With tomorrow being Toronto's 180th birthday, I thought I'd turn the clock back 30 years and share a few thoughts about the
RCM's 1984 silver dollar that commemorated the 150th anniversary of Toronto's incorporation as a city in 1834.
The 1984 Toronto Sesquicentennial silver dollar was issued in two versions: proof and uncirculated. It was just the fourth Canadian NCLT silver dollar to be issued in proof by the
RCM; the first was the 1981 Trans-Canada Railway Centennial dollar.
In the foreground of the coin's reverse is seen a First Nations person paddling a loaded canoe, in the background is the modern skyline of Toronto. Artist David Craig's combination of design elements from Toronto's early history along with its circa 1984 present created an expressive silver dollar that nicely symbolizes Toronto's growth and development during its first 150 years. Interesting to note, the
RCM COA that came with the coin identifies the foreground design simply as "an Indian in a canoe." I would suggest that the design was a bit less generic than that and was meant to honor the people of the Mississauga First Nation as they are the people from whom the British purchased the land of present-day Toronto in 1781.
The silver dollar was struck on a planchet comprised of 50% silver and 50% copper; it weighs 23.30 grams and has a diameter of 36.07 mm (the standard specifications for a Canadian NCLT silver dollar at the time). The coin contains 0.375 ounces of silver.
In 1984, the
RCM offered just a few different collector coins (not the 100s per year it offers today!) and the collecting of commemorative silver dollars was a highly popular pursuit for Canadian coin enthusiasts. This is reflected in the mintages for the coin. Just over 571,000 proof versions of the coin were sold, with uncirculated coin sales totaling roughly 133,500. Sales figures such as these tell volumes about how the collecting landscape has changed in Canada over the last 30 years.
Happy Birthday Toronto!
Enjoy!
Posted 03/05/2014 7:05 pm
