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Commems Collection Canadian: 2005 Alberta Centennial Silver $5 - Coin 1 Of 12

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 Posted 01/15/2020  9:35 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
As promised (threatened? ), here's my first post regarding progress on my new 36 millimeter $5 NCLT collecting pursuit.

The first $5 coin I have to present is one of two issued in 2005. In that year, the Royal Canadian Mint ( RCM) released two Special Edition $5 commemorative coins: one marked the centennial of Alberta joining the Canadian Confederation, the other did the same for Saskatchewan. Both of the western Canada provinces joined the Confederation on September 1, 1905; each traces its roots to districts within the former North-West Territories. This post is about the Alberta coin.

In January and February 2005, the RCM conducted a contest among the general public to select the design to be used for the circulating 25-cent coins marking the centennials of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The RCM had solicited designs from local artists and had selected four from those received to present to the public. Canadians were asked to vote for their favorite via a toll-free telephone number or the RCM web site from January 17, 2005 through February 16, 2005. The vote represented the first time that the RCM opened up the final selection of a coin's design to the general public.

Two of the designs reflected Alberta's rich oil industry, one with an oil derrick taking a prominent place in the overall design (titled "Big Sky Country"), and another presenting an oil pump jack as its primary design element with a cowboy on his horse in the background ("A Dynamic Century"). Nature was the centerpiece of the other two designs, with a spiraled-horn big horn sheep the foreground feature of one design ("Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep") and a scene featuring a lake in the foreground with grasslands and foothills in the mid-ground and the Rocky Mountains in the background on the other ("Alberta's Natural Beauty"). Here's a newspaper ad from the RCM featuring the four designs and encouraging Albertans to vote for their favorite.



Overall, 26,536 votes were cast for the four proposed Alberta designs, with Calgary-based artist Michelle Grant, who describes her style as "contemporary realistic," emerging as the winner in a tightly contested race with Thom Nelson and his "Alberta's Natural Beauty" design; Ms. Grant's "Big Sky Country" design garnered 7,955 votes (~30%), with Mr. Nelson's design receiving ~7,500. Working from foreground to background, Ms. Grant's design depicts a wild rose (Alberta's provincial flower) flanked by wheat spikes, an oil derrick with cattle grazing on an open plain and, finally, a mountain range with a setting sun. Though the vote was open to all Canadians, the RCM stated that more than 80% of the votes came from Alberta residents.

Ms. Grant was quoted in an interview at the time of the quarter's launch, "I wanted an image that transcended all of Alberta's 100 years. Throughout the whole process, I kept asking myself, 'What has made Alberta great?'" Oil, wheat and cattle were -- and are -- significant contributors to Alberta's economy, so it's clear the design elements Ms. Grant selected to represent the province were well-reasoned.

The RCM struck 20.64 million of the 25-cent coins for circulation; 9,108 of the coins were housed in First Day Coin folders intended for collectors. The first day of coinage was April 25, 2005; the coins entered circulation in July.

Prior to the Alberta coin, Ms. Grant had previously designed the 2002 50-cent "Festivals: Calgary Stampede" coin for the RCM. She followed her work on the 2005 Alberta coin with designs for a number of RCM NCLT coins, including the commemorative reverses of the 2006 Jasper National Park $20 silver coin, the 2012 five-ounce gold and silver "100 Years of the Calgary Stampede" coins, the 2015 "Canadian Horse" $125 silver coin, the 2016 "Baby Animals: Woodchuck" $20 silver coin, the 2018 "Canada: Golden Maple Leaf" $30 silver coin and 2019's "Victory Stampede" $20 silver coin, among others.

You can learn much more about Ms. Grant at her web site: www.michellegrant.ca.

From early in the process, the RCM planned on issuing a collector coin for the Alberta centennial that used the same design as the circulating coin; the RCM selected the $5 denomination for the precious-metal version of the coin and decided to strike it on the planchet previously reserved for its silver dollar coins. The silver coin's commemorative design was essentially the same as the one used for the circulating 25-cent piece, with the only change being the replacement of the coin's denomination -- "25 cents" was replaced with "$5" at the same reverse-side location. (See below for an image of the circulating coin in a First Day Cover package.)

2005 Alberta Centennial Proof $5.00 Silver Coin - Reverse



The $5 coin was struck as a proof on 0.9999 fine silver planchet. The coin has a weight of 25.175 grams and a diameter (of course!) of 36.07 millimeters; the coin features a reeded / serrated edge.

The Susanna Blunt portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the coin's obverse; the Blunt portrait of QEII began appearing on Canada's coins in 2003.

The RCM stated a maximum mintage of 20,000 for the $5 coin, but I have not yet been able to locate a final sales total for the coin; neither the 2005 nor 2006 RCM Annual Report even mentions the silver $5 coin among is numismatic products. It seems doubtful all 20,000 were sold, but I suppose it's at least possible. If anyone has a definitive mintage/sales figure, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

I was able to purchase the Alberta coin for $27 CAD -- well under my goal of $40 CAD per coin! I'm off to a good start with my secondary market purchases of the 36 mm $5 series!


2005 Alberta Centennial 25-Cent First Day Coin Folder - Front Panel




2005 Alberta Centennial 25-Cent First Day Coin Folder - Inner Panels




2005 Alberta Centennial 25-Cent First Day Coin Folder - Back Panel




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 Posted 01/16/2020  01:31 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Greasy Fingers to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
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Very nice. I enjoyed reading the back story behind this coin.
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 Posted 01/31/2020  10:32 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Here's a first day cover (FDC) for the Alberta Centennial stamp that was released in 2005 by Canada Post.

I like adding FDCs to my coin collection. I believe they help round out the story of the coin.





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 Posted 04/18/2021  3:49 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I've recently added the official Alberta Centennial medal in brass and silver to my collection as supplements to the $5 coin.

Here's the brass version with its paperwork. The medal and CoA came packaged in a small, dark blue velvet drawstring pouch with gold logo.








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 Posted 04/18/2021  11:15 pm  Show Profile   Check SPP-Ottawa's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add SPP-Ottawa to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
There is another brass Alberta Centennial medal issued, same size as yours, with the same reverse but a modified obverse.

Lastly, the Edmonton Numismatic Society also had a bronze medal minted for Alberta's 100th.

"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer

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 Posted 04/19/2021  07:26 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
There is another brass Alberta Centennial medal issued, same size as yours, with the same reverse but a modified obverse.

Thanks for the note! As there can be so many commemorative medals for some of the events, I tend to stick with the "official" pieces to limit what I feel I need to collect. Was the brass medal you referenced issued by the Government of Alberta as an official commemorative? I'll have to be on the look out!



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Yes it was - almost all of the design elements are the same, except for the "Presented to Alberta Students" legend is not there.

I was living in Alberta at the time (2005), and managed to get my hands on a few, but I sold them all on ebay over the last several years.
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer

Content of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_US

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 Posted 04/19/2021  1:31 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
@SPP-Ottawa: Thanks for the info! I will definitely keep an eye out for a nice example.

From your description, the design sounds like it could match the silver medal I also picked up. I'll be posting that one soon.


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 Posted 05/29/2021  5:30 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks to the heads up from SPP-Ottawa, I started to look for the brass Alberta Centennial medal sans "Presented to Alberta Students" inscription. I recently came across one in its original folder.

The medal, for Alberta Citizens, was available for $8.95 CAD.

The Alberta Government did it right!


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal Folder - Front Cover Panel


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal Folder - Inside Left Panel


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal Folder - Inside Center Panel


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal Folder - Inside Right Panel


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal Folder - Inside Right Panel - Back


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal Folder - Back Cover Panel


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal - Obverse


2005 Alberta Centennial Medal - Reverse



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 Posted 05/31/2021  5:11 pm  Show Profile   Check SPP-Ottawa's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add SPP-Ottawa to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer

Content of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_US

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 Posted 06/12/2021  10:44 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I mentioned previously that I had one of the Alberta silver medals as well...

Per the insert included with 0.999 fine silver medal, a total of 7,000 were struck. It came in a capsule that was inserted into a black clam shell case; the clam shell was then slid into a silver-coloured sleeve. As with the brass medal presented to Alberta's schoolchildren, the medal came with a multi-panel paper info sheet/Certificate of Authenticity. (All shown below.)

The finish of the silver medal is described as "Brilliant" on the insert, to my eyes the medal was struck as a proof piece.

Contemporary newspaper reports stated that sterling silver examples of the medal were to be presented to visiting dignitaries. As this piece is 0.999 fine, it would appear it was a "For Sale" item available to Alberta citizens. However, I haven't yet seen a notice of such or a listed selling price for the medal. Does anyone have any information on these silver medals that they can share?

A 14 K gold version of the medal was presented to the roughly 600 Alberta citizens who were 100 years old (or older) in 2005. I haven't seen one of these on the market, but wouldn't be a buyer even if I did - I'll leave such pieces to the dedicated Alberta exonumia collector! I'm content with my two brass medals and one silver medal as supplements to my 2005 Commemorative Silver $5 coin.








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 Posted 06/14/2021  10:03 am  Show Profile   Check SPP-Ottawa's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add SPP-Ottawa to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Ahhhh.... signed by "King Ralph" as Albertans used to call him!
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer

Content of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_US

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 Posted 01/01/2025  08:01 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add commems to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Back again with a quick update to my 2005 Alberta $5 Silver Coin collection...

As noted above, the Royal Canadian Mint ("Mint") commemorated the Centennial of Alberta joining the Canadian Confederation with circulation as well as non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins.

To encourage the collecting of the circulating Alberta 25-cent coin, the Mint made a Collector Card available. The Card had spaces for each of Canada's circulating 2005 coins: one cent, five cents, ten cents, Loonie and Twoonie; it also had a place of special note for the 2005 Alberta commemorative 25-cent coin.

The Front of the Alberta Collector Card depicts Moraine Lake, the turquoise lake within the Valley of the Ten Peaks in Banff National Park in Alberta. The Front Cover is split between two overlapping panels.

2005 Alberta Centennial Collector Card - Front Cover - Closed



The Inside of the Front Flaps present a brief introduction to Alberta, its 100th Anniversary and its Centennial 25-cent coin. The Left Flap presents the text in English; the right Flap features the same in French.

2005 Alberta Centennial Collector Card - Inside Front Cover - Left Flap


2005 Alberta Centennial Collector Card - Inside Front Cover - Right Flap




The Interior Panel of the Card features the coin wells described above; the image for the panel's background is dominated by a Wild Rose - Alberta's official Provincial Flower - at right. (The Wild Rose (Rosa acicularis) was made the official flower in 1930.)

2005 Alberta Centennial Collector Card - Interior Panel / Inside Back Cover


The Back Panel of the Card presents the various collectible products offered by the Mint for the Alberta Centennial.

2005 Alberta Centennial Collector Card - Back Cover Panel



(Stay tuned for a similar update to my 2005 Saskatchewan post!)




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