Before the next round of
RCM releases dominates the discussion around here, I thought I'd look back 25 years and post about the 1988 silver dollar that commemorated the 250th anniversary of the successful launch of the full-scale commercial ironworks at Saint-Maurice, Québec (Forges du Saint-Maurice).
Per the Parks Canada web pages for the historical site, 1738 was the first year of a full-scale working forge at Saint-Maurice under the direction of François Pierre Olivier de Vézin, but the efforts that led to Vézin's success at the site can be traced several years further back to 1730. (Here's a link to more of the early story:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/qc/sain...natcul2.aspx.)
Vézin was able to innovate and overcome a number of technical issues that enabled the local iron ore to be processed more cost-effectively. His efforts helped create a forge that operated for 145 years; the forge launched Canada's iron industry. For the commemorative dollar, the
RCM chose to mark Vézin's enduring success at Saint-Maurice vs. the initial, commercially unsuccessful efforts of others.
The composition of the 1988 silver dollar is 0.500 silver and 0.500 copper. It weighs 23.3 grams and is 36.07 millimeters in diameter (the size of Canada's circulating silver dollars of 1935 to 1967). It contains 0.3746 ounces of silver, which as I write this, is worth about $8.50.
The coin was available in proof and uncirculated, with 259,230 being reported as the total sales for the proof version and 106,702 for the uncirculated. The proof originally sold for $20.00, while the uncirculated was available for $15.00. Today, 25 years after their release, both can often be found for their issue price (maybe lower). No price appreciation for this one!
The obverse features the "Tiara Portrait" of Queen Elizabeth II which was designed by Arnold Machin, while the reverse depicts two iron workers hard at work at the forge; the reverse was designed by R.R. Carmichael. I find the reverse design interesting in that it presents the workers on a featureless background, a style that was/is somewhat atypical within the silver dollar series.
Posted 10/25/2013 6:56 pm
