Central Fund closes U.S. $84,900,000 share issue

Central Fund closes U.S. $84,900,000 share issue
TSX SYMBOL: CEF.A AMEX SYMBOL: CEF 


TORONTO, Nov. 3  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Central Fund of Canada Limited of
Calgary, Alberta announced today that it has completed the sale of 15,000,000
Class A shares at U.S. $5.66 (Cdn. $7.05) to CIBC World Markets Inc. and raised
total gross proceeds of US$84,900,000. The Shares were sold to investors in
Canada and in the United States, under the multijurisdictional disclosure
system.

The issue was completed at a price that was both non-dilutive and accretive to
the net asset value of Class A shareholders prior to the issue. In addition,
due to the Company's larger asset base as a result of this issue, the operating
costs (expense ratio) will be reduced on a per share basis for all Class A
shareholders.

In accordance with its investment policies, Central Fund has invested the net
proceeds (after underwriter's commission and expenses of issue) in gold and
silver bullion, with the balance of the net proceeds reserved for working
capital and additional bullion purchases.

The new total of issued and outstanding Class A Shares of Central Fund of
Canada Limited is 94,296,320. The investment holdings of Central Fund are now
represented by approximately 619,591 fine ounces of gold, 30,973,714 ounces of
silver and U.S. $12,689,473 primarily in cash for working capital and
additional bullion purchases.

A prospectus with respect to the offering of Class A shares was filed with the
applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. Copies of the U.S. prospectus relating to the offering
may be obtained from CIBC World Markets Corp., 417 Fifth Avenue, New York, New
York, 10016, by fax: [phone], e-mail: . Copies of the Canadian prospectus
may be obtained from CIBC World Markets Inc., fax [phone].

Central Fund of Canada Limited (est. 1961) is an exchange tradeable refined
gold and silver bullion holding company. Class A shares are qualified for
inclusion in many North American regulated accounts. Bullion holdings are
stored on an unencumbered, allocated, segregated and insured basis in the
treasury vaults of a major Canadian bank and are audited semi-annually in the
presence of Central Fund's auditors and bank representatives. Class A shares
are quoted on the AMEX, symbol CEF and the TSX, symbol CEF.A.

Information regarding Central Fund of Canada Limited is available at
http://www.centralfund.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Central Fund of Canada Limited



CONTACT: please contact J.C. Stefan Spicer, President

and CEO, at [phone]; or write to 

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