Identification Courteau 64?

to the experts: the courteau variety number the OP is referring to is identified by this doubled die, correct?

if so, what is such a piece worth?

This is a prime case of having a good reference library.

This is not a double-die, but merely the result of sloppy craftsmanship.

doug

How can sloppy workmanship result in such a uniform offset?

I'm with Doug on this. That does not look like hub-doubling to me.

In bygone days dies were precious (rare and costly) and it proved more prudent
to repair (re-tool / re-punch) dies than to discard them. This was more frequently
done concerning fresh dies rather than well worn dies. Re-tooling and re-punching
was cost effective and adequately resolved the problems.

Dr. Haxby's grand site of the 1859 Victoria's abounds with various ensamples
of re-punched letter, numerals, stems, etal.

Deliberate re-punching is not congruent with doubling.

True, the results appear similar, but the intent and processes are vastly
different.


doug

In my experience, this series was extensively utilized and your ensample is typical.
However, higher grades are readily available. The St. George series, a decade later,
seems to have generally survived in better condition. Perhaps the reason for this is
the decimals emerged one year later (1858). The Bank of Montreal / Habitant's saw
ten years more service than the St. George's.

Some Courteau varieties of both the BOM / Habitant's & St. George's are rather rare.
In bygone years, all that was available for collectors of Canadian numismatics were
tokens. Canadian Decimal coinage did not emerge until 1858. In those prehistoric days,
extensive research was compiled by some die-hard souls (Lees, Gibbs, Courteau, Breton,
etal). Great interest was generated as this was the ONLY way to go.

With the advent of decimal coinage, the interest in tokens subsided. Today, a scant
handful of collectors are fluent in this discipline. (The Ships - Colonies - Commerce
series is perhaps the best exception; for some reason this series survived the demise).
Decimal coinage became the rage of collectors (Charlton was instrumental in this movement).
Tokens were set aside, and interest in tokens waned. However, within the last decade,
token have made a reemergence.

The good side of this is few of this series have been recently attributed and some rare
varieties can be obtained for the price of common pieces. Again, education is the key.

Consider Doctor Haxby's tremendous site on 1859 Victoria's...
With the advent of his site, many collectors are re-examining their stash of 1859 Vickies.
Absent Dr. Haxby tome, these Vickie's would still remain tucked away in a cigar box.

Treasures are out there, but one has to know...

Take care
Happy New Year.

doug.

I suggest first obtaining a copy of Courteau's book on the series.
The lending library of the ANA or RCNA may have copies to loan.
Monitor ebay numismatic books for copies.
ABEbooks is another source.
Sometimes auction companies have hoards of books to unload.

doug