Information On Limited Edition Silver Dollars Please

Hi @smuglr

On any given year, there are usually three or more Silver dollars released. To be clear, the Silver Dollars are released on 2 different planchets... one is 27mm in diameter and is the same size as the circulating loon, the other is 36mm in diameter and is the one I believe you are referring to and the only one I will refer to here. The local expert on the SD is @commems and I will defer to him. However, my contribution to the confusion is:

On an annual basis the RCM issues a standalone proof silver dollar. This coin is proof finish with a mirror field and frosted devices The Kit Coleman is the 2023 SD, last year was the Alexander Graham Bell and so on back to 1981. Note 1971-1981 also had a SD but the finish was Specimen, not Proof.

In addition to the Standalone proof SD the RCM also issues a coin of the same design as part of the annual premium silver proof set. These days (since 2005) the Proof Set version of the SD can be differentiated as it has Selective gold plating on the devices that are frosted on the Standalone SD.

There is also an additional SD that is sometimes released which refers to the same subject often with slight differences that may be BU finished or colourized as part of a base metal proof set where only the SD is silver. Note that release of this set is inconsistent, the 36mm coin is not always a SD... it has been a medallion occasionally i.e. not denominated as currency.

Beyond this the RCM will also issue "Special edition" SDs that can commemorate any number of items... Usually there are only one of these, if any, in a given year but 2017 is an example of a bumper crop where between all of the annual, standalone, set special and other release there were 6 different SDs that commemorated Canada's 150th birthday.

@commems usually posts a table every couple of years listing all of the varieties of Canadian NCLT SDs released.. it is a great resource. Check out from 2022 http://goccf.com/t/415978

Thank you @vonigohcr and datadragon for your replies. @vonigohcr I understand from your information part of the reason I'm so confused lol, so there has not been a long term consistent pattern to these? I was most wondering about the stand alone uncirculated SD as I was sure I had seen them previously and only seeing the stand alone proof SD this year I thought I may have been wrong. Are the 27mm planchet you mentioned the collector versions of the loon and usually not silver? I have also wondered about a colorized silver proof set (with medallion?) last year, but that must also be inconsistent. I also appreciate your posting a link for me to @commems list. I will have to spend some time diving into it. Canada 150 was a big deal for me, I was in Ottawa on The Hill for some of the events. Would you be able to help me with information on the 6 SD that year? Thank you both again.

I feel I need to clarify a few things mentioned by others.

1st, there have NOT been any uncirculated (BU) silver dollars made since 2015. ALL SD's since are PROOF.

The same SD is NOT available as a single coin and in sets. The 'main' SD for the year (this year is Kit Coleman, and shown above in datadragon's post) is ONLY available as a single coin. The SD in the pure silver proof set will have the same look but will be gold plated. The SD in the clad (SE) proof set will most likely have a different design or might be colourized.

There were SEVEN silver dollars released in 2017. Two of them featured the Canadian Confederation; one a solo proof and the other was gold plated from a set. Next were four different "Our Home & Native Land" dollars. Two were sold as singles and two were included in sets. The main difference was the size and colors of the "150" on each dollar. Finally there was a proof set made for the 50th anniversary of Alex Colville which had a copy of the 1967 SD.

Back to the present, as others have mentioned, don't be surprised if more SD varieties are issued this year. I'd be shocked if their wasn't at LEAST one King Charles SD this year.