Description
Guadeloupe, MARIE GALANTE, Anse Canot, copper 1 (cart load) check, 20mm bronze (Breton 924, Byrne 1055) Almost Uncirculated (traces of lustre)
With a stroke of his pen, Pierre Breton made the Anse Canot tokens a part of Canadian numismatics. In his Illustrated History of Coins And Tokens Relating to Canada (1894) he wrote "Anse-Canot or Canoe Cove runs in from one of the bays on the Coast of Prince Edward Island. This coin was probably issued to represent a certain monetary value by one of the Acadian or Breton fisherman. The only known specimen is in the collection of Mr. Cyrille Tessier of Quebec."
Edward Roehrs writing in the Numismatics International Bulletin 36 (September 2000) brings some clarity to the issue. They were produced c1850 and used on the island of Marie Galante, at sugar factories close to the small town of Saint Louis, locally called ‘Anse Canot’. Marie Galante is a ‘sugar island’ and a dependency of Guadeloupe. The tokens, which are numbered 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 were used as tallies for cane carts drawn by oxen and delivered to the factory.
The token is a rarity, and is still collected as part of the Breton series. It could be suggested that the token is rare in Canada, because it is not Canadian, but in European auctions listed as Guadeloupe its rarity holds its own.
In recent times I could locate only two Anse Canot 1 cartload tokens. The first was in the London auction house of Dix Noonan & Webb (February 14th, 2012 Lot 1166 ) where they offered a very fine example that fetched £900 plus fees. Its provenance was ex. Jeffrey Hoare. The other example, also very fine was in Geoffrey Bell Auctions (Toronto Coin Expo Spring Sale 2015, Lot 780) and it realised $C2600 plus the fees
With a stroke of his pen, Pierre Breton made the Anse Canot tokens a part of Canadian numismatics. In his Illustrated History of Coins And Tokens Relating to Canada (1894) he wrote "Anse-Canot or Canoe Cove runs in from one of the bays on the Coast of Prince Edward Island. This coin was probably issued to represent a certain monetary value by one of the Acadian or Breton fisherman. The only known specimen is in the collection of Mr. Cyrille Tessier of Quebec."
Edward Roehrs writing in the Numismatics International Bulletin 36 (September 2000) brings some clarity to the issue. They were produced c1850 and used on the island of Marie Galante, at sugar factories close to the small town of Saint Louis, locally called ‘Anse Canot’. Marie Galante is a ‘sugar island’ and a dependency of Guadeloupe. The tokens, which are numbered 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 were used as tallies for cane carts drawn by oxen and delivered to the factory.
The token is a rarity, and is still collected as part of the Breton series. It could be suggested that the token is rare in Canada, because it is not Canadian, but in European auctions listed as Guadeloupe its rarity holds its own.
In recent times I could locate only two Anse Canot 1 cartload tokens. The first was in the London auction house of Dix Noonan & Webb (February 14th, 2012 Lot 1166 ) where they offered a very fine example that fetched £900 plus fees. Its provenance was ex. Jeffrey Hoare. The other example, also very fine was in Geoffrey Bell Auctions (Toronto Coin Expo Spring Sale 2015, Lot 780) and it realised $C2600 plus the fees
