Do Numismatic BU "Aka Pl" Versions Of These Coins Exist?

Hi wilsonwu. Not too long ago I decided to fill in a gap of years in my collection and in attempting to determine what coins were issued in what finishes, I also noticed coinsandcanada information was not always accurate as well. I ended up relying upon and cross referencing between 2015 Charlton - volumes 1 and 2. Volume 2 is "Collector and Maple Leaf Issues" - of pretty much every coin ever directly issued by RCM whether it be in a set, case, box, collector card or pliofilm. Particularly of value is also listed the original finish, grade and mintage.

But in making the decision in what to purchase and at what cost is not so simple. For example, if a Poppy coin was sold by RCM inside a collector card but the coin finish is "circulation" even though it's noncirculated, that does not necessarily mean it's of higher grading quality than what was obtained fresh out of a bank roll (also uncirculated) because as I understand it, the source and mintage process used by RCM was exactly the same. Some coins get tossed into sets, others into bank rolls. However some collectors might pay more for the card and sealed coin just because they want the packaging to prove it's indeed uncirculated. This is where the terms circulated/uncirculated/noncirculated become sort of confusing.

Of your list, Charlton indicates:

Remembrance Quarter
-2008 Remembrance Quarter: C only *
-2010 Remembrance Quarter: C, NC and SP
- 2006 Pink Ribbon Quarter: C and NC
-1945-2005 Victory Nickel: C and NC
-2001 Volunteer Dime: C only

"C" - purchased from banks or found in change.
*NC" - Noncirculated, sold in sets or special packaging directly by RCM.

Of the "NC" there's often more than one source from RCM. As a recent example the 2015 flag 25c can be purchased either in a 5 pack pliofilm or set of 2 in a collector card, but both 25c would be considered "NC" because they are being sold directly by RCM.

Charlton - Volume 2 lists each of various "NC" sources for you, if you're interested in researching further.

Hope that helps.

Edit to add:

-2004 Remembrance Quarter: C and NC

* the 2008 poppy coin that you included appears to be a bookmark. Volume 2 also indicated what mintages were sold as bookmarks, as opposed to sealed or carded coins.

Not true, "NC", aka Numismatic BU coins were not issued after 2010. All the 2015 flag coins no matter how they are packaged are regular circulation strikes.

you can tell a PL quarter or dime easily from the edge, as they all have a squared rim, and full reed right across the edge, the normal circulation coins are rounded, and when you put the PL coin in with the circulated you can spot it very easily.

Okay then, how about I scratch my example, even though it meets the definition of NC coins purchase from RCM?

The collector coins the original poster questioned which are available from RCM in various types of giftware packs and are listed as NC that were issued in "Circulation" finish cannot be considered PL or numismatic BU even though they were bought from RCM, I hope do we agree on that?

It's the multitude of labelling terms that have become confusing! It used to be simple - a person got circulation coins from banks or PL, SP, or PR coins from RCM. Then in about 1992 upon Canada's 125th anniversary RCM began selling certain circulation coins in sets, holders and giftware packages. That's when the lines crossed over, caused by ambiguity in how to refer to Noncirculated coin sold by RCM that was essentually the same as circulated coin handed out at face value by banks.

But there's a plus side, it adds an additional challenge to the search. What and where to to find what you're looking for at the best price. For example when I was seeking out certain years of Loonies that were never released into public circulation (1997-2001) I discovered Baby Gift Sets from dealers contained exactly what I was looking for and generally sold far cheaper than the single Loonies sold from broken apart standard Uncirculated Pliofilm Sets on ebay.

So my advise is if you're looking for something specific, one needs to do a little research in order to understand the variity of sources - then you'll know exactly what you're buying.