Commemorative coins : Canada 1867-1967 - 02

When artist David A. Colville designed the back side of the 6 centennial coins of Canada, he clearly knew what he had in mind. For each of the 6 designs, he chose an animal that stood symbol for the Canadians and their society.

Although I have the shown coins in my collection, I used the detailed (and coloured) pictures of the animals from someone else. All credits for the pictures go to Patrick Glassford.

1 cent

Commemorative coins rarely have a low face value, as they usually cost more to mint, than the actual face value.

1 cent - centennial 1967

The design described by the artist himself : "For this I wished to use a very common bird, but one with symbolic overtones. I selected the dove (rock dove) -very common, in cities as well as in the country, as the pigeon, and having associations with spiritual values and also with peace."

1 cent - rock dove in flight

Mintage : 345,140,645 - 98% copper, 1.5% zinc, 0.5% tin

5 cent

The 5 cent or nickel features the rabbit, a common creature in Canada. Beatrix Potter did the Peter Rabbit children's books. The original design was a spruce tree but it turned out too complicated so it became a rabbit design.

5 cent (nickel) - centennial 1967

According the artist : "The rabbit (varying hare) is common, much loved by children, perhaps because of it vulnerability. It survives by alertness and speed, and is symbolically connected to the ideas of fertility, new life and promise-it is a future, or united, animal."

5 cent  (a nickel) - hopping rabbit

Mintage : 36,876,574 - 99.% nickel

10 cent

The Canadian Mint wanted the fish to be changed to a salmon, but David A. Colville stuck to his guns and stayed with his mackerel. The ten cent piece with a few exceptions over the years usually shows the Nova Scotia Schooner 'Bluenose'.

10 cent (dime) - centennial 1967

"Being the smallest coin, this requires a simple and unambiguous image. I used the mackerel, one of the most beautiful and streamlined fish, common on both coasts. The fish has ancient religious implications; I think of it as symbol of continuity."... David A. Coleville.

10 cent (dime) - mackerel

Mintage :  62,998,215 - 80% silver, 20% copper


25 cent

25 cent (quarter) - centennial 1967

Before you send letters stating that it's really a cougar/wolf/lynx/wildcat/bobcat/etc. Even some reputable coin dealers' books and websites have it listed as one or other of the above. Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins lists it as a "Cougar" on page 96.
But this is what the designer self said :

"The wildcat (bobcat) seemed appropriate for this coin, which is large enough for the subtle shape of this common, though rarely seen, animal. It is expressive of a certain intelligent independence and a capacity for formidable action."

25 cent (quarter) - bobcat

Mintage :   48,855,500 - 80% silver, 20% copper

 ... to be continued ...

Commemorative coins : Canada 1867-1967 - 01

There was a time, when coins were used to pay for goods or services. They were representing a certain value in gold or silver and the owner could exchange the coin for things or services, as long as a bank was covering the value of the coin.

Coins are not really intened to be collected, as then you can't "exchange" the token for what you need. However as banks started to emit commemorative coins, people started to keep those coins apart and collecting was born.

From the 60's of the 20th Century on, coin collecting had become a widespread phenomenon, in such an amount, that banks started to have problems minting enough coins to keep u with the demand.
As regular circulation coins also contained silver, the demand was becoming too high.
In 1967 Canada issued its last silver coin dollar, by 1968 all Canadian dollars were made out of 100% nickel, and at the same time, the dollar coins were reduced in size too.

This article will deal with the last set of silver commemorative coins (so not only the dollar-coin) that was issued in Canada in 1967.

In 1967, Canada celebrated the centennial of the Confederation.
A set of 6 coins was issued, from 1 cent to 1 Canadian Dollar.

The back side of each coin is quite simple, Queen Elisabeth II, head of state of Canada.

For the front side of the coins, a competition was opened in 1964, by the the Minister of Finance, Walter L. Gordon. The competition open to artists, sculptors and designers residing in Canada or to Canadians living abroad would be held for the submission of coinage designs. A $2,500.00 First Prize was offered for the winning designs in each of the six coinage denominations (One Cent, Five Cents, Ten Cents, Twenty-Five Cents, Fifty Cents and Silver Dollar).

The competition ended on March 31, 1965 and the over-all winner was the 44 years old artist David Alexander Colville, born on 24 Aug 1920 in Toronto.

David A. Colville - 1920 - 2013

Colville was still a young man when in 1939, WWII erupted, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1942 upon graduation from Mount Allison University. Serving in Northwestern Europe with the 3rd Canadian Division, he was made an official war artist in 1944, He landed in Southern France, saw action in Nijmegen during Market Garden (where his unit relieved the 82nd Airborne) and continued into Germany, where he saw first hand the horror of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp.

Infantry in Nijmegen by D.A. Colville

The artist died on July 16, 2013, aged 92.

... to be continued ...