Commems Collection Canadian: 2002 Queen Mother Commemorative Silver Dollar

Nearly a dozen years ago, the RCM released what would become the first "rarity" of its modern Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) commemorative silver dollar series - the 2002 Queen Mother dollar. Its maximum mintage of 10,000 coins (net mintage of 9,994) was, at the time, the lowest mintage figure, by far, of the modern collector-issue Canadian silver dollar series which began in 1971. (Since the coin's release, many of the "Special Edition" silver dollars that have been released by the RCM have also had a maximum mintage of 10,000; some issues have been even more limited with a cap of 5,000 coins.)

The proof-only coin was struck to celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother who died at the age of 101 on 30 March 2002. She was born on 4 August 1900 with the given name of Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, married Prince Albert, Duke of York on 26 April 1923, was the queen consort of King George VI from 11 December 1936 (the ascension date for Prince Albert) until his death on 6 February 1952. She became the Queen Mother when Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne upon George VI's death.

The Queen Mother led a very active life in public service from the time she was the Duchess of York until just months before her death. Throughout her life, she remained a popular royal figure at home and around the world.

The coin's limited mintage ensured a sell-out at the RCM and soon thereafter began the escalation in price on the secondary market; I recall the coin selling in the $150 to $200 range for a time and then quickly escalating to over $300 - a level not previously seen for a modern Canadian silver dollar. The coin continued to command a selling price of over $300 for a number of years, including as recently as 2010.

Today, however, the price has come down noticeably. I've tracked the coin on ebay and have seen a growing number of completed auctions with selling prices of less than $200. There remain sellers looking for much more (some still hoping for sales over the $300 mark) but it would appear that such days are gone at this point - at least for the astute collector! Though the coin sells today for much less than it did at its peak, no online sales that I've charted approach its original selling price of $49.95. It remains a coin with a positive ROI if you were able to purchase one early in the game.

While it is not the prettiest of Canada's commemorative silver dollars, the image portrayed is an accurate depiction of the Queen Mother - a quick comparison with the source photograph for the coin (as see on the coin's outer box) will prove such.

Speaking of which, in a previous post (http://goccf.com/t/140814), I saw that a comparison was made between the 2002 SD and the 2012 $20-for-$20 coin as if the two coins depicted the same person. They do not. The SD features Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother while the $20-for-$20 coin has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.