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Royal Canadian Mint numismatic coins (1900–1999)

One of the most profitable aspects of the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) is its numismatic product line.[1] The first numismatic coin from the RCM was arguably the 1935 dollar commemorating the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Though intended for circulation, it was the first Canadian coin commemorating an event. The decision to issue this coin was made in October 1934 by Prime Minister R. B. Bennett.[2] There were economic and patriotic motivations for the release of a silver dollar, including a hope to boost the silver mining industry. In future years, the silver dollar would have a more emotional meaning for many Canadians because it was also the first coin to have the Voyageur motif on its reverse.

Birth of luxury coins

Expansion in the numismatic line was a key element of the 1990s. The first significant sign was the creation of the two-hundred dollar gold coin. Starting in 1990, this coin was sold for a higher price than its face value. The first coin commemorated the Silver Jubilee of Canada's flag and sold for $395.00. The superstar of this collection would be the Canadian Native Cultures and Traditions coins. These coins were minted from 1997 to 2000. The Haida coin has been an award-winning coin for the RCM, taking the Best Coin Award at the 1997 Singapore International Coin Show.[3]

The advent of the two-hundred dollar gold series was quickly joined by a platinum series. These high-quality collector coins solidified the RCM's entry into the luxury coin market. A four-coin set with face values of $30, $75, $150, and $300 respectively were complemented by the high-quality artwork that adorned these luxury items. Notable artists such as Robert Bateman and Glen Loates contributed to these collections with polar bear and bird designs. The issue price for these collections was around $1,990 and the casing was a walnut or burgundy (for 1994) case with a black suede four-hole insert and a certificate of authenticity.

Numismatic fifty-cent collections

Discovering Nature series

Year Theme Artist Finish Issue price (4-coin set) Total mintage Designs
1995 Birds of Canada Jean-Luc Grondin Proof $56.95 172,377 Atlantic Puffins, Whooping Crane, Gray Jays, and White Tailed Ptarmigans
1996 Little Wild Ones Dwayne Harty Proof $59.95 206,552 Moose Calf, Wood Ducklings, Cougar Kittens, and Black Bear Cubs
1997 Canada's Best Friends Arnold Nogy Proof $59.95 184,536 Newfoundland, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Canadian Eskimo Dog
1998 Canada's Ocean Giants Pierre Leduc Proof $59.95 133,310 Killer Whale, Humpback Whale, Beluga Whale, Blue Whale
1999 Cats of Canada John Crosby Proof $59.95 83,423 Tonkinese, Lynx, Cymric, Cougar

90th Anniversary of Royal Canadian Mint

Year Theme Artist Issue price Mintage
1998 Part of 90th Anniversary of Royal Canadian Mint set. Coins were matte finish. Ago Aarand $99.00 24,893
1998 Part of 90th Anniversary of Royal Canadian Mint set. Coins were matte finish. Ago Aarand $99.00 18,376

Canadian Sports series

Year Coin no. 1 Coin no. 2 Coin no. 3 Coin no. 4 Artist Finish Issue price (4-coin set) Total mintage
1998 First Amateur Figure Skating Championships 1888 First Cdn Ski Running and Jump Championships 1898 First Overseas Cdn Soccer Tour of 1888 Gilles Villeneuve, Grand Prix of Canada Victory, 1978 Friedrich G. Peter Proof $59.95 56,428
1999 First Cdn Open Golf Championship, 1904 First International Yacht Race, US vs. Canada, 1874 First Grey Cup, 1904 Invention of Basketball by James Naismith, 1891 Donald H. Curley Proof $59.95 52,115

Source:[4]

Commemorative Silver Dollar series

1935–1980

Year Theme Artist Mintage Issue price
1935 Voyageur Dollar Emanuel Hahn 428,707 $1.00
1939 Royal Visit Emanuel Hahn 1,363,816 $1.00
1949 Newfoundland Entry Into Confederation Thomas Shingles 672,218 $1.00
1958 Totem Pole Stephen Trenka 3,039,630 $1.00
1964 Confederation Meetings Commemorative Dinko Vodanovic 7,296,832 $1.00
1967 Canadian Centennial Alex Colville and Myron Cook 6,767,496 $1.00
1971 British Columbia Centennial Patrick Brindley 585,217 $3.00
1973 RCMP Centennial Paul Cedarberg 904,723 $3.00
1974 Winnipeg Centennial Paul Pederson 628,183 $3.50
1975 Calgary Centennial D. D. Paterson 833,095 $3.50
1976 Library of Parliament Centennial Patrick Brindley and Walter Ott 483,722 $4.00
1977 Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II Raymond Lee 744,848 $4.25
1978 Commonwealth Games Raymond Taylor 640,000 $4.50
1979 Griffon Tricentennial Walter Schluep 688,671 $5.50
1980 Arctic Territories Centennial D. D. Paterson 389,564 $22.00

1981–1999

1981 was the first year that the RCM issued two different qualities of silver dollars. One version was the Proof, which composed of a frosted relief against a parallel lined background. The second version was the Brilliant Uncirculated. The finish is classified as a brilliant relief on a brilliant background.

Year Theme Artist Mintage (proof) Issue Price (proof) Mintage (BU) Issue price (BU)
1981 Canadian Pacific Railway Centennial Christopher Gorey 353,742 $18.00 148,647 $14.00
1982 Regina Centennial Huntley Brown 577,959 $15.25 144,989 $10.95
1983 World University Games Carola Tietz 340,068 $16.15 159,450 $10.95
1984 Toronto Sesquicentennial D. J. Craig 571,079 $17.50 133,563 $11.40
1985 National Parks Centennial Karel Rohlicek 537,297 $17.50 162,873 $12.00
1986 Vancouver Centennial Elliott John Morrison 496,418 $18.00 124,574 $12.25
1987 John Davis 400th Anniversary Christopher Gorey 405,688 $19.00 118,722 $14.00
1988 Saint-Maurice Ironworks R.R. Carmichael 259,230 $20.00 106,702 $15.00
1989 Mackenzie River Bicentennial John Mardon 272,319 $21.75 110,650 $16.25
1990 Henry Kelsey Tricentennial D. J. Craig 222,983 $22.95 85,763 $16.75
1991 Frontenac D. J. Craig 222,892 $22.95 82,642 $16.75
1992 Kingston to York Stagecoach Karsten Smith 187,612 $23.95 78,160 17.50
1993 Stanley Cup Centennial Stewart Sherwood 294,214 $23.95 88,150 $17.50
1994 RCMP Northern Dog Team Ian D. Sparkes 178,485 $24.50 65,295 $17.95
1995 325th Anniv. Hudson's Bay Company Vincent McIndoe 166,259 $24.50 61,819 $17.95
1996 John McIntosh, McIntosh Apple Roger Hill 133,779 $29.95 58,834 $19.95
1997 25th Anniversary of Canada/Russia Summit Series Walter Burden 184,965 $29.95 155,252 $19.95
1997 10th Anniversary of Loon Dollar Jean-Luc Grondin 24,995 $49.95 No BU exists N/A
1998 125th Anniversary of RCMP Adeline Halvorson 130,795 $29.95 81,376 $19.95
1999 225th Anniversary of the Voyage of Juan Perez D. J. Craig 126,435 $29.95 67,655 $19.95
1999 International Year of Older Persons S. Armstrong-Hodgins 24,976 $49.95 No BU exists N/A

Definition of finishes

  • Bullion
Brilliant relief against a parallel lined background
  • Proof
Frosted relief against a mirror background
  • Specimen
Brilliant relief on a satin background

Mint marks

  • A
Used on 2005 Palladium Test Coin to signify the coins were struck from Lot A.
  • B
Used on 2005 Palladium Test Coin to signify the coins were struck from Lot B.
  • C
Placed on sovereigns produced at the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint, between 1908 and 1919.
  • Dot
In December 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in favour of his brother, who would become King George VI. The problem was that the Royal Mint was designing the effigy of King Edward VIII and now a new effigy would need to be created. The 1-, 10- and 25-cent coins in 1937 would be struck from dies with a 1936 date on the reverse. To distinguish that these coins were issued in 1937, a dot mint mark was placed on the 1936 dies and could be found beneath the year. These coins fulfilled demand for coins until new coinage tools with the effigy of King George VI were ready. While the 10- and 25-cent coins are more common, the 1-cent coins are rare, with about a half-dozen known to exist.
  • H
Used to identify coins that were struck for Canada by the Birmingham Mint, also known as the Heaton Mint, until 1907.
  • Innukshuk
All circulation coins for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have the Innukshuk mint mark on the Obverse of the coin.
  • International Polar Year
The obverse of the 2007 International Polar Year $20 Numismatic Coin has the logo for the International Polar Year on the obverse of the coin.
  • Maple Leaf
All coins with a Maple Leaf mint mark were struck in 1948 due to an emergency with coin toolage. The granting of India’s independence resulted in the removal of IND:IMP (meaning Emperor of India) from King George VI’s effigy. Due to the demand for circulation coins in 1948, coins for 1948 could not be struck until the new tools were received. The new tools would have the IND:IMP removed from them. In the meanwhile, coins were produced in 1948 with a year of 1947 on them. A small Maple Leaf mint mark was struck beside 1947 on the reverse of all coins to signify the year of production.
  • P
From 2001-2006, most one cent, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents, and fifty cents issued for circulation were struck with a P mint mark to represent the Royal Canadian Mint’s plating process.
  • Paralympic Logo
All circulation coins for the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games have the Paralympic Games logo on the Obverse of the coin.
  • RCM Logo
At the CNA Convention in July 2006, the RCM unveiled its new mint mark to be used on all circulation and numismatic coinage. The agenda behind the implementation of this new mint mark was to help increase the RCM’s image as a brand. The aim of the logo is to educate coin users and coin collectors, respectively, that the RCM is minting Canada’s coins. The first Circulation Coin to have this new mint mark is the 10th Anniversary Two-Dollar coin. The first Numismatic Coin to have this new mint mark is the Snowbirds Coin and Stamp Set.[5]
  • T/É
In an effort to push the standard of quality higher, the RCM started to experiment with a gold bullion coin that would have a purity of 99.999%. The result was a Gold Maple Leaf Test Bullion coin with the mint mark of T/É (to signify Test/Épreuve). The date on the obverse of the coin was 2007 and it had a mintage of 500.
  • Teddy Bear
When the RCM released its Baby Lullabies and CD Set, a sterling silver one dollar coin was included in the set. The one dollar coin included a mint mark of a teddy bear.
  • W
Used occasionally on specimen sets produced in Winnipeg, starting in 1998.
  • W/P
Used on the Special Edition Uncirculated Set of 2003. The W mint mark stated that the coin was produced in Winnipeg and the P states that the coins are plated.

See also

References

  1. ^ Royal Canadian Mint 2006 Annual Report, page 4
  2. ^ Striking Impressions, James A. Haxby, 1983, p.139, ISBN 0-660-91234-1
  3. ^ http://www.mint.ca, Path on site: The Passion, The Museum, Award Winning Coins
  4. ^ Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Edition
  5. ^ Coin World, Vol. 47, Issue 2417, Page 74, August 7, 2006
  • Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Edition, 2006, W.K. Cross
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