# What's My 1 Square Inch (Of the Yukon Territory) Worth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828 "2010-04-12T12:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/1 "2010-04-12T12:59:51Z")
Back in the 1950’s, there was a kid’s TV show called “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon”. It was about a RCMP sergeant and his husky dog (King), who went about catching crooks and bad guys. As a promotion, the producers of the show would send you a deed for a one square inch plot of land, somewhere in the Yukon territory of Canada. What are these plots going for now? Do I have to pay back taxes on it? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/2 "2010-04-12T13:08:35Z")
I would bet the deeds were not real. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/3 "2010-04-12T13:16:27Z")
[Here’s the story.](http://www.firstam.com/landsakes/html/email/061002biginch.html) Short answer, you don’t own it anymore. > [@cite](#): > > Unfortunately, no one paid taxes on the 19 acres, and in 1965 it was sold by the Canadian government for an arrearage of $37.20. According to an August 2000 article in the Whitehorse Star newspaper, “a Quaker Oats spokesman in Chicago claims the company never received a tax bill.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/4 "2010-04-12T13:16:38Z")
It was a cereal giveaway, sponsored by the Quaker company. Unfortunately, the deeds are worth nothing today. You can read all about the promotion [at this link](http://www.yukoninfo.com/klondikebiginch.htm); but here’s the part that answers your question: > [@](#): > > Not only do these people not own the land now. They never did, because each individual deed was never formally registered. The Klondike Big Inch Land Co., an Illinois subsidiary established to handle the cereal’s land affairs, has gone out of business. And anyway, the Canadian government repossessed all the land back in 1965 for nonpayment of $37.20 in property taxes. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/5 "2010-04-12T15:07:04Z")
So, if I calculated this correctly, in 1965, it was worth: 37.20 / (6,272,640 sq. in. \* 19) = 0.000000312132489 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/6 "2010-04-12T15:15:58Z")
does anyone have the episode 01/27/55 Land Deal that this promotion was offered in? Yes that was the title for the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/7 "2010-04-12T15:19:04Z")
No, the $37.20 was just property taxes. The entire plot was purchased for $1000, so you’d have to figure out how much the land had appreciated or depreciated between 1955 and 1965, and do the necessary calculations on the end figure. But it would all be moot, because each square inch was never properly registered; and thus, the square-inch deed holder never really owned the land at all. I’d assume the Klondike Big Inch company did register the whole plot with the local land titles office, but it never legally severed the plot into square-inch parcels and the kids who got the certificates in their cereal never bothered registering the individual inches. (In fairness, lacking any information to the contrary from Klondike Big Inch or the Yukon or Canadian Governments, the kids couldn’t have known they had to.) At any rate, proper title to the whole plot would have remained with the Klondike Big Inch company until the government repossessed the land for back taxes. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/8 "2010-04-12T15:22:00Z")
Dirt deeds never done dirt cheap? Bummer. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/9 "2010-04-12T15:33:30Z")
Plus, in order to register individual title, there would have to be a subdivision application to the local authority, and I highly doubt that there would have been approval of subdivision into one inch square plots, so the kids never really owned those plots. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/10 "2010-04-12T16:26:01Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > does anyone have the episode > > 01/27/55 Land Deal > > that this promotion was offered in? Yes that was the title for the episode. to not be confusing the above episode was in Challenge of the Yukon, the radio show. The tv show, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, started in 09/55. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/11 "2010-04-12T17:28:43Z")
The certificates the kids got might still have value as collectibles, though, which would almost certainly be worth more than the plots of land themselves, and likely more than the original purchase price. My dad had one of these. He liked to joke about buying up three more, in a triangle around his plot, and setting up a tiny tripod oil drill. ---
**Author:** ![Dragline](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@Dragline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragline)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/12 "2010-04-12T20:38:40Z")
I still have six of the deeds - went in big, planning to go dig a few tons of gold and retire. Oh well, there’s the Enron stock. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/13 "2010-04-12T21:28:34Z")
the certificates stated it didn’t include mineral rights. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/14 "2010-04-12T21:39:58Z")
> [@Dragline](#): > > I still have six of the deeds - went in big, planning to go dig a few tons of gold and retire. Oh well, there’s the Enron stock. Then you may have some money coming to you! The article linked by fluiddruid says that the certificates have sold for $40 on the collector market. Also, it says that the 19 acres was sold for 37.20 in back taxes - I’m sure it was worth more, but it is the last quoted prices for the land 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/15 "2010-04-12T22:58:42Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Also, it says that the 19 acres was sold for 37.20 in back taxes - I’m sure it was worth more, but it is the last quoted prices for the land 😉 Let’s look at it another way: the land was _seized_ by the government because the $37.20 assessed in property taxes were not paid. A seizure for unpaid taxes is not a sale. The title of the land simply reverted to the government; no money changed hands and no sale occurred. The government was out $37.20; but it did not resell the land for that (or any) amount. Note that if the government had tried to resell the land in 1965 and found a willing buyer, the government’s price would have to be a fair market value–certainly, not just the amount of the taxes. At the very least, there would be various fees associated with the transfer of title to the new buyer, possibly realtors’ or agents’ fees, and maybe mortgagees to pay out as well. After taxes, fees, mortgage, etc. had been deducted from the proceeds, anything left over would be returned to the owner from whom the land had been seized. This is all as directed by the applicable legislation about civil enforcement; to the best of my knowledge, governments are not exempt from the duties and responsibilities of any other creditor in seizure or repossession situations. > [@johnpost](#): > > the certificates stated it didn’t include mineral rights Very few titles in western Canada do include mineral rights; I would be very surprised if a cereal box giveaway included mineral rights. For this reason, **Chronos** ’ father would be unable to set up a tiny drilling rig–because he had no right to the oil (technically, a mineral under local law) under his land. Sorry about that, **Chronos**. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/16 "2010-04-12T23:10:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The certificates the kids got might still have value as collectibles, though, which would almost certainly be worth more than the plots of land themselves, and likely more than the original purchase. We bought 100 of these from a collector a few years ago. We run them on ebay and get about $20-25 for these. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/17 "2010-04-12T23:28:48Z")
What would Sergeant Preston say if he knew what the Canadian government had done to his loyal listeners’ land? Nothing good, I bet. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/18 "2010-04-13T02:14:16Z")
Sgt Preston would say that his loyal listeners should pay their taxes, like good citizens. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/19 "2010-04-13T02:15:46Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Very few titles in western Canada do include mineral rights; I would be very surprised if a cereal box giveaway included mineral rights. Depends where you are in western Canada. When the feds started granting land in eastern Manitoba, mineral rights were often included; fewer as settlement progressed west into Saskatchewan, and even fewer in Alberta, as the feds cottoned on to the value of the minerals. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828/20 "2010-04-13T02:30:37Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Sgt Preston would say that his loyal listeners should pay their taxes, like good citizens. 🙂 Well, King, the case is closed! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-my-1-square-inch-of-the-yukon-territory-worth/535828.md?page=2)