Extra Coin In 2016 Uncirculated Set

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When it comes to specialized collecting, there is nothing like the perfect reference guide to provide you all the nuances and details of the most discrete varieties. Yet at some point, all collectors need to make discoveries for themselves, understand the importance of their discoveries and share this experience with others.

This is the basic premise of my most recent book purchase. Through their own collecting experience, Stephane Fanna and Pascal Goovaerts have put together a unique reference guide on Canadian uncirculated coin sets. This is specifically targeted at the six and seven coin collector sets (proof-like sets) sold by the Royal Canadian Mint to represent circulating coinage.

There are three main sections to this guide, sets with silver coins (1953-1967), sets with nickel dollars (1968-1987) and sets with the modern nickel-bronze loon dollar (1988-2007). Within each of those sets, all known varieties, including those discovered by the authors, are included with accompanying photos to aid identification. For the collectors who are demanding even to packaging, there is a well-described section regarding the paper certificates and official envelopes from the RCM. They also compile an error list, breaking it down by different types of errors. I even found information in this guide, that isn't in Charlton's, such as the 1979 50 cent pointed and round bust varieties.

However, no review is complete without some constructive comments. Many of the close-up photos are fantastic with high resolution yet there are other photos with very poor resolution (photos versus scanned images). Other varieties are not shown directly; rather the authors have chosen to display the ICCS certificate denoting the variety or error (see page 31). The authors use of bold text highlighting their own discoveries and even quote outside sources like Canadian Coin News when their discovery was made is completely unnecessary. While it is a great feeling being credited as the person who discovers a new variety, patting yourself on the back in your own book seems excessive to me - you will not find Bill Cross making a similar statement in any of his books. Despite these minor comments, this is a good first attempt for a reference available at a very reasonable price (approx. $22). If you are going to collect Canadian uncirculated coin sets, get the Goovaerts and Fanna book.