Victory Nickel Specimen Set

I present to you my forum family, a set I never thought I could complete! Some of the most popular and historical Canadian coins ever issued are the Victory designs from 1943-1945. Like many collectors, this iconic design captivated me as a budding collector and still does as a full grown Numismatist. The history behind these pieces is amazing as many of you know. The beautiful part about the specimen strikes is that for 1943 and 1944, they sold these pieces in specimen pairs to the public in an effort to generate funds for the war effort. I was lucky enough to get a modest 1944 a few years back and then last year I picked up an amazing original pair of 1943s. Now as we roll into the new year, I was pleasantly surprised when I was offered a superb example of the 1944 issue as well as a coin I thought I'd never own...a 1945! For those of you who don't know, 1945 is a special year for specimens. It was the first year that we began striking dollars again, so a fair amount of dollars were produced in specimen..but the rest of the set is ultra rare with anywhere between 3-6ish pieces being known per denomination. There are 7 specimens in the PCGS pop report and at least two of them are misattributed mint states..meaning this coin is one of likely only 5 or so pieces issued. I won't be getting the two new additions til March, but I am too happy to not share..plus I figured I was overdue for a post to show that I am still around

1943 SP-66
1944 SP-67
1945 SP-65