All the best for 2021
from all of us at North Shore Numismatic Society
100 years ago!
The coin featured here is a quintessential Canadian rarity, colloquially known as the “King of Canadian Coins.” The 1921 50 Cents issue had an initial mintage of 206,398 pieces, although according to Charlton, contemporary demand was not great for the 50 Cent denomination. Approximately 28,000 pieces were issued from 1921 to 1929. Most experts believe those issued were dated 1920.
When demand for the denomination resurfaced at the turn of the 1930s, John Honeyford Campbell – the mintmaster – decided to melt the 1920 and 1921 issues and then re-coin the silver with the 1929 date. Campbell worried that if the 1920 and 1921 issues were dispersed in 1929 the general populace would suspect they were counterfeits due to the large quantity and old dates. It is believed that approximately 75 pieces dated 1921 survived the melting pot. Some survived through the sale of Specimen sets (like the present example) with some circulation strikes sold to visitors to the mint as well.
Thank you coinbooks.org for the image and text quoting Stack’s Bowers Numismatist & Cataloger Chris Chatigny wrote about an offering of the rare Canada 1921 50 cent piece in the firm’s November 23, 2017 E-Newsletter (Vol. 6, No. 48). -Editor
