PL sets were discontinued in 1980. They were replaced with Uncirculated sets, a new finish offered to collectors. Any coins you got from these sets are not PL, but uncirculated finish.
Charltons catalogue has these sets labelled as Brilliant Relief with Parallel lined background. The Parallel lines on the 1997 set do not seem to be as prominent as the 1996 set making it a bit tricky at first glance. Hope this helps.
Looking at my 96 & 97 sets I can clearly see they both have the Specimen looking finish although they look weaker than an actual RCM "Specimen Set". But that could just be the difference in packaging I'm looking through.
RCM describes them each slightly differently: 1996 - "The finish is a three-fold combination of brilliant and frosted relief on a linen textured background." 1997 - "The finish is a three-fold combination of brilliant and frosted relief on a lined finish background." (The 1997 Specimen Set describes it exactly the same.)
Also, if I remember correctly, The 1997 was minted at both Ottawa & Winnipeg and one of them has a more Proof-like looking finish.
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