DALLAS, TX.- Collectors in search of rare high-denomination banknotes will have an opportunity to quench their thirst when a scarce Canadian treasure crosses the block in Heritage’s World Paper Money Signature® Auction October 17.

Canadian Chartered Bank notes printed in the highest denominations, like the Canada Halifax, NS- Bank of Nova Scotia $100 2.1.1929 Ch.# 550-28-40 PCGS Banknote Uncirculated 62 that will be up for grabs in this auction, usually are notoriously scarce, and this magnificent note is no exception to that rule: the example offered in this auction is the only one graded by PCGS Banknote.

“This note represents a remarkable opportunity to acquire a banknote that just doesn’t come around often,” says Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “This $100 is a perfect example of the prized high-denomination notes, as it is one of just 8,000 that were printed with a serial number between 14,001 and 22,000. So they are few in number, and even more rare in top condition. PMG has awarded a Fine or Very Fine grade to just two.”

Another high-denomination rarity is a Netherlands Indies Javasche Bank 1000 Gulden 1.7.1864 Pick 51r Remainder PMG Choice Uncirculated 64, the only example from 1864 to 1888 graded by PMG. Offered at Heritage for the first time and a part of an impressive special collection of Netherlands Indies notes in the auction, it is a truly elite banknote that is exceedingly rare or unique outside of institutional collections. The 1000 Gulden was the highest denomination on a banknote and represented an enormous sum of money in Europe or colonial Southeast Asia at the time. Fewer than 15,000 notes of this denomination were printed with the 1864 date, and the example offered in this auction is an unissued remainder that lacks serial numbers, date and signatures.

A Panama Banco Central de Emision 20 Balboas 1941 Pick 25a PMG Very Fine 25 is an example of the extremely rare highest denomination among four that were printed — for all of a week — when the Central Bank of Issue of Panama issued a set of banknotes in 1941. Produced after the nation had spent decades using U.S. currency, the notes were printed by the Hamilton Bank Note Company, only to have production halted seven days later when President Arnulfo Arias was deposed in a coup. Most, but thankfully not all, of the banknote stock (paper) was destroyed. The 1 Balboa denomination was saved and appears in the marketplace today, but the three higher denominations, including the 20, are amazingly rare, as fewer were issued and most were redeemed for U.S. dollars by the government of President Ernesto de la Guardia. Bearing the coveted low serial number 000076, the offered example is one of just 14 currently graded in the PMG Population Report.

Arguably one of the rarest of all world banknotes, a Suriname Surinaamsche Bank 1000 Gulden 31.6.1898 Pick 59p Proof PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 is one of just a handful of Specimen-graded survivors that remain within the reach of collectors. At the time Heritage’s catalog for this auction was printed, the offered example was the first and only 19th-century 1000 Gulden of Suriname graded in the PMG Population Report across all known and available formats. Printer records indicate that 1,000 were printed with the dates 1865, 1880, 1883, 1886, 1890, 1894, 1904 and 1920, with a shockingly small emission per date, excluding 1920, when 20,000 notes were issued. This 1898 dated note was previously unknown to the numismatic community, and a search of printer records found no mention of this note. Especially curious is that this note is specifically dated 31st June, 1898, which is impossible, as there are only 30 days in June.

Iraq’s 100 Dinars banknotes of the Kingdom era, including a Iraq Government of Iraq 100 Dinars 1931 (ND 1936) Pick 12a PMG Very Fine 20 offered in this auction, are very rare and incredibly popular. All 100 Dinars notes of this era feature prefix A, with the serial numbers increasing with each ruling monarch. This offered example features King Ghazi I with the signature panel of Amery / Ayubi — a variety in which it is estimated that approximately 5,000 notes were printed, of which few were saved and preserved.

A Cyprus Central Bank of Cyprus 1 Shilling 1.3.1920 Pick 14 PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ, the second-finest example graded in the PMG Population Report, is remarkable in both rarity and preservation. Cypriot banknotes featuring King George V are notoriously rare, with small print totals from which few survived.

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

• A Canada Dominion of Canada $5 1.5.1912 DC-21c PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ

• A Low Serial Number 22 Specimen India Government of India, Bombay 1 Rupee 1917 Pick 1gs Jhunjhunwalla-Razack 14.20 Specimen PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 EPQ

• A Morocco Banque d’Etat du Maroc 4 Rials = 40 Francs 31.2.1917 Pick 1s Specimen PMG About Uncirculated 55 EPQ

• A New Zealand Commercial Bank of Australia 10 Shillings 26.4.1917 Pick S270Ab PMG Very Fine 30