOVA SCOTIA 1910. Seven Plates and 30 pages. Considerable internal annotation. 2) This one is bilingual. MONNAIES DE CUIVRE Emises par LA BANQUE DE MONTREAL - The COPPER TOKENS of THE BANK OF MONTREAL 1919. 25 pages, illustrations in the text, one page with two photos of the bank. Clean and solid, without any annotations. 3) The HABITANT TOKENS of LOWER CANADA (PROVINCE OF QUEBEC) 1927. Signed on top of the inside front cover : Hommage de l'auteur, Eug. G. Courteau. 24 pages, illustrations in the text. Clean, bright, like new. 4) The ST. GEORGE COPPER TOKENS of THE BANK OF UPPER CANADA 1934. 32 pages, with two illustrations in the text. One small faint pencil annotation on the back cover : 2525 underlined. Otherwise, clean and nice. One upper corner fold on the cover. There are several lots of numismatic literature in the sale. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 190: 1837 Lower Canada Merchant Scrip
 Merchant Scrip Lower Canada 1837 12 sous Unnumbered, unnamed, unlisted remainder Issued at La Pointe-aux-Trembles June 20, 1837. Not listed in Graham. 38 x 95 mm. There are several lots of scrip with images of U.S. and world coins. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 194: Correspondence 1894 - 1896
 Correspondence 1894 - 1896 to Abée Charles Jos. Roy, Curator of the Musée Numismatique de la Séminaire de Sherbrooke. We will begin this section of our auction with a lot of most interesting documents dated from 1893 - 1896, the personal correspondence of the Abbé Charles J. Roy, Curator of the Musée Numismatique or Musée de Monnaie of the Séminaire St. Charles Borromé de Sherbrooke. While we have not been able to properly research this little treasure trove, a quick examination shows this as a fascinating documentation of the foundation and building of the museum. Much attention is paid to the acquisition from other institutions of examples of their internal Bank issues, which are exactly the notes in the lots that follow. This also aids us in approximately dating these notes. There is considerable correspondence from F. R. E. Campeau, F. X. Paquet, Ludger Gravel, J. O Marchand. , E. A. Cardinal, as well as letters from the Library of Parliament, Inland Revenue (the forerunner of Revenue Canada), postcards, etc. , Unsorted and unorganized. as is. The sale includes interesting archival material as well. Could be a trove for researchers. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot 197: La Banque du Seminaire St. Charles Borromé One Dollar
 Possibly the oldest of these notes, is a $1, with a central vignette of a train. Bilingual, there is a "1880" in red, to left and right of the vignette. We presume this to be a date, rather than a serial number. This is the one and only example of this series among the collection of the Seminary. A fascinating collection. Great opportunity for the right collector. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see:
 Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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