Curiouser and curiouser

Merry Christmas!

2015 $25 Pure Silver Coin - Christmas Ornament

We wish you a very merry christmas, good presents and a happy Boxing day for you and your family. An attractive Christmas bauble from the Royal Canadian Mint. Thank you Canada Post for the image and details. See more Composition: 99.99% pure silver Mintage: 6,000 Weight: 30.76 g Diameter: 36.15 mm Face Value: 25 Dollars Finish: Proof with colour Edge: Plain Artist: n/a Packaging: Maroon clamshell with black beauty box  

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The Haida Matriarchal Orca

Haida Orca 2016 50 Dolllars

For the Haida the Orca is the most powerful supernatural being of the undersea realm and this SGaana Jaad (Killer Whale Woman) is a noble matriarch, a fact revealed in the labret that adorns the lower lip of her mouth that also doubles as the orca’s blowhole Canada 50 Dollar – 5 oz. Fine Silver Coin with Enamel – Mythical Realms of the Haida Series: The Orca – Mintage: 1,500 (2016) Design: Haida artist April White—SGaana Jaad of the Yahqu’iaanaas Raven Clan—has created a mesmerizing image of an orca leaping out of the water. Look closely and you will see…

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The World’s First Christmas Stamp

Canada issued the world’s first Christmas stamp in 1898. It features a map with the British Empire in red and the words “We hold a vaster Empire than has been”. This a line from an ode written by welsh William Morriss for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee called “A Song of Empire” It was to be 66 years before Canada issued another Christmas stamp in 1964. Thank you All Nations Stamp & Coin for the image.

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British Columbia 25 Cents

BC 25 Cents

In the 1992 Provinces of Canada series the British Columbia 25 cents shows a pod of Orcas with the coastal range beyond. 1867 to 1992 says the obverse legend. It’s the 125th anniversary of the 1867 confederation. British Columbia joined the Confederation later in 1871. The Orca reverse was designed by Carla Herrera Egan. The obverse shows the Dora de Pédery-Hunt effigy of the Queen. Thank you http://www.coinsunlimited.ca/ for the image

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Pandora’s Box! Christmas Club Meeting – Tuesday Dec 15th at Bonsor

This is a reminder that the NSNS Christmas meeting is on Tuesday, December 15th at the Bonsor Recreation Centre.  The meeting starts at 7pm and is in Multipurpose Room #2 upstairs.  The highlight is our annual Pandora’s Box Draw. If you would like participate in the Pandora’s Box Draw, please note that you must be a paid-up member of the club.  You can join the club at the meeting for $15 and partake in the draw, and if your membership is approved, it will be extended to the end of 2016. To participate, you should bring a wrapped numismatic gift worth $15 or more…

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Great Grading Guide for Circulated Canada Coins

Guide for Grading Coins of Canada, 1st Ed., 2015 - Andre Langlois

At last!  A truly excellent guide* to grading circulation Canadian coins has been published by Andre Langlois (ANPB Boucherville) It’s a large spiral-bound card-backed format. The photos are big – a half page. And there are tips to grading with each photo. A very interesting feature is the inclusion of varieties and odd examples – an invaluable resource for Canadian collectors.  Commemoratives, except for the 1935 dollar, are not included – they are quickly removed from circulation says the author. And coins after about 1970 are easily available in Mint States (MS grades) and so are not featured. But all the early…

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Winter Is Coming

Canada Twenty Dollars

 1 oz. Fine Silver Coin – Weather Phenomenon: Winter Freeze – Mintage: 8,000 (2015) Specifications No.148300 Mintage8000 Composition99.99% pure silver Finishproof Weight (g) 31.39 Diameter (mm) 38 Edgeserrated Certificateserialized Face value20 dollars ArtistTony Bianco and Arnold Nogy (reverse), Susanna Blunt (obverse) Image and text thank you Royal Canadian Mint See more about this coin at Mint.ca

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The Narwhal – a half kilogram of silver

Half Kilogram Fine Silver Coin – Conservation Series: The Narwhal – Mintage: 500 (2015) Specifications No.148072 Mintage500 Composition99.99% pure silver Finishproof Weight (g) 500 Diameter (mm) 85 Edgeserrated Certificateserialized Face value125 dollars ArtistCurtis Atwater (reverse), Susanna Blunt (obverse See more at:Mint.ca A Narwhal from Canada. Half-a-Kilogram of silver is a heavy coin. Only 500 to be minted and the price is C$1,100. That makes the cost of the coin around C$700 above the raw bullion value. (just multiplying by spot price 14.1 USD for Oz late November 2015)

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The Vancouver Coin Show – Saturday 28th :)

Canada 1967 50 Cents

We hope you can come along to the Coin Show – there’ll be Coins (!), Bank Notes, Postcards, Stamps, Militaria and all sorts of collectables. The Show starts at 9pm Saturday 28th November at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre located at 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, 4km east of Metrotown, along Kingsway to the right. Please here for a map and more detail Canada 1967 50 Cents, Wolf designed by Alex Colville. Thank you Apmex for the image.  

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Chrysanthemum 10 Sen from Japan

Japan 10 Sent

A beautiful 10 Sen from Japan. 0.7200 silver. Japanese dates on coins start with the era 明治 (Meiji) 1867 – 1912 and then 4 x 10 + 5 shown reading clockwise looking towards the centre of the coin. So this coin is 45th Regnal Year of Emperor Mutsuhito. Or in western calendar 1912. * Thank you http://worldcoingallery.com/countries/Japanese.htm for image and information on dating Japan coins. *  I hope, corrections or confirmations  very welcome 🙂 Thank you NGC for images  

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White Pass station – between Skagway, Alaska and the Yukon – 1905

Lot 178 White Pass, Skagway Alaska 1905 1c Summit Stn colour Postcard from Sitka.  Estimate: $25 White Pass is a mountain pass right on the border between Alaska and British Columbia. It was one of the main passes used in the Klondike Gold Rush and so many horses died that it became known as ‘Dead Horse Trail’. A light-gauge railway was built 1898-1900 leading all the way from Skagway, Alaska to the Yukon route. Thank All Nations for Image and Auction text  

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New Westminster Political Club

New Westminster Veterans Political Club

New Westminster directory listings mention the Veterans’ Political Club in 1948, 1949 and 1950. They do not mention them in 1947 or in 1951. In 1948 it is listed as Veterans Political Club Unit 4, B. Stoney (sec.) 1121 ½ Brunette. A Bud Stoney had a residence at 1914 8th Avenue in New Westminster. In 1947 the same residence belonged to a salesman named Herbert A Stoney who was married to his wife named Betty. It would seem that this might be the Bud Stoney in question. But then again maybe not for I came across a mention of a…

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Vancouver Coin, Stamp and Collectible Fair: Burnaby, Saturday, November 28th

A  reminder that the next North Shore Numismatic Society Coin, Stamp and Collectible Fair is on Saturday, November 28th at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby, B.C. The show runs from 9 am to 3 pm.  More information and a map on our website: http://northshorenumismaticsociety.org/ Image thank you Royal Canadian Mint

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Canadian crystal raindrop

This was one of the first modern Canadian coins that caught my eye 🙂 A Maple Leaf with a glistening crystal drop of rain –  the 2009 $20 Autumn Showers Crystal Raindrop Silver Coin. It was designed by Celia Godkin, well-known Canadian author and artist, designed the special limited edition coin. No stranger to coin design (she also designed the 2008 Crystal Raindrop coin), Godkin has also penned several books, including the popular children’s book Wolf Island. There were 10,000 minted by the RCM.  The coin is 99.99 % pure silver and the reflective crystal came from  Daniel Swarovsk’s crystal firm. Thank you…

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North Shore Numismatic Society meeting is Tuesday, November 17th (at Bonsor)

This is a reminder that the next North Shore Numismatic Society meeting is Tuesday, November 17th. The meeting is held at the Bonsor Recreation Centre, in Multipurpose Room #2.  Doors open at 7 pm and the meeting starts at 7:30 pm.  The meeting is open to members and non-members, so everyone is welcome.    Program:  Michael Souza will present a PowerPoint on “Canada’s Fractional Currency”.  This PowerPoint was prepared by a member of the London Numismatic Society and provides a history of Canada’s 25-Cent Banknotes.    Also, please bring items for the floor submission auction.  Limit is 5 items per person.    …

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First Coins of South Sudan

South Sudan

The South Sudanese government hope their new  coins will increase international recognition of their new country. “After a long civil war, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in July 2011.  Oil fields in the border areas of Sudan and South Sudan has been the source of additional fighting between the two nations.  In 2013 a civil war broke out between the forces of the President and the Vice President of South Sudan.  As a result on the continuing conflicts up to 100,000 have been killed, 1,000,000 have been displaced and 400,000 have fled the country. In 2015 South Sudan released its…

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Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman™!

Supergirl

“Saved from certain doom by his birth parents, the House of El would be preserved in the infant Kal-El, who was rocketed away from Planet Krypton. Forming his strong moral compass, his adoptive parents, the Kents, would teach him what it is to be human as Clark Kent. As Superman, his friends and allies remind him of the responsibility of his power, and help him stay true to his never-ending mission” “As Superman’s cousin from the Planet Krypton, the teenage Kara Zor-El arrived on Earth many years after Kal-El. While Superman decided her future, Kara was secretly whisked away to…

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Canada 2015 Polar Bear and Cub

The 2015 Polar Bear is shown with her cub by Innuit artist Germaine Arnaktauyok. One of her designs, The Drummer, graced the back of Canada’s 1999 toonie to celebrate the creation of Nunavut. 2015 $5 Polar Bear and Cub 1 oz Silver. Mintage 7,500 2015 $10 Polar Bear and Cub 1/4 oz Gold. Mintage 2,000 Thank you Royal Canadian Mint for images . http://www.mint.ca/store/coins/1-oz.-fine-silver-coin-ndash-polar-bear-and-cub-ndash-mintage-7500-2015-prod2210323#.VjrxfLerSCo

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The British Crown struck in New York, 1960

A Crown was struck to celebrate the British Exhibition in New York in 1960. The Royal Mint had a stand at the New York Exhibition on which they were demonstrating coins being struck. The coin was the 1960 crown (or Five Shilings) that had been designed for the occasion. The 70,000 coins actually made at the exhibition were made using a polished die at “prooflike” quality. At the end of the Exhibition all of the unsold ones were bagged up and sent back to Britain – this is why it’s difficult to obtain a pristine specimen without bagmarks. An Uncirculated Crown (with a lot of bagmarks) can…

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