Watch List notes:

1862 B.C. Gold Gilt Set, $10 PCGS SP63+ & $20 PCGS SP63 Gilded Examples. Fully struck with very nice and clean reflective surfaces. Should be considered amongst the rarest of Canadian issues. The famous territorial gold designer Albrecht Kuner also has a stake in Canadian numismatic history. When the B.C. government commissioned the striking of gold coins for 1862 and hired Vanderslices Silver Manufactory of San Francisco to produce dies. Kuner was hired by Vanderslices to engrave and test the dies. Kuner struck several sets in silver and shipped the coins and the dies to British Columbia. History tells us that Kuner kept at least one set for himself and had the set gilded. This famous set was acquired by Max Mehl and then sold to Virgil Brand. Dr. John Temple acquired the coins from the Brand sale in 1983. There is a gilded set in the Bank of Canada currency collection but these are believed to be gilded sometime in the 20th century. The only set in public hands is the set offered here. Quite likely this is the only set ever gilded at the time of striking. A pair of original gold coins are not possible to acquire as no $5 coins exist in the public domain. This is the first auction appearance of these coins in 36 years and will undoubtedly be the last for many many years. These British Columbia pattern gold coins were struck in 1862 amid an urgent need for coinage with which to exchange the gold that was mined during the province's first gold rush. Today, the gold coins are worth $2.5 million altogether. In 2015, both sets of rare coins, the gold and gilded sets, were on display at Sandy Campbell's booth, during the 62nd annual convention of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA), held in Halifax, N.S.
(450000-500000 CDN)