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Lr. 1540 — Alfred Sandham’s Medallic History of Montreal. Undated. White Metal.

Currency:CAD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1,000.00 CAD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 2,500.00 CAD
Lr. 1540 — Alfred Sandham’s Medallic History of Montreal. Undated. White Metal.
SOLD
1,000.00CAD+ (200.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 May 05 @ 18:21UTC-4 : AST/EDT

Buyer’s Premiums will be added on all items as per the Terms & Conditions of the sale. Invoices will be emailed out after all sessions of the Toronto Coin Expo Spring Sale have concluded.

McLachlan-132, Breton-186, Charlton-5320. 45.3mm. 43.04g. Plain edge. Unsigned (per Charlton, dies by George Bishop & Co.). Coinage alignment. R.W. McLachlan relates the circumstances of this extremely rare medal’s production in Canadian Numismatics (1886): “In 1875 Sandham intended issuing a series of medals commemorative of events in the history of Montreal. This was to have been the first of the series. They all were to bear the same obverse, but before the first impression was struck, he destroyed the dies and threw them away. They were found by a young collector, and after having been slightly touched up, some four or five impressions were struck off in white metal, and one in copper (emphasis our own). The design is not artistic, but had the purpose of issuing the series been carried out, we should have had an interesting group of medals.”

     Some believe that McLachlan himself may have been responsible for issuing the medal. This is only the second example this cataloguer has handled. The Saul Hendler, Seminary of Sherbrooke, and Michael Joffre collections each included an example (all different pieces). Perhaps just as significant is the fact that one was missing from Jeffrey Hoare Auction’s Sale #6 in February 1988, one of the finest collections of Canadian medals offered publicly in the last 40 years.
     This is the Saul Handler representative, identified by minute rim marks at 6 o’clock on the obverse and near the second A in HOCHELAGA on the reverse. Both sides are lightly toned in shades of blue, violet, and gold, delivering a natural, elegant appearance. These medals are extremely rare and have been highly sought-after by collectors since the late 19th century. Ex: Saul Hendler Collection (Jeffrey Hoare Auction, 6/1996), lot 1734.