Tag: British Columbia

Happy British Columbia Day!

In the late 1850s, gold was discovered in the Fraser River and Cariboo districts of British Columbia. The gold rush that followed brought a large influx of new inhabitants, changing the colony virtually overnight from a small settlement based on trading to a rapidly expanding one. The almost complete lack of a circulating medium occasioned great inconvenience. In 1859, Governor James Douglas requested Her Majesty’s government to ship out a specified quantity of gold, silver and copper coins. Silver and copper coins amounting to little more than half the value requested were shipped, but no gold coins. The governor, well…

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Hudson’s Bay Company Scrips from the B.C. District

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HBC BC District Scrip

Sydney Hodgkinson we glimpse as a Hudson’s Bay Company man. In 1909 he’s working as an accountant at the H.B.C. Telegraph Creek trading post in the northern part of British Columbia. Sydney is an imaginative and lyrical chap – he writes to a friend in familiar verse, thanking him for a book: Sydney Hodgkinson worked with the mighty H.B.C. from 1908 to 1935. The trading posts were often in tiny, remote settlements. In the 1910 Henderson’s B.C. Gazetteer, where Hodgkinson is listed as an accountant, Telegraph Creek is noted as  “a trading post, mining camp and post office in the Comox-Atlin district”…

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The Haida Matriarchal Orca

Haida Orca 2016 50 Dolllars

For the Haida the Orca is the most powerful supernatural being of the undersea realm and this SGaana Jaad (Killer Whale Woman) is a noble matriarch, a fact revealed in the labret that adorns the lower lip of her mouth that also doubles as the orca’s blowhole Canada 50 Dollar – 5 oz. Fine Silver Coin with Enamel – Mythical Realms of the Haida Series: The Orca – Mintage: 1,500 (2016) Design: Haida artist April White—SGaana Jaad of the Yahqu’iaanaas Raven Clan—has created a mesmerizing image of an orca leaping out of the water. Look closely and you will see…

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British Columbia 25 Cents

BC 25 Cents

In the 1992 Provinces of Canada series the British Columbia 25 cents shows a pod of Orcas with the coastal range beyond. 1867 to 1992 says the obverse legend. It’s the 125th anniversary of the 1867 confederation. British Columbia joined the Confederation later in 1871. The Orca reverse was designed by Carla Herrera Egan. The obverse shows the Dora de Pédery-Hunt effigy of the Queen. Thank you http://www.coinsunlimited.ca/ for the image

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White Pass station – between Skagway, Alaska and the Yukon – 1905

Lot 178 White Pass, Skagway Alaska 1905 1c Summit Stn colour Postcard from Sitka.  Estimate: $25 White Pass is a mountain pass right on the border between Alaska and British Columbia. It was one of the main passes used in the Klondike Gold Rush and so many horses died that it became known as ‘Dead Horse Trail’. A light-gauge railway was built 1898-1900 leading all the way from Skagway, Alaska to the Yukon route. Thank All Nations for Image and Auction text  

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Eastern Townships Bank, Keremeos, B.C., cheque

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Keremeos 827

Not knowing some banking history I thought it very unusual to see a “Eastern Township Bank” cheque from Keremeos, BC. I thought Eastern Townships usually relates to a group of towns back east and that it would be unusual for such a group to have branches out in British Columbia. I did know, however, that the Bank of Hamilton (Ontario) had at least one branch out here, so… For those mainland Vancouver types who do not go much into the interior, Keremeos is a village (which is sort of again another reason for wondering why an Eastern Townships bank office?)…

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UBC SUB Pizza Parlour

There was a time when the UBC Stamp and Coin Club could have met at night at SUB and had Pizza and Beer!!! Quite cheaply but then as you may see wages were not that great either then. A fairly replete history of the SUB Pizza Parlor from the Ubyssey (and its token) September 14th, 1976 Ubyssey “Parlor opens tonight Pizza and beer will replace hamburgers and milk every night in the SUB cafeteria snack bar beginning today at 7p.m. The new SUB pizza parlor will offer beer, wine, cider and pop over the counter from 7p.m. to 12:30a.m. Friday and…

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