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$20 silver pieces sold out
By Bret Evans
The popularity of the royal wedding of Prince William and Katherine Middleton proved a windfall for the Royal Canadian Mint.
Royal enthusiasts not only scooped up the entire mintage of $20 silver commemoratives, but also ordered 57,000 examples of the 25-cent commemorative, as of May 5.
"The public response to the royal wedding coins has been extremely positive," Mint official Christine Aquino told Canadian Coin News. "The $20 silver coin is now sold out at the Mint, but we encourage the public to visit our network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada Post outlets, as they may have some of these coins available."
On May 9, Canada Post's website reported the corporation was out of $20 coins at its Antoginish centre, but the story may be different at some postal outlets. The $20 coin has a mintage limit of 25,000 and an issue price of $104.95.
Based on retail values, and assuming that virtually no $20 coins are left in the primary market, souvenir hunters purchased more than $4 million worth of coins in less than a week.
The demand for 25 cents is so high that the Mint will not be shipping orders until mid-July.
Meanwhile, Canada Post has rolled out an unusual philatelic-numismatic envelope, combining a pair of royal wedding stamps - the domestic permanent-rate stamp and the international $1.75-rate stamp - on the envelope, with a gold cancel. Inside is a coloured 25-cent coin on an insert card with a plastic blister pack to hold the coin.
Canada Post produced 10,000 of the covers, and is selling them for $25.95 each, the same price as the coin.
The envelope, with an image of Westminster Abbey, is similar to Canada Post's other covers, but has a deep red background.
Even before the wedding, The Canadian Press reported that sales of such British delicacies as scones, clotted cream, and breakfast sausages were brisk as many people planned for "British breakfasts" during the wedding service.
The popularity of the royal wedding, hyped by many pundits as "the wedding of the century," has driven the sale of souvenirs to remarkable levels not seen since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, grandmother of Prince William.
This time around, the collectibles being offered range far beyond the traditional spoons and china. Souvenirs ranging from replica engagement rings to bobble-heads, and even nail clippers and condoms, have been offered.
London's public transport system reported that it sold 200,000 commemorative smart cards featuring the royal couple. While a further 550,000 cards remain unsold, at £10 a card (about $15 Cdn), it represents sales of £2 million ($3.16 Cdn million), most of which are expected to be kept as souvenirs rather than redeemed.
Even the horseshoes worn by the 186 horses on parade at the royal wedding have become souvenirs.
London's Daily Mail received the shoes in return for a contribution to the Household Cavalry Central Charitable Fund. The newspaper will hold a contest among its readers for the 744 metal relics.
For those fed up with all the hype, graphic designer Lydia Leith even came up with a commemorative sick bag featuring a drawing of the pair, and the words "throne up."
June 7, 2011 to June 20, 2011 issue of Canadian Coin News
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