This year (2020) marks the 150th anniversary of Manitoba joining the Canadian Confederation. The Manitoba Act, which created the province of Manitoba, was passed by Canada's Parliament and subsequently received Royal assent on May 12, 1870; it went into effect on July 15, 1870 - Manitoba's official date of entry into the Confederation. The
Royal Canadian Mint (
RCM) has not yet announced any standalone commemorative pieces for the anniversary, but with just under half the year remaining a coin or two celebrating Manitoba is certainly possible.
Of course, the
RCM released a silver dollar last year to mark the life of Louis Riel, the man who is often called the "Father of Manitoba" for his efforts on behalf of the Metis people to help establish their rights as a pre-condition of Manitoba becoming a province.
2019 Louis Riel Silver Dollar
The
RCM has also issued several other coins that have celebrated Manitoba. For example, in 1970, a nickel dollar was struck for circulation (with a higher-quality version produced for collectors) to mark Manitoba's 100th anniversary.
The province was also celebrated in 2010 and 2011 with gold coins. In 2010, a $350 gold coin celebrated Manitoba's floral emblem - the prairie crocus; the coin was one of series honoring the floral emblem of each province/territory. In 2011, a $300 gold coin featuring Manitoba's coat-of-arms that was part of a provincial coat-of-arms series was struck for collectors.
2010 Floral Emblems Series: Manitoba - Gold $350 
2011 Coat-of-Arms Series: Manitoba - Gold $300
One of the collections released by the
RCM to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 was a series of 13 $10 coloured silver coins depicting a scene from each province/territory; of course, a coin for Manitoba was included - it features a canola field in the foreground and grain storage silos in the background.
2017 Canada 150 Collection: Manitoba - Silver $10
This year, the
RCM launched another flora emblem series, with coloured silver $3 coins being used vs. gold to make them accessible to more collectors.
2020 Floral Emblems Series: Manitoba - Silver $3 
The province's seal/shield/coat-of-arms has also appeared on other
RCM releases over the years that collectively commemorated all of Canada's provinces/territories - the 14-piece puzzle coin of 2017 comes to mind. So, Manitoba has certainly not been ignored by the
RCM.
Of course, most around here know I focus my collection on Canada's 36mm silver dollars. However, I have also collected the Voyageur series of nickel dollars (1968-1987) as well. As I have previously posted about the 1970 Manitoba centennial dollar, I thought I would "bump" the thread via a link here to help celebrate Manitoba's 150th anniversary:
1970 Manitoba Dollar.
Note: Images are from past RCM press releases/coin announcements.
Posted 07/08/2020 12:05 pm
