Historic Beaver Club Gold Medal attributed to Angus Bethune sells for $50,400 US

The medal had a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-$40,000. The sale price includes the buyer's premium.

A rare and historic gold medal from the prestigious Beaver Club of Montreal sold for $50,400 (about $73,300 CDN ) during Stack’s Bowers’ Jan. 17 NYINC Showcase Auction.

The medal had a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-$40,000. The sale price includes the buyer’s premium.

Attributed to renowned fur trader Angus Bethune, the medal, dated “1801” but struck in 1818, is graded extremely fine by Stack’s Bowers. Measuring 39.5 millimetres in diameter and weighing 7.17 grams, it showcases exquisite hand-engraved details crafted with exceptional precision. Its rich honey and rose-gold tones, along with scattered marks and slight bends, attest to its storied history. The sharpness of the engraving and the deeper patina within its recesses underscore the medal’s timeless craftsmanship and enduring appeal.

Bethune, an American-born fur trader and a key figure in Canada’s fur trade, was inducted into the Beaver Club in 1818. The medal’s 1801 date commemorates his first voyage into the interior at age 18. Born on New York’s Carleton Island, Bethune was the son of Rev. John Bethune, a Scottish Loyalist chaplain during the American Revolution. Angus Bethune rose through the ranks of the North West Company, taking on assignments across North America and the Pacific, including Fort Astoria in Oregon, where he witnessed the 1813 transfer of the fur trade fort to the North West Company.

The Beaver Club, established in 1785, was Canada’s most exclusive social club, reserved for leaders in the fur trade. It included members of the North West Company and reflected the economic importance of the fur trade in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The club ceased operations in 1827, leaving behind a small number of medals, most of which remain in institutional collections. The Bethune medal was recently discovered in a California family collection.