1977
- (month unknown)
- Donald Thomas sells Canadian Coin News to Scott McLaren. [584.1]
- February 11
- The Numismatic Hobby Protection bill is given second reading in the House of Commons, and is referred to the Standing Committee on Justice. [585.4]
- March
- The Royal Canadian Mint unveils the design for the 1977 silver dollar, commemorating the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. [152.19]
- (month unknown)
- Western Publishing releases the Coins of Canada book, third edition, by J.A. Haxby and R.C. Willey. Price is $2.75. [586.14]
- April
- 26 Canadian artists are invited to design a $100 gold coin reverse to commemorate the Queen's 25th anniversary of rule. [588.1]
- (month unknown)
- At Jeremy Day's New World Coin & Stamp store in North Vancouver, a man shows a 1969 large date 10c coin in VF condition. This is the second such coin known to exist. [694.18]
- The design for the 1977 $100 gold coin is selected. The design by Raymond Lee depicts the official flowers of the provinces and territories. [588.1]
- May
- A Proclamation authorizes the Royal Canadian Mint to strike a $100 22K gold Proof coin to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. [387.391]
- May 17
- The Royal Canadian Mint announces the 1977 gold $100 coin, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the accession to the throne by Queen Elizabeth II. The 22-karat 0.917 fine 1/2-ounce gold coin with be struck in Proof, with maximum mintage of 180,000, and priced at $140. [692.B1]
- June 30
- The Numismatic Hobby Protection bill passes third and fourth reading in the House of Commons. Next step is to pass the Senate. [590.1] [594.1] [596.1]
- (month unknown)
- At auction, a 1916c gold sovereign in AU grade sells for $17,000. [27.1]
- An 1870 25c essai in Gem Proof sells at auction in New York City for US$3000. [591.32]
- Charlton International Publishing releases the 26th Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins Tokens and Paper Money, 1978 edition, by James E. Charlton. Price is $4.50. [592.4]
- At the COIN convention in Los Angeles, California, Charles Moore, coin dealer of Toronto's Coin Place, buys an 1871 10c Proof coin from Spink and Son of England. [592.23]
- Superior Stamp and Coin holds a coin auction in Beverly Hills, California. Some Canadian coin highlights:
- 5 cents 1872H specimen: $1550;
- 10 cents 1872H specimen: $950;
- 25 cents 1872H specimen: $1150;
- 50 cents 1872H specimen: $5100;
- 50 cents 1911 specimen: $1500.
[592.28]
- August 4
- In Vancouver, British Columbia, the Canadian Numismatic Association holds its annual convention. [631.23]
- At the CNA convention in Vancouver, and in Ottawa, the Royal Canadian Mint unveils the 1977 $100 gold coin. Maximum mintage is set for 300,000. The coin will be available for purchase from September to December, at $140. [207.2] [588.1] [591.1] [593.6]
- August
- At the Canadian Numismatic Association convention, the Mint Master Coin Shop debuts the "Beaver" one troy ounce 0.9999 fine gold piece, struck by John son Matthey Mint, for Inter-Gold Canada Corp. Ltd. Price is $250 for Proof specimens. (The Royal Canadian Mint was approached to produce this piece, and will later produce its own gold bullion coin.) [591.45]
- At the Canadian Numismatic Association convention, Gene Henry displays the 1911 $1 silver pattern piece, with a price tag of $250,000. [602.1]
- Highlights of the Canadian Numismatic Association conference auction:
- 50 cents 1921 choice uncirculated: $18,000;
- 50 cents 1921 specimen: $16,000;
- 5 cents 1921 uncirculated: $3300;
- $5 and $10 uniface patterns: $8200;
- 1947ML specimen set with curved '7' 50 cents: $5000.
[207.2] [590.1] [593.8]
- (month unknown)
- The Toronto Transit Commission urges the federal government to begin widespread distribution of $1 coins to make the coin more readily available for transit riders buying tickets from machines. [593.6]
- August 17
- Yvon Gariepy, Master of the Royal Canadian Mint, announces that the 1c coin will be replaced with a new 16mm diameter bronze 1c coin. The 1.8-gram coin is to be issued beginning in January 1978. [136.12] [172.245] [178.2] [387.394,486] [401.29] [593.1] [594.1] [597.24] [603.1]
- August 23
- At the American Numismatic Association convention in Atlanta, Georgia, Frank MacDonald, acting director of the US Mint comments that mint officials were surprised by Yvon Gariepy's announcement of a smaller cent to be issued in January. [595.1,76] [597.24]
- (month unknown)
- The Senate refuses to pass the Numismatic Hobby Protection bill. They argue that it should be redrafted in a manner more in keeping with the present Criminal Code. The bill is sent back to the House of Commons, where it must be re-introduced. [594.1] [596.1]
- Yvon Gariepy announces that a study is underway to examine possible changes to the 5c coin, now costing 6c to manufacture. [594.1]
- September
- The Royal Canadian Mint begins selling the 1 ounce 1977 $100 gold collector coins. [588.1] (June [250.5])
- The Mining Association of Canada approaches the Minister of Finance with the idea of Canada producing a gold bullion coin. The proposed name is the Beaver, and its purpose is to compete with South Africa's Kruggerand coin in world gold sales. The idea is turned down. [270.B14] [274.29] [399.14] [590.1]
- September 23
- Highlights of the Charles D. Moore Auctions auction at the Toronto Coin Club Fall Coin Rally in Toronto:
- 5 cents 1921 good/very good: $5000;
- 25 cents 1894 proof-like (finest known): $2500;
- 1947 ML set with curved 7 50 cents: $6200.
[595.46] [598.32]
- (month unknown)
- A 1967 $1 pattern with flat fields sells at a private sale for $10,000. [599.10]
- Broods Company of New York publishes the 200 page book Silver & Nickel Dollars of Canada, by Stephan Dushnick. Price is $9.50. [599.14]
- The Royal Canadian Mint begins striking 1977-dated 50c and $1 coins. No coins had been required earlier in the year due to an excess of 1976 and 1975 coins ordered by the Bank of Canada. [605]
- November
- Highlights of the Fall Torex auction: $1 1939 specimen: $1000. [597.27]
- November 20
- A 1911 dollar coin trial piece struck in lead is discovered in a vault in the East Block of the Parliament Buildings, in Ottawa. The piece is added to the Bank of Canada's National Currency Collection. [2] [29.26] [37.21] [208.52] [600.1] (December [152.19])
- December 2
- The Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sports, Iona Campagnola, announces that the 1978 silver dollar will commemorate the 11th Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. The coin's reverse design was created by Raymond Taylor. The coins are to go on sale in February for $4.50. [208.52] [388.16] [601.1]
- December 15
- The Royal Canadian Mint produces a 16 mm diameter one-cent test token. It is soon discovered to be interchangeable with a higher valued Toronto Transit Commission token. [661.212] (1978 [661.63])
- December 23
- Yvon Gariepy, Master of the Royal Canadian Mint, announces that the proposed smaller 1c coin will not be released in 1978. [388.50] [603.1] (December 3 [136.12])
1978
- January 25
- Representatives of the Royal Canadian Mint, the Canadian Association of Numismatic Dealers, and the Canadian Numismatic Association meet to discuss a system of delivering Mint products to dealers on a monthly basis based on dealer projections for the year. [388.96]
- (month unknown)
- The Royal Canadian Mint modifies the dies for the 50c coin, changing two round jewels in the reverse crown band to rectangular shape. [451.11]
- An 1871 10c coin in choice Proof condition, one of two known, sells for $14,000 to $17,500 to a prominent Canadian numismatist. [605.4]
- April 21
- A bill receives second reading in the House of Commons. It seeks to limit legal tender status of gold coins to one coin per payment over $100, and to give Cabinet power over production of gold coins. [607.1]
- (month unknown)
- Supply Minister Jean-Pierre Goyer announces plans for a $100 gold Unity coin to be available in September. The coin would be the first in a series of $100 gold coins, each with its own theme. [607.1]
- Jeremy Day of New World Coin & Stamp store in North Vancouver buys a 1969 large date 10c coin in VF condition for $700. [694.18]
- May 1
- Bill C-51 is introduced into the House of Commons. The bill seeks to amend the Criminal Code to deal with "False Coins of Numismatic Interest". [388.253] [698.12]
- May 8
- The House of Commons gives third and final reading to a bill regarding gold coins. It allows a $100 gold national unity coin in the fall. It also allows other coins to be struck in future years, without requiring parliamentary approval. It also relaxes the restriction that a gold coin must contain enough gold to cover its face value. [61.1944] [172.250] [265.B2] [608.1]
- (month unknown)
- The Bank of Canada acquires the Royal Canadian Mint's coin and paper money collection on indefinite loan, for display in a Currency Museum. [32.8]
- Master tools are created for a 16mm diameter cent. [172.245]
- The Royal Canadian Mint discusses a new circulating dollar coin with interested parties, via meetings of the Currency Advisory Committee. [173.3]
- July
- The government authorizes the Royal Canadian Mint to produce 200,000 commemorative $100 gold coins in 1978. [266.B7]
- July 20
- Supply Minister Jean-Pierre Goyer unveils the new 1978 $100 national unity gold coin in Ottawa. Issue price will be $150. Mintage is limited to 200,000 coins. The design was created by Roger Savage. [61.1987] [268.B1] [610.1] [615.1]
- Supply Minister Jean-pierre Goyer announces plans for the Royal Canadian Mint to strike gold bullion coins to compete with South Africa's Kruggerand coin. [610.1]
- July
- Some auction highlights from the Canadian Numismatic Association:
- 25 cents 1871 Proof: $2350;
- 25 cents 1875H Proof: $4750;
- 50 cents 1921 G-VG: $4800.
[612.9]
- At the Canadian Numismatic Association convention, Master of the Royal Canadian Mint Yvon Gariepy announces that the 1979 $100 gold coin would mark the Year of the Child, and the $1 silver coin would commemorate 300th anniversary of the first commercial ship on the Great Lakes. [611.1]
- Charlton International Publishing releases the 1979 Charlton's Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 27th edition. Price is $2.75. [611.v,7]
- November 9
- The Greater Toronto Coin and Stamp Show (Torex) is held. Over 3000 attend. [613.6] [20.1]
- (month unknown)
- Gary Lazeo or Jeremy Day buys a second 1969 large date 10c coin for about $3000. [694.18]
- In Boston, Massachussettes, USA, the Bay State Coin & Stamp Show holds an auction of the A.J. Amato II Collection. Some highlights:
- 50 cents 1921 choice uncirculated: US$35,000;
- 5 cents 1921 uncirculated: US$6,500;
- 25 cents 1889 brilliant uncirculated: US$1,600;
- 50 cents 1904 cleaned uncirculated: US$4,000.
[20.10]
- December 13
- A proclamation sets the design of the 1979 $100 gold coin, commemorating the International Year of the Child. [106.15]
- A proclamation sets the design of the 1979 silver $1 coin, commemorating the 300th anniversary of the first ship to sail the Great Lakes above Niagara Falls. [106.17]
- Year
- The Royal Canadian Mint struck 769,931,828 Canadian coins for circulation during 1978, and 3,479,472 numismatic coins. [616.26]
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