Opinions On Legitimacy Of These Two Victoria Notes Please

Just by looking at the writing, I have my doubts about the
legitimacy of these bills. The signature, date and number
are all written in ink by hand and usually over the years
the colour has changed a bit from the printed areas.
I will do a little more research and see if I can come up
with something else. This was just my first impression.

Thank you so far for the replies!

They were purchased years ago at auction apparently and have been in the holders for many years kept in a book. The guy who originally owned them had many high end notes... I'm hopeful these are legit but you know how rarities are... they're rare!

I must admit my first impression was similar to @Jimmyd & I did not want to comment b/c getting an online opinion just doesn't serve you (IMO). This is a note which needs to be inspected by an expert (full stop). I would not buy this note without an expert present & I have been collecting for 50+ years! The reason I wouldn't buy it is simply b/c I don't know them that well (& I think you really need to know your stuff to venture so far back!) Several copies of Municipal banks listed in Charlton are actually counterfeits (which they sometimes mention). Several times they clarify that "no known examples exist" yet they have an image (which has been reproduced from a photocopy).

But my curiosity got the best of me (so thank you for getting me into search mode). I went to the Canadian Paper Money Forum CPMF & checked their registries. The link is called The Notes & it sits right adjacent to the Home link at:
https://cdnpapermoney.com/
I highly recommend you register with the CPMF if you wish to see more examples from this bank on your own. There's a $1.00; a $5.00 & a $10.00 all issued in 1859 & then examples of their 2nd "1863 issued notes," like yours.

Here's an image of the $5.00 which was certified by PMG & image was from a H/A auction:

The signatures are Thompson & Macdonald Cy & that is a screen capture of the note (from their registry). The thing that strikes me about the certified note above is that "1863" date, serial & the signatures are indeed barely visible (faded). However, some of the notes which have the "6 Sept 1863" are quite dark/prominent (much like yours). The "Thompson-Macdonald Cy" signature on yours looks identical to the signatures I have seen (on the CPMF registries). This leads me to suspect that the edges have been trimmed on your 2 examples (I have yet to see an example that worn with perfect edges).

Bottom line: you need to take the notes into a dealer (if you have them) for in-person inspection (of the paper, etc). Otherwise, I would pass (if you're thinking of purchasing the 2).

Also, on side note: I would remove the paper insert out of the sleeve (for the $10) b/c the bleach from today's paper could leach into the note. It's great to have but shouldn't go inside the sleeve. Also the holders may need to be replaced (they look dimpled/defective & this also may prove a problem), esp if it turns out they're legit! Good luck!

Thank you very much for your input. I have registered for that website and I'm just waiting for my acceptance. It looks very interesting! I keep staring at these notes and flipflopping back and forth on whether or not they're legitimate. I plan on taking them to a coin store. When I get time. I will update this post on my findings whether they be positive or negative!