Company Profile
Michael
Walsh first became fascinated with coins in 1955 when his grandfather gave him a
cigar box full of old tokens, large cents and fish scales (silver five cent
pieces). The local librarians saw much of him over the ensuing months as he
researched and organized his new hobby. Pocket change in the mid-fifties still
contained a surprising amount of Victorian silver, as well as a good supply of
Edward VII and George V pieces, so it was natural for Michael to collect these.
"I had both a morning and an afternoon paper route, and I delivered the
Star Weekly on Saturdays. Not only did these provide me with the necessary
funding for my growing collection, but because I encouraged my customers to pay
me with older coins, it also became a good source."
Michael
spent his school lunch hours in the banks, searching through the rolls.
"All the tellers in Moncton knew me, and would put the odd things aside for
me. My greatest find was a 1921 fifty cent piece in a roll at the Royal Bank on
Main Street (it would be a $40,000 coin today) and that find still drives me to
this day. I'm always searching for the elusive, knowing that I won't find it if
I don't look. I know that there are still some $15,000 1969 large date ten cent pieces
out there in pocket change."
His interest in numismatics
continued throughout his career as a Naval Officer, and after retiring in 1981,
Michael began quietly dealing with private clients - buying, selling and
building collections. He delighted in filling want lists and over the years
put together for one client a complete Canadian and Maritime collection which
the knowledgeable consider one of the finest business strike collections ever assembled.
As his vest-pocket business grew,
Michael incorporated it as the Canadian Coinoisseur, inc. Corporate
structure notwithstanding, he continued to run a hands-on, private client operation,
specializing condition-rare Canadian coins. Working from an office by appointment
only, from his tables at the major coin shows and through this
website, rather than from a storefront, gave him great flexibility to travel in
search of coins.
In April 1998, Michael began conducting public
numismatic auctions, and since then he has conducted twenty-one sales. He was appointed Official
Auctioneer for the 1999 and the 2000 Canadian Association of Numismatic Dealers
(CAND) Shows as well as for the 2000 and 2002 Canadian Numismatic Association
(CNA) Conventions. Then beginning in February 2001, he has conducted twelve sales
as Official Auctioneer for Torex®, Canada’s
oldest and most important coin show. He is currently slated as the Official
Torex® Auctioneer for October 2008.
Michael is the President, the Education Chairman and a Life Member of the Canadian Numismatic
Association. He is
a Life Member of the Canadian Paper Money Society, of the American Numismatic
Association, of the Ontario Numismatic Association, of the Vancouver Numismatic
Society and of the North Shore
Numismatic Society. He is a Member and a Past President of
the Canadian Association of Numismatic Dealers, and he is a Member of the Auctioneers Association of Canada.
As a diversion, Michael sails the west coast in his
fifty-foot cutter, Sequitur.
This page was last updated on 17 April 2008
