Thirty years ago, in 1985, the
Royal Canadian Mint celebrated one of the most important aspects of Canada's natural heritage - its national parks system - with the release of a commemorative silver dollar marking the 100th anniversary of the system's roots.
The central design element of the coin's commemorative reverse is a moose wading in the shallow waters of a lake. A group of trees lining the lake's opposite shore is seen in the background along with towering mountains; close inspection reveals reflections of the trees in the lake's waters. Presumably, the mountains depicted are part of the Rocky Mountain range (see below). The scene was designed by Montreal artist Karel Rohlicek.
The obverse features the Arnold Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Interesting note about the obverse, it was the first Canadian dollar coin to be struck without denticles or beads along its rim.
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. The issue price for the proof version of the coin was $17.50 CDN; the brilliant uncirculated version cost was $12.00 CDN. (For US collectors, the original prices were $14.40 and $9.70 USD, respectively.)
Mintages of the two versions of the coin dwarf those of present-day silver dollars: Proof - 537,297 // BU - 162,873. It is because of this that both versions of the coin can be found rather easily on the secondary market for very reasonable prices.
Canada's national parks system traces its roots to 1885. It was in that year that the Government of Canada decided to protect from commercial development a 26 square kilometer (10 square mile) area around the hot springs discovered on the lower slopes of Terrace Mountain (today known as Sulphur Mountain). The mountain is in southwestern Alberta in an area known as Banff; the area was given its name in 1884 by George Stephen, president of the Canada Pacific Railway (CPR) company. The hot springs were found by two workers of CPR who were helping to construct Canada's first transcontinental railroad.
The protected area was expanded to 672 square kilometers (260 square miles) in 1887 and was given the name “Rocky Mountains National Park” " it was Canada's first national park. Today it is known as Banff National Park and covers 6,641 square kilometers (2,564 square miles); 96% of the park's protected area is wilderness.
Side note: the park was just the third national park created anywhere in the world, Bogd Khan Uul in Mongolia (1783) and Yellowstone in the US (1872) are the only national parks that preceded it. Today, Parks Canada (Parcs Canada) administers a collection of 44 National Parks and Reserves, four Marine Parks and more than 160 Historic Sites under its charter to protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada's rich natural and cultural heritage. It all began, however, 130 years ago with a few hot springs in southwest Alberta.
Posted 02/04/2015 12:32 pm
