Commems Collection Canadian: 2007 International Polar Year $20 Commemorative

Now I'll have to go on my computer to veiw it. My friend who sends coins for grading, has mentioned a couple times he's missed seeing a fingerprint on a coin sent for grading. This has cost a grade point. Now you've raised the issue was the fingerprint prior to grading? This is why my friend stopped buying coins from certain ebay sellers, as he found fingerprints on there coins often.

Ya this has always been at the back of my mind when buying on the secondary market, atleast if you buy it directly from the Mint your 99.9 percent sure the coin is as untouched as possible , well hopefully anyways lol and you can return it /exchange it if you not happy with.

I am sure most sellers dont man handle the coin and they resell just as the received it from the mint but you dont really know whats been done or not done to a coin when your buy it on ebay /secondary market , trail and error I guess as your friend has found out. etc.

When Canada's 2007 International Polar Year $20 sterling silver (i.e., 0.925 fine) commemorative coin was issued, it was available as a standard Proof and in a version that incorporated "Plasma Technology" to give the coin a blue colour/hue on its reverse. The Mint touted the coin as "The world's first coin to employ plasma energy." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I like the result!

There was something about the "blue coin" that always intrigued me. As noted above, I "noticed" the Polar Year coin several years after it was issued and picked up the regular Proof version after finding one at a good price on ebay. At the time, however, the Plasma version was often priced at $200+ (USD). While I was intrigued by the coin, I wasn't that intrigued!

I've kept my eyes open for one ever since - not hard core searching, but doing a quick ebay search when I thought of it. Last week, I found one at a great price (made even more so when the seller accepted my "Bets Offer") and finally added it to my collection. How's that for patience - 17 years!

I know others have posted their images of the Plasma version above, but here's an image of my new arrival.




ICYWW: The Maximum Mintage for the coin was set at 7,000; less than half - 3,005 to be exact - were sold.

ADDENDUM

ICYWW: The blue colour of the coin's reverse is not the result of applied enamel, colour printing or a painting process. It does not appear to sit "above" the surface as would enamel or paint, but rather to be a part of the surface.

Per the Mint:

"This technique uses plasma energy to deposit a thin coating of oxide on the surface of the coin to create the unique colour intensity and metallic hue."

I don't think the Canadian Mint has used the attractive (IMO) technique on other coins - Please let me know if they have! - maybe the poor market acceptance of the coin (just 43% of the potential mintage was sold) derailed future possibilities.

I'm not sure how similar the Canadian Mint's process was/is to the "anodic oxidation" process that the Austrian Mint uses for its coloured niobium coins, other than they both involve a thin layer of oxide being added to the coin's surface.

If anyone knows the technical details of the Mint's process, I'd enjoy reading about them.

I thought I'd supplement my two International Polar Year coins with a bit of philately. Here's a souvenir sheet that includes two stamps and the official first day cover (OFDC) with se-tenant pair.

Per the Canada Post web site:

"One stamp shows a brilliant-red deep-sea jellyfish, the Crossota millsaeare, a species that was just recently discovered on a subarctic polar expedition. The jellyfish appears in actual size-about the size of your thumb.

"The second stamp features a male king eider with a bright orange bill, light grey crown and pale emerald green cheeks. The king eider is considered circumpolar. Native to Canada, Alaska and Greenland, its migratory patterns are being studied as part of the 2007/08 IPY."

The souveier sheet and First day cover (FDC) are both tri-lingual, featuring text in English, French and Inuktitut.

2007 International Polar Year - Souvenir Sheet


2007 International Polar Year - Oficial First Day Cover



The OFDC was cancelled in Igloolik, Nunavut.