Commems Collection Canadian: 2013 Royal Infant With Toys Silver $5 - Coin 8 Of 12

And the $5 pursuit continues...

His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales, second in the line of succession to the British throne, and Catherine "Kate" Middleton were married on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. They became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The couple met while students of art history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 2001 and officially began dating in 2003 (all indications, however, are that they started dating privately before then). Prince William proposed to Kate during a trip to Kenya in October 2010 and the couple were soon married in a ceremony watched by millions around the world.

To celebrate the wedding, the Royal Canadian Mint ( RCM) issued a nickel-plated steel 25-cent coin for $25.95 CAD and a 0.9999 fine silver (one ounce) $20 coin with a blue Swarovski (R) element/crystal to recall the 18-karat sapphire in the engagement ring William gave to Kate; the issue price was $104.95. Later in the year, to mark the Royal Couple's visit to Canada, the RCM released a 22-Karat $200 gold coin (~0.47 troy ounces) that was also fitted with a Swarovski (R) element; this time a white/clear one. The issue price for the gold coin was $1,199.95.

In August of 2013, the RCM released a group of coins to mark the birth of the first child of William and Kate - Prince George Alexander Louis; he was born on July 22, 2013 in London and is third in line for the British throne. As with the 2011 wedding coins, a nickel-plated steel 25-cent coin was issued ($24.95 CAD) as a low-cost point-of-entry for casual collectors and/or those working with a limited budget; also released was a set of three one-ounce silver $20 coins ($249.95 per set).


Canada Post press image of stamp featuring first official portrait of Royal Couple with Prince George.

Included among the RCM's 2013 Royal Infant coins was a 36 millimeter $5 silver coin - the focus of my collecting pursuit! - the "Royal Infant with Toys" coin. The designer of the coin's commemorative reverse is Laurie McGaw, one of the RCM's most prolific artists; she has more than two dozen coin designs to her credit (including the other four 2013 Royal Birth coins).


Royal Canadian Mint press image.

At the center of the reverse's commemorative design are found the cyphers of William and Kate which are flanked by maple leaves that add the Canadian theme to the design; these elements are selectively plated in gold. Encircling the cyphers near the rim are a series of common newborn toys and personal care accessories. Included are a rattle, baby shoes, a baby's bottle, a sippy cup, a baby carriage, building blocks, a rocking horse, a rubber duck and a variety of plush animal toys that are mixed with stars of various sizes.

The coin's non-specific design points to the fact that the RCM had prepared the design and, likely, had struck the coin ahead of the infant's birth and before it had knowledge of whether the future monarch was a boy or girl. It waited, of course, to announce the coin until after Kate had given birth and it was known that the baby was OK, but the coin was already far along in the process. The RCM wanted to make sure it had the coin ready to go as soon as possible after the birth in order to maximize its sales and capitalize on positive collector emotions (i.e., "Royal euphoria") immediately following the birth.

The obverse of the coin features the Susanna Blunt portrait of Queen Elizabeth II; she is portrayed without a crown. The Blunt portrait has been in use on Canadian coins since 2003.

The coin was struck on a 36.07 mm 0.9999 fine silver planchet; it weighs 23.17 grams and has a reeded / serrated edge. It was shipped in a maroon clamshell case within a custom beauty box depicting a silver rattle with gold and silver ribbons. The coin was unveiled at Rideau Hall in Ottawa and placed on sale to the general public on August 8, 2013.


Royal Canadian Mint press image.

As a unique keepsake of Prince George's birth, the RCM created a special version of the coin for the Royal Couple. The Mint applied full gold plating to one of the coins and then sent it to the Duke and Duchess as a gift. (I wonder what they've done with it?)

The stated maximum mintage for the coin was 15,000; it had an issue price of $74.95. Per the RCM Annual Report (AR) for 2013, a total of 9,701 coins were sold. The 2014 AR indicated an additional 38 coins were sold for a combined total of 9,739 (~65% of the maximum). The 2014 sales figure seems low to me, but it is certainly possible that interest had cooled significantly by the time the calendar turned to a new year and so very few coins were sold.

I purchased my Infant Toys $5 coin for $34.95 CAD which is $5.00 below my target of $40 per coin. So, my eight coin total spend is $312. I'm close to my maximum spend goal of $320 through eight coins, but I'm still below it!


Of course, The Royal Mint in the UK also struck coins for the Royal Birth. One in particular caught my attention, it was a 5-pound silver coin that featured the St. George and the Dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci that is normally reserved for Britain's gold Sovereigns. I've always liked Pistrucci's classic and iconic design, so it was a fairly easy decision for me at the time to make the purchase from The Royal Mint's web site. I purchased it for its design rather than its commemorative theme. I continue to enjoy the coin's presence in my collection (even more than the RCM coin because of its classic design and the fact that its commemorative nature is not literally revealed on the coin - you have to have prior knowledge of the coin's purpose to make the association).


Royal Mint press image.