DALLAS, TX.- Just because something no longer can be used does not diminish its appeal.

In the case of the exceedingly rare Bank of Canada $500 1935 BC-17 English Text PCGS Banknote About UNC 53 PPQ that will find a new home when it is sold in Heritage’s March 7-8 World Paper Money Signature® Auction, the opposite is true.

The Bank of Canada announced in 2020 that as of New Year’s Day in 2021, that $1, $2, $25, $500 and $1,000 no longer would be acceptable to use in transactions. But that did not mean that the notes were without value. Included among the notes that were never redeemed, are a great number of Canadian rarities, but few are of the caliber of the 1935 $500 offered in the upcoming Heritage World Banknote Signature Auction.

“The Bank of Canada officially opened in March 1935, serving as a central bank to the country. Its first issues were small-sized banknotes to replace the larger format notes previously issued under the Dominion of Canada and by government-chartered private banks,” says Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “Of the denominations produced — they ranged from $1 to $1,000, with text in French or English — the $500 had the smallest print total for both languages: just 20,900 were printed in English, and only 5,000 in French.

“Any issued example of the $500 is a prize, as only a few are known to exist in either language. The one offered here is an absolute treasure, because it is graded About Uncirculated and has the PPQ designation that confirms originality. It represents the finest offering ever at public auction. According to the 34th edition of Canadian Government Paper Money, there are only 12 examples known in private hands.”

Heritage, the world’s leading auctioneer of World Paper Money, last offered an issued $500 nearly two decades ago: in 2005.

The banknotes offered in this auction are as varied as the countries that produced them.

For example, consider the high-grade Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 50 Riyals 1961 / AH1379 Pick 9a PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ. Notes from the 1961 series of notes issued by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency are especially desirable, and this 50 Riyals is a key denomination in the series. At the time of cataloging, only three notes in the PMG Population Report held a higher grade than the stunning example offered in this auction — a beauty that holds the “Exceptional Paper Quality” designation. It bears a beautiful vignette of an oil derrick graces the front, and the coat of arms on the back.

A Turks & Caicos Islands Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands 1 Pound 12.11.1918 Pick 3b PMG Very Fine 20 comes from the British Overseas Territory, a small tropical colony that issued banknotes from 1903-30, after which Jamaican coins and notes, along with other British monies, circulated. The population in the early 1900s was only around 5,000, so currency requirements were small, meaning print runs were small. Today, only a handful of notes are known extant. This beautiful note features the second of three known dates for this variety and a blank reverse side.

An extremely rare Government of Iraq 1/4 Dinar 1.7.1931 Pick 1a PMG Choice Very Fine 35 is one of 14 lots in the auction from the middle eastern nation. It is the initial denomination of the short-lived first series of Iraqi notes, which are extremely popular with collectors. Take note: this is the first signature variety — the note bears the autographs of Young, Askari and Hornsby.

A rare Kiau Chau 1 Dollar is one of 75 lots in the auction from China. A rare example of the one-dollar denomination for the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, which ceased operations in China after World War I, it was issued at the Tsingtau Branch and was used for local currency in both the German colony of Kiautschou and in the Chinese Province of Shantung.

A well-preserved French Indochina Banque de l’Indo-Chine, Haiphong 100 Piastres 7.3.1914 Pick 18 PMG Very Fine 25 is one of 10 lots from the former group of French colonial territories in Mainland Southeast Asia — it included Cambodia, Laos, the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan and the Vietnamese regions of Tonkin, Annam and Cochinchina — that existed until 1954. The Banque de l’Indo-Chine issued banknotes via branches in both Saigon and Haiphong; this 100 Piastres was the highest denomination of the Haiphong series, and it features a rare, early date.

Other top lots in the auction include, but are not limited to:

• Russia: a Russian-American Company 10 Kopeks ND (1820s-60s) Pick Unlisted PMG Extremely Fine 40

• Jamaica: a Jamaica Government of Jamaica 5 Shillings 1918 Pick 32a PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ — the finest-graded example for all Jamaica KGV issues

• Palestine: a Palestine Currency Board 10 Pounds 7.9.1939 Pick 9c PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ

• Italian Somaliland: a Cassa Per La Circolazione Monetaria Della Somalia 100 Somali 1950 Pick 15a PCGS Gem New 65PPQ

• Singapore: a Board of Commissioners of Currency 10,000 Dollars ND (1999) Pick 44a PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ

• Brunei: a Negara Brunei Darussalam 10,000 Ringgit 1989 Pick 20a PMG Choice Uncirculated 64

• India: an India Government of India, Bombay 1000 Rupees 9.9.1927 Pick A19Ac Jhunjhunwalla-Razack 2A.7.2D.3 PMG Very Fine 20

“This is one of the broadest, not to mention finest, offerings of world banknotes in recent years,” Johnston says. “This extraordinary event includes notes from an enormous array of countries around the world, and with items that are ideal for collectors of all levels of the hobby. No matter what your interest is in World Paper Money, chances are good you’ll find notes in this auction that will make magnificent additions to any collection.”