Charlton Press

The Charlton Press, a book publishing company, produces price guides and other books on collectables, including coins, banknotes, medals, sports cards, clocks, dolls and porcelain figures. The company's first title was Catalogue of Canadian Coins, Tokens & Fractional Currency, published in 1952 and contained all coins used as circulating tender in Canada from 1858 until present.

James (Jim) Charlton (July 26, 1911 - September 20, 2013) It was Jim Charlton’s experience as an avid numismatist that inspired him to create a catalogue for coin collectors. In 1926, when Jim Charlton was 15, his older brother Harry Charlton gifted him a United States 1863 Indian Head cent.

It was from this initial exposure to coins that Jim Charlton developed an interest in numismatics, frequently visiting coin dealers, and purchasing coins from second-hand stores in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Charlton continued to cultivate his interest in coins while moving to Northern Ontario for work as an engineer from 1933 to 1948. But, it was his return to Toronto in April 1948 after accepting a position as a Steam Engineer for the Star (now Toronto Star) that allowed him to expand his collection. By actively acquiring withdrawn circulation coinage from bank acquisitions, coin auctions, and inventories from coin shops, Charlton’s collection grew exponentially.

While continuing his work as chief Steam Engineer at The Star, Charlton ran Canada Coin Exchange, a coin business from his home on a part-time basis during evenings and Saturdays with his wife Mary (nee Tyndall) from 1948 until 1956.

Charlton had been actively buying and selling coins since 1948 and conducting a number of mail auction sales beginning in 1950. It was during this time that he realized the need for a Canadian catalogue which would provide accurate values of coins. Based on his experience as an auctioneer, he realized that the only catalogue on Canadian coins, one published by Wayte Raymond (Coins and Tokens of Canada, 1947), was outdated. While Raymond’s publication listed coinage by dates, mint marks, mintages and values, and was an improvement from its earlier 1937 publication, listed coin values did not correspond to the values received at bid during auction. It was the selling prices of those sales in which Charlton auctioneered that helped to establish the baseline values for the first catalogue.

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