Today was a red-letter day for the Coin Zoo. I was at work sitting at my desk when an envelope arrived from Rome.
Being in Barrie, Ontario, Canada (population 125,000), that can be quite exciting. I noticed that the return address indicated it was from the FAO of the UN. I cut the package open and slid out the contents which brought a huge smile to my face.
While attending the summer Torex coin show in Toronto, I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Gosling, 2nd Vice President and Librarian of the Canadian Numismatic Association.
While we sat on the patio sipping some brews, Dan got talking about some of his articles in the CN Journal, and I had to admit that I had let my membership lapse due to procrastinating (and losing the renewal form). At Dan's suggestion, I went downstairs to visit the CNA table where I paid up and was handed all the back issues of the Journal. At the time, I was completely unaware what one of those issues had in store for me.
Ten years after it was first issued, Canada's two-dollar coin has received a face-lift.
Originally issued in 1996, the "toonie" (a silly name, by the way) featured an adult polar bear on an ice flow created by artist Brent Townsend. At that time, artist Tony Bianco's design was a finalist in the design competition, and now after ten years Tony's design appears on the 2006 issue.
In late 2005, I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Joe Kennedy of the Edmonton Numismatic Society. The interview was featured in the ENS's February edition of The Plancet. Click here for the full interview.
The Common Loon has appeared on Canada's one dollar coin since its introduction in 1987. When the coin was first introduced, many Canadians -- the vast majority if the popular media was a reliable indicator -- rejected it. The reasons weren't logical ones, just the typical aversion to change. However, unlike the Sacagawea dollar in the United States, Canada's loonie did not fail to take hold. The reason was simple: the Canadian government had the strength to stop production of the dollar note. Soon, the existing notes were worn and gone, and the coin took its place. (And coins from the original issue 19 years ago are still found today.)
On Saturday 28 January, I traveled to Hamilton for the Canadian Association of Numismatic Dealers (CAND) Coin Show. As usual, it was an excellent show and well worth the trip. Besides getting to see some coin-collecting friends, I found some nice coins for the collection. Seven coins join the animal collection, one each from Bolivia, China, France, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, and South Africa. These seven coins brought the collection total to 600. As usual, the list of animal coins to obtain grew as well and now stands at 907. Only 307 to go! One of the dealers where I found some of the coins confidently told me that the last few hundred would be impossible to find. Maybe not impossible, but it does get more and more difficult. But then again, this is a multi-year project. I will add a few of these new acquisitions soon, and the rest go into the queue. Enjoy!
- The Zoo Keeper
