Canadian Bank Notes, Charlton Press, Toronto, 5th Edition, Edited by Robert Graham. Large format (8.5" x 11"), card cover, 576 pages, illustrated through, valutations in several grades, very important reference.

The Fifth Edition of The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Bank Notes will be released early in June 2006. Note issues of over 150 Canadian banks, spanning the years from 1792 to 1943, are described, illustrated and priced. Four eventful years have elapsed since the fourth edition was published, during which the booming market for chartered bank notes has rendered its pricing practically obsolete.
The Charlton Press has decided to publish new editions of this catalogue every two years, instead of at intervals of four to six years, to better keep abreast of the market in the present climate of avid collector demand and surging prices. Since fewer catalogues can be sold over the shorter period, print runs will be have to be rather sharply curtailed, which will unavoidably increase the production cost per unit.

An important innovation has been introduced with the Fifth Edition. "Tips For Collectors" are offered in relation to a number of banks, which provide valuable unpublished data on the numbers of certain notes surviving, or references to published note registers. Additional information concerning condition, availability or other aspects is provided in some of these "Tips", and should prove helpful to the collecting community.

Several newly discovered notes and varieties have been added, and numerous additions made to the priced listings of proof and specimen notes introduced in the previous edition. Further progress has been made toward the objective of pricing only notes and grades which are available to the private collector.

The pricing panel for the Fifth Edition consisted of many leading dealers in Canadian paper money and several prominent collectors. On the whole, valuations are higher to sharply higher, reflecting the current brisk market. The population of notes having entered the five-figure price range has increased noticeably. A few of the many banks which have performed strongly are the Bank of Toronto, the Dominion Bank, the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal, but notes of the Bank of Nova Scotia, once again, have seen some of the steepest increases. It is not difficult to find examples of the latter notes which have quadrupled since the last edition. Conversely, the prices of notes from a few unpopular banks have stalled, although it will be challenging to spot actual decreases. (There is one notable example, caused by recent dumping of large quantities of notes onto the market.) Some of the "black and white" notes of the early 1800's have advanced strongly, while others continue to languish, depending upon their popularity.