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By Bret Evans
Exactly two months after the historic wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Royal Canadian Mint announced a new royal wedding coin in "celebration of the visit of their royal highnesses to Canada."
The gold coin, with a $200 face value, has the same design as the silver royal wedding coin issued by the Mint in April.
Designed by Laurie McGaw, the coin shows a portrait of the royal couple and the inscription "CANADA, 200 DOLLARS, 2011." Beneath the portrait is a Swarovski crystal element. The sapphire-coloured stone represents the 18-karat sapphire and diamond engagement ring presented by Prince William, and which had once belonged to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The obverse has the Susannah Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, and the inscriptions "ELIZABETH II" and "D.G. REGINA." There is also edge lettering, the bilingual inscription "HRM PRINCE WILLIAM & MISS CATHERINE MIDDLETON - SAR LE PRINCE WILLIAM ET MLLE CATHERINE MIDDLETON."
The mintage is 2,000 coins. It has a purity of 91.67 per cent, or 22 karats, a weight of 16 grams, and a diameter of 29 millimetres.
It is the third royal wedding coin produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.
In April, a $20 silver version enhanced with a blue crystal, and a coloured 25-cent nickel-plated steel coin displaying a photograph of the happy couple were issued. The silver coin sold out quickly, but the coloured coin can still be ordered from the Mint.
Silver dollar commemorates silver dollar
The RCM has issued another silver dollar commemorating the famous Canadian 1911 silver dollar.
Known as the "Emperor of Canadian coins," the 1911 dollar was planned but never issued.
Producing a Canadian silver dollar had been a matter of political debate for some time. The coin was finally authorized in 1910, but the sudden death of Edward VII that year caused a numismatic crisis. By tradition, coins bearing a deceased monarch's effigy continue to be produced in the year of their death, but are replaced by a design featuring the new monarch the following year. However, debates over which image to use lingered and in 1911, the Mint was running out of 1910-dated coins.
Finally a design was selected with an inscription "DEI GRATIA," meaning by the Grace of God. That design was used for the cent through 50-cent pieces, creating the famous "Godless" coinage of Canada. However, the 1911 dollar pattern had the missing words included.
Eventually, no dollar coin was produced, although 1911 Mint sets contained a space for the coins. Three patterns are known, one in lead and one in silver. Two are in the hands of the National Currency Collection, with a single silver coin in the hands of a collector in Western Canada.
The 2011-dated dollar has a mintage of 15,000 coins. It is produced using the same obverse design, but the reverse is modified by the inclusion of the dual dates 1911-2011, and the replacement of the word "ONE" in the denomination with the numeral 1.
It is struck in sterling (.925 per cent) silver with a weight of 25.175 grams and diameter of 36.07 mm.
The coin is also included in a special edition Proof set around the same theme.
Also dual-dated, the set has copies of the 1911 coins. The cent is struck in copper, the rest in sterling silver. The dollar has the "DEI GRATIA" design, but the other coins replicate the "Godless" design used in 1911. Again, the design of the 1-cent coin has been modified to replace the word "ONE" with the numeral.
Total mintage is 6,000 sets.
A big silver tribute to lacrosse
Another silver kilo coin has been produced, this one to commemorate the 375th anniversary of the first European observation of the game of lacrosse.
The game was first documented in 1636 by Jesuit missionary Jean de Brebeuf while living among the Hurons. The Huron name was baggataway, but Brebeuf, who thought that the stick resembled a bishop's crosier, named it "la crosse."
At that time, the activity was more than just a game. It was considered a way to train warriors, and sometimes games were played to settle disputes.
The coin has a face value of $250, mintage of 600, and is struck in .9999 silver.
It was designed by Steve Hepburn.
New Maple Leaf crystal raindrop
A third Maple Leaf crystal raindrop coin has been issued.
Designed by Celia Godkin, the coin shows a branch of the big leaf maple from the Pacific forest, one of the largest and fastest growing trees in North America, with leaves as much at 30 cm across. The coin shows several leaves and the yellow flowers and seeds that it produces.
The coin, which has a diameter of 38 mm and weight of 31.39 grams, is struck in .9999 silver with a mintage of 10,000.
In addition to a Swarovski crystal element for the raindrop, the coin is coloured. It has a face value of $20. The two previous coins in the series, issued in 2009 and 2010, both sold out quickly.
Toronto from far above
An incredibly detailed coin, based on Google Earth satellite mapping, shows a Toronto city map.
The coin shows a view from above the central part of the city, with selective gold plating where the city hall is located and around the city landmarks shown along the edge of the obverse. The image is cropped, as if seen through an astronaut's visor.
The landmarks shown are the CN Tower, Casa Loma, the Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto City Hall, the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Ontario Science Centre, the Ontario Legislature Building, and the former SkyDome, now Rogers Centre.
The detail on the street map and buildings is achieved through laser-etching the coin. Shown is the downtown core and harbour area. It is not the first appearance of the CN Tower on a Canadian coin. It was also the subject of 2006-dated $20 silver hologram coin of Canadian architectural treasures.
The $25 coin has a diameter of 60 mm and weight of 64.41 grams, or two troy ounces. It is also struck in .9999 silver.
It is the first Canadian silver coin to be produced in this weight and fineness.
August 2, 2011 to August 15, 2011 issue of Canadian Coin News
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