FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1995                            (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
       CANADIAN CORPORATION CHARGED WITH COLLUSIVE BIDDING
            ON RARE BANKNOTES AT NEW YORK CITY AUCTION

   WASHINGTON, D.C. --  A leading international dealer in rare
banknotes was charged today with bid rigging in connection with a
November 1990 auction involving the sale of old and rare
banknotes, proofs and specimens from the archives of the American
Bank Note Company.  
   In court papers filed today in the U.S. District Court in
Manhattan, the Justice Department's Antitrust Division charged
that William Barrett Numismatics Limited, a Canadian corporation,
and its co-conspirators agreed to refrain from bidding against
one another at a major auction conducted by Christie, Manson &
Woods International Inc., in New York City, on November 28 and
29, 1990.  
   Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Antitrust Division, said that the charges arose in connection
with a grand jury investigation in New York City into collusive
bidding at auctions of numismatic items and other goods.  
Bingaman said that the investigation, which is being conducted by
the Division's New York Office, is continuing.
   The maximum penalty for a corporation convicted of a Sherman
Act violation occurring after November 16, 1990, is the greatest
of $10 million twice the gross pecuniary gain the defendant
derived from the offense or twice the gross pecuniary loss caused
to the victims of the crime.
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95-196