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Autumn Royal Canadian Mint Products Review
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Where have all the holograms gone? The holograms disappeared first from the 2003 transportation series $20 coins, which mysteriously transformed into Aviation series-like gold cameo format coins. The gold cameos are attractive, but must have been somewhat of a surprise to those collectors who were acquiring the transportation series as hologram format issues. Now the hologram has been replaced on the second coin in the $20 Canadian tourist landmarks series. |
 The new Rocky Mountains coin, depicting Lake Louise, has been issued in colourized form instead of with a hologram. Does this mean the third coin in the hologram series, the Northern Lights commemorative, surely a subject made for holographic imagery if ever there was one, will also be issued in colourized format?
The Bricklin car coin was popular in spite of the style switch, at least while there was Mint advertising supporting it. Likewise the Niagara Falls hologram coin proved popular, even selling out from the initial distributors. People are now beginning to ask for the new portrait coins, but are also complaining that both the new colourized maple leaf, which they are nicknaming the potleaf coin, and the Coronation Golden Jubilee Proof Set have been recalled from local postal outlets from which they are normally available. |
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| Tarnishing problems are apparently dogging both issues. The unusual Proof Sets are shipped in hard plastic cases which, while tightly housed for shipping, do not respond well to viewing and pull open allowing air to get at the silver coins inside.
There are two sleeper sets this year. The Coronation Golden Jubilee coin and stamp set, issued in conjunction with Canada Post, proved popular and disappeared quickly. I have also heard that some of the 1953 pennies included with the new sets have been subject to spotting. We have had significant challenges resupplying the Niagara Falls and Coronation Jubilee stamp and coin sets for our clients. |
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 The hologram Silver Maple Leaf Set is probably the sleeper of the year. Issued in small to large denominations, like previous gold and platinum issues, in an attractive wooden box, the new Maple Leaf set includes previously unissued Three Dollar and Four Dollar denominations. It remains to be seen whether Maple Leaf and Hologram collectors will support this extension to the series. |
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| I had understood that the $20 landmarks coins were originally planned as $5 Silver Maple Leaves, so it should come as no surprise that the Mint are changing coin programs on the fly. | ||
 This is another ambitious year for the Mint, with at least three different portraits of the Queen available: the outgoing De Pedery Hunt image on most issues, the original 1953 portrait on the recalled Special Edition Proof Set, and the new Blunt portrait on the Special Edition Silver Dollar and Special Edition Uncirculated Set.
Blunt is the new uncrowned portrait artist's surname and not a reference to a minting anomaly like those on the 1965 or 1985 coins. We will have to watch for Mule errors with all the different dies in use and be satisfied with holograms appearing and disappearing, or being interspersed with colourized or gold cameo imagery. |
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| Purchase the $20 Transportation coins here. Purchase the new $20 Lake Louise painted coin here. Purchase the Coronation Golden Jubilee coin and stamp set here. Purchase the hologram Silver Maple Leaf Set here. |
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Newsletter 48 |
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