unruhjonny's Last 20 Posts
| New Loonie Commemorative Circulating Coin Celebrating Elsie Macgill
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
 Posted 08/29/2023 9:03 pm
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there are not many air shows around here...
There is one down in Lethbridge, but I haven't been in many years - nothing old enough comes out for me.
That post I just made had me learn (I haven't been on social media much for the past couple years) that the FHM has recently re-opened under new stewardship!!
I am already dreaming of bringing my kids to a 'Battle of Britain' "fly day"... I even just emailed them to confirm if "fly days" still happen... |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| New Loonie Commemorative Circulating Coin Celebrating Elsie Macgill
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 08/29/2023 8:41 pm
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interesting - thank you for sharing that.
I too am an aviation enthusiast - more over WWII aircraft.
There was a nice Hurricane at the Flying Heritage Collection - I was sad to hear that this museum was permanently closed a short while back - I was honestly hoping to bring my kids to one of their themed 'fly days'.
The FHM had recently finished a restoration on an wartime ME262, but with a brand new engine, made 100% authentic, except for better (read: not wartime) metallurgy;
I was really looking forward to hearing that one in person...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyin...Armor_Museum
But back to the subjects of this coin, Hawker Hurricanes, and this event - When I heard that an unveiling would be taking place at the air museum here, I knew I had to be there.
This is a snapshot from before the event started.
Here are some images taken from the booklet given out at the event - there were a couple pages specific to the Hurricane 5389:
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| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| New Loonie Commemorative Circulating Coin Celebrating Elsie Macgill
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 08/29/2023 12:07 am
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the Hurricane that was the backdrop for this coins release has a story all of it's own - and was in storage owned by the city of Calgary for some time;
I am unfamiliar with how the RCAF gave aircraft their call letters, but this one is 5389 or "M".
The booklet given at the coins debut says that this plane was the fourteenth Mk XII Hurricane produced, was initially flown the No. 4 training command in Calgary, then to No. 133 (Falcon) squadron in Lethbridge where it was assigned the letter "M".
Fast forward to 1962 it was bought by a collector in Calgary, and then was presumably donated to the City of Calgary.
There was something of a crap-storm when it was leaked that the city had this Hurricane, and was contemplating selling it to a collector - who I think would have moved it state-side.
I knew this aircraft was being restored, but was not aware that it made it's debut some time before 2020.
Maybe someone better at searching can find a better picture, because this is the only one I could find, Global and CBC were both present.
I can always upload some snapshots I took there - but the Hurricane is obscured.
The curious thing to me is that this aircraft never had a nose cone. it looks funny without it! |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| In Memory Of Queen Elizabeth II: 2022 $2 Special Wrap Roll
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 08/18/2023 1:30 pm
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I'm giving this thread a bump, because I learned something that maybe of interest to members here;
I recently was in Winnipeg, and my kids wanted to do the mint "tour" - it was probably my fifteenth tour, and I am still a little bitter that they closed to loop so now it's now not even half as long as it used to be - but, they are continually changing the tour ever so slightly- so for the "half-tour" this one was probably the best one I had been on.
Anyway, I learned during the tour that these were distributed to (?)Tim Hortons near the launch - so there is no doubt in my mind that there were non-special-rolls of these coins.
I was also surprised to see that these coins are still on the production floor;
We saw two(?-I cannot clearly remember, and I was not allowed to take pictures) machines still doing quality checks on these coins.
I expect production of these to far exceed past commemorative coins.
Which leaves only one question;
Will the RCM actually disclose proper production numbers for these?
(I knew they hit a home run on this design when I first got wind of it.) |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| New Loonie Commemorative Circulating Coin Celebrating Elsie Macgill
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 08/18/2023 1:19 pm
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I was at the unveiling;
I am a member of the Calgary Numismatic Society, and members of the CNS were invited to attend;
I didn't realize when I went there, that it was going to be "The" debut of a new design coin.
Before the event started I spoke to the president of the mint (but I found her to be a bit rude; she tried to completely ignore me while talking to my kids - mostly my daughter).
The chair of the board for the RCM (Mrs Clark) was also in attendance;
With the understandable focus on women from the podium, I found Mrs Clark's speech to be the most balanced, and liked hearing from her probably the most.
I realize that women have had an uphill battle in some sectors, but many speakers get caught up in lifting up women at the expense of diminishing the trials and efforts of boys who might aspire to a similar career as Mrs Macgill;
Only Mrs Clark seemed to be interested in acknowledging the efforts of both girls AND boys - which was (as the father of a boy and a girl - both in attendance) was really nice to hear - I have found myself a little more aware people showing gender bias these days...
Mrs Macgills' grandson added some humour and down to earth memories which seemed to deflate the 'pomp and circumstance' (if that conveys the feeling of the event accurately) of the other speakers.
We were quite pleased at the nice design, and that all three of us left with examples of both versions of the new loonies. |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| 1969-S Cameo Finish Coins
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 07/20/2023 6:51 pm
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I have found that natural sunlight always trumps artificial light.
And since these are still cased (and I intend to keep them that way), the suggested means of taking images of individual coins might not really work.
The image does make the half dollar appear to have JFK with a cameo finish, and while it's not the polished look that the quarter dollar or dime have, it's not quite the same as the nickle or penny. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
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| 1969-S Cameo Finish Coins
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 07/20/2023 2:56 pm
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Hello;
I am a Canadian, and as such, most of my collection is Canadian - and circulation to boot.
I also have a smaller USA coin collection, and again, almost all of it is circulation (collecting them for the past three years has been REALLY tough with borders closed!).
I have one proof set gifted to me by my step-mom many years ago, and I just looked in to it's value;
At a glance it has a very underwhelming value - but that's at a glance.
I have a 1969-S proof set.
I am pretty sure that the penny and nickle are both a cameo finish (some might call it a frosted) - on both sides.
The reverse of the Kennedy dollar (eagle side) also appears to have a cameo finish.
Can anyone point me towards a resource which might help me to confirm if these coins qualify as being cameo finish?
I don't want to jump the gun and think I have anything of significant value, but I am pretty sure that I know what I am seeing.
Thanks in advance for any assistance which might be offered. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
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| How To Tell 1967 50% Versus 80% Silver Coins Apart ?
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 05/26/2023 2:00 pm
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I am giving this older thread a bump instead of making an entirely new discission.
I went down rabbit hole yesterday, because I have a whole bunch of silver quarters, and it would be nice to know what 1967 quarter (or dime) is 80% vs 50% - for future reference.
This is a quote from earlier in this thread:
Quote:
If the weight of these coins truly is identical to three decimal places and the percentages of silver in them differ then the volume can not be the same.
I totally agree with that reply.
Different materials have specific weights, and if two objects are identical except for composition, you should be able to determine which is which from an accurate measuring of weight.
I also found the following earlier today while looking for a means of differentiating the two composition coins.
Quote:
1953 - 1967
Composition: 80%silver, 20% copper
Weight (g): 5.83
1967 - 1968
Composition: 50% silver, 50% copper
Weight (g): 5.05
(no link provided because apparently a url to that site is prohibited)
Can anyone confirm that the above quote is correct?
Those weights would of course assume a "zero wear" coin, but this should be of use because if the quarter is more than 5.05 grams, it should be the 80% silver version.
Correct?
If this all seems to be of sound logic, does anyone have weights of 80% vs 50% silver dimes?
Thanks!! |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| The RCM May Not Care, But I'm Throwing In The Proverbial Towel.
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 04/13/2023 12:24 pm
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Quote:
Let me add to unruhjonny's rant....how in the H can a mint have a "circulation coin denomination {50 cents) that is only offered in rolls at double face value (and only sold in rolls)
It is my opinion that the penny and fifty cent coins should have both continued to be minted, not as rolls at double face, but only offered in mint sets;
Maybe not both so much in proof or specimen sets as those sets offer exclusivity in them as-is, but surely should have been included in the pilo-film (aka: uncirculated sets or classic sets) for the collectors.
(I am not suggesting that the fifty cent coin be removed from the proof or specimen sets, but that something else should have been added to entice collecting the "uncirculated" sets.)
Although I think the fifty cent piece is our nicest looking coin, it stopped being regularly circulated around the time when the (nickle composition) "silver" dollar fell out of favour from circulation.
When I was younger (specifically around 1986/1987) for a very brief time my brothers and I got an allowance;
My dad would go to the bank, and specifically requested fifty cent coins for my younger brothers, and silver dollars for me.
I clearly remember that we could spend them, normally retailers would have an extra spot in their tills (now probably used for loonies or toonies) where these coins would be put.
If my memory is correct, not too long after the loonie was introduced, the banks stopped offering silver dollars and fifty cent pieces - the only exception to this was in 2002 when the royal bank was distributing the special 50th anniversary QEII coins.
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| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| The RCM May Not Care, But I'm Throwing In The Proverbial Towel.
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 04/12/2023 7:15 pm
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I believe that during the debates which turned favour against continuing to make a penny, it was suggested that it costed "1.2" or "1.3" cents to make a penny.
But like I said, I think the facts were being presented in a skewed manner that suggested it was actually costing the mint this amount to manufacture, when in fact this was a theoretical cost if the mint hadn't been able to shift back and forth between base materials to adjust for market fluctuation of material.
Another way to present this is to say that when the cost of zinc (to manufacture the cores) went up, they stopped purchasing zinc. |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| The RCM May Not Care, But I'm Throwing In The Proverbial Towel.
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 04/12/2023 6:31 pm
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Quote:
we are over a decade since last penny nothing remotely drastic happenned here except the goverment saved a decent amount of not producing over a billion useless penny a year.
Correction, the government didn't save anything.
As I have understood it,the government put's in orders for what currency the mint is to manufacture and distribute - they (in theory at least) pay face value;
It was the mint that was complaining that the penny was costing more than a cent to make, and this was brought up by the seated government at the time.
The mint answers to the government, but is still in essence a business which operates independent from government budgets - it operates wholly as an independent business.
For the record, I don't actually believe the mint ever created circulation coinage which costed on par with,or above face value;
I believe that the mint skewed the facts in their favour to ditch the penny, but were always able to manufacture them at less than face - which is why they would alternate between zinc and steel cores after moving away from copper.
Essentially in arguing to kill the penny, the mint just shifted away from less profitable coinage, to focusing on more profitable coinage.
It is easy to cite the cost to make a penny from zinc when the cost of zinc goes up - while having shifted to steel core coins.
All base metals fluctuate with the market. |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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| The RCM May Not Care, But I'm Throwing In The Proverbial Towel.
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unruhjonny
Valued Member
Canada
482 Posts |
Posted 04/12/2023 3:16 pm
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I agree,the black toonie was nice,and I couldn't wait to get one for myself.
I also agree it could have been darker, all the press on this coin present it as being MUCH darker than it really is - but I'll take a slightly lighter toned finish over another printed face any day.
Yup,the USA have been doing plated coins for a long time, and they seem to be doing some better, becasue almost from "go" we (as in collectors) were finding plating issues abounding.
Also, if the worlds largest economy decided to make it's currency of cheaper base material, they are in a prime position to do so;
We on the other hand are not the economic super-power that they are... and they still have "paper" notes,and the penny.
When economies like Turkey can still do penny sized copper coins of small denomination, we should be able to as well... we are supposed to - but that's a whole different rant.
I think in large part, the RCM is making a joke of our currency.
So I'm done. |
| | Forum: Canadian Coins and Colonial Tokens |
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