Art by Linda Parker
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July 2003 Book Review Part Five Continued 2
 Special *July 2003* Early Addition Of Our Book Review:Indepth Book Review On 2000 North American Coins & Prices:
A Guide To U.S., Canadian and Mexican Coins....
 Collectible Treasures Antique and CollectiblesBook Review July 2003
Interesting Information On Coin Collecting as noted in the 2000
North American Coins & Prices: A Guide To U.S., Canadian and Mexican Coins.
CHAPTER 5:
GET A MAP
HOW TO ORGANIZE A COLLECTION by David C. Harper
The Royal Canadian Mint was not established until 1908, when it
was called the Ottawa branch of the British Royal Mint, and it was
not given its present name until 1931. Both events are within living
memory. Canadian coins, therefore, have a unique mixture of
qualities. They are tantalizingly familiar to U.S. citizens yet
distinctly different.
The coinage of a monarchy brings its own logic to the organization
of a collection. Type collecting is delineated by the monarch.
United Canada has had six. The first was Queen Victoria, whose
image appeared on those large cents of 1858. Her reign began in
1837 and lasted until 1901.
She was followed by Edward VII, 1901-1910; George V, 1910-1936; Edward VIII, 1936; George VI, 1936-1952; and Queen Elizabeth II,
1952-present. All but Edward VIII had coins struck for circulation in Canada. The collectible monarchs, therefore, number five, but the
longer reigns inspired changes of portraits over time to show the
aging process at work. Legends also changed. When George VI
ceased being emperor of India, Canada's coins were modified to
recognize the change.
Like U.S. coins, sizes and alloys were altered to meet new demands placed on the coinage. However, the separateness of each nation
might best be summed up this way: Though the United States
abolished its large cent in 1857, Canada's was just getting under way
in 1858. The United States put an end to the silver dollar in 1935, the
very year Canada finally got its series going.
And Canada, the nickel-mining giant, used a small-sized silver five-
cent coin until 1921, almost 50 years after the half dime was
abolished in the United States. But whereas the Civil War was the
major cause of the emergence of modern U.S. coinage as specified
by the Coinage Act of 1873, World War I influenced the alterations
that made Canada's coins what they are today.
It might be assumed that change in the monarch also signaled a
change in the reverse designs of the various denominations. A
check of the Canadian price guide section shows this is not
necessarily the case. Current designs paired with Queen Elizabeth
II basically date back to the beginning of her father's reign. The
familiar maple-leaf cent, beaver five-cent piece, schooner 10-cent,
caribou 25-cent, and coat-of-arms 50-cent have been running for
over 50 years. Significant changes were made to the 50-cent coin
in 1959, but the reverse design remains the coat of arms.
So where does that leave type collectors? It puts them in a situation similar to categorizing the various eagles on U.S. coins. They can be universalists and accept the broadest efinitions of type, or they can
narrow the bands to whatever degree suits them best.
By checking the price-guide section, date and mintmark collectors
will quickly note that their method of organization more or less turns
into collecting by date. Though currently there are three mints in
Canada--Hull, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario; and Winnipeg, Manitoba--
they don't use mintmarks. Historically, few mint marks were
employed.
Ottawa used a "C" on gold sovereigns of 1908-1919 and on some
exported colonial issues. The private Heaton Mint in Birmingham,
England, used an "H" on coins it supplied to Canada from 1871 to
1907.
But the coins supplied to Canada by the British Royal Mint and
later by its Ottawa branch did not carry any identifying mark.
Collectors who confine their activities to the more recent issues
need never to think about a mintmark.
It would be easy to slant a presentation on Canadian issues to stress similarities or differences to U.S. issues. One should remember that
the monetary structures of each evolved independently, but each was always having an impact on the other.
Common events. such as World War II, had a similar impact. For
example, the Canadian five-cent coin changed in much the same way
as the U.S. nickel. In Canada, nickel was removed and replaced first
by a tombac (brass) alloy and then by chromium-plated steel. Peace brought with it a return to the prewar composition.
To see an example of differences between the United States and
Canada, take the Canadian approach to the worldwide trend of
removing silver from coinage. Canada made its move in 1968, three
years after the United States. Instead of choosing a copper-nickel
alloy as a substitute for silver, Canada looked to its own vast natural resources and employed pure nickel.
Canada also seems more comfortable with its coinage than the
United States. Whereas the United States often feared confusion
and counterfeiting from making the least little changes in its coins,
Canada has long embraced coinage to communicate national events, celebrations and culture. Its silver-dollar series actually began as a celebration of George V's 25 years on the throne.
Succeeding years saw additional commemorative $1 designs
interspersed with the regular voyageur design. When the centennial
of national confederation was observed in 1967, all of the
denominations were altered for one year. The United States only reluctantly tried out the idea on three of its denominations for the
nation's Bicentennial.
Ultimately, Canada began an annual commemorative dollar series
in 1971. It issued coins for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and
again in 1988 for the Calgary Olympic Games. Bullion coins were
created to market its gold, silver and platinum output.
A commemorative series of gold $100 specimen sets, similar to the
United States.
Hobbyists who would like to be informed of new issues should write
Royal Canadian Mint, P.O. Box 457, Station A, Ontario K1A8V5,
Canada. The mint also maintains special toll-free lines. In the
United States, hobbyists may telephone the Royal Canadian Mint
at 1-800-268-6468. In Canada the number is 1-800-267-1871.
You can get on the mailing list by using these numbers and you
can buy currently available coins.
When collecting Canada, another thing to remember is the
importance varieties play in the nation's various series. Certainly,
a type collector has no need to dwell on this information, but the
date and mintmark collector may puzzle over the many extra
identifying abbreviations in the price guide for certain coins.
These varieties should not be confused with the U.S. variety-and-
error category.
Here the varieties are not mistakes; they are deliberately done to
meet issued variations of the standard design. We see voyageur
dollars on which the number of water lines changes. Other dollars
count the number of beads.
These differences are minor. Though they were deliberately done
to meet varying mint needs, they were not intended to be set apart
in the public mind. The hobby, however, likes to look at things under
a microscope.
Some varieties were indeed intended to be deliberately and
noticeably different. An example of this occurs with 1947-dated
issues. A maple leaf was placed on the 1947-dated cent through
50-cent issues. This indicated the coin was struck after George
VI lost his title of empereor of India, as proclaimed in the Latin
legend, but that the design had not yet been altered to reflect this.
All of these varieties are considered integral parts of the Canadian
series, and they are listed as such.
Do not construe any of this to mean there is no collecting of varieties
and errors of the type common in the United States. There is.
Collecting Royal Canadian Mint mistakes is just as active, just as interesting, and just as rewarding. After all, mint errors are universal.
The methods of manufacture are the same. So the mistakes can be classified in the same manner.
Canada's numismatic listings also include items from various
provinces issued before they were part of the confederation.
The largest portion of this section is devoted to Newfoundland,
because it retained a separate status far longer than the other
provinces--until 1949 in fact.
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