Commems Collection Canadian: 1989 Mackenzie River Bicentennial

The annual Royal Canadian Mint commemorative Silver Dollar (SD) of 1989 was one that celebrated the bicentennial (200th anniversary) of the canoe expedition by Sir Alexander Mackenzie on the river that would go on to bear his name - the Mackenzie River (first use of name: 1823). The river had/has several alternate names among the local indigenous First Nations people, including Deh Cho ("Big River") by the Dehcho Dene and Deho ("Great River") by the Sahtu Dene.

Alexander Mackenzie - Circa 1800

(Image Credit: Thomas Lawrence (Painter), National Gallery of Canada. Public Domain.)

The Mackenzie River is located in Canada's Northwest Territories and flows between Great Slave Lake and the Arctic Ocean.

Map of Mackenzie River in Northwest Territories

(Image Credit: Government of Canada, Weather Information.)

Alexander Mackenzie was born in Scotland in 1764. He moved to America with his father, Kenneth Mackenzie, in 1774 after the death of his mother, Isabella Maciver. With his father joining the fight on the British side during the American Revolution, the young Alexander was transplanted to Montreal, Canada for his safety. In Montreal, he became, in 1779, an apprentice at Finlay, Gregory & Co., a fur trading company in Montreal, that would later merge with the North West Company.

In 1789, on behalf of the North West Company, Mackenzie led an expedition that explored the river that extended west-northwest from Great Slave Lake and was thought to potentially reach Alaska and the Pacific Ocean - it was hoped he would find the Northwest Passage (a water route through the heart of North America that linked the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and offered a trade route to Asia). Instead, the river led to the Arctic Ocean. (Today, the Northwest Passage is considered the sea lane through the Arctic Ocean that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.) The expedition began at Fort Chipewyan (a fur trading post) on Lake Athabasca, and traveled via the Slave River into Great Slave Lake.

In all, the expedition to the Arctic Ocean and back took approximately three and one-half months. It proved that the river, referred to as the "Grand River" by Mackenzie, was not the sought after route to the Pacific Ocean via the North American northwest.

The coin's commemorative reverse design presents the Mackenzie expedition in a canoe traversing the river that would come to bear his name. The design is the work of John Mardon; it was engraved by Sheldon Beveridge of the Mint. Mardon is an accomplished designer/illustrator/painter who designed 32 coins for the Mint between 1988 and 2015. You can learn more about him by visiting his web site at John Mardon.

The inscription below the canoe - "Fleuve Mackenzie River" - includes both the French - "Fleuve Mackenzie" - and English - "Mackenzie River" - names for the river.

The obverse presents the Arnold Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

The SD is 36.07 mm in diameter and has a weight of 23.3 grams. Its planchet is a 50/50 alloy of silver and copper; the coin has a reeded/serrated edge. The SD was available in Brilliant Uncirculated ($16.25 CAD) and Proof ($21.95 CAD) versions, and had an issue date of February 22, 1989.

As was the norm at the time, the coin was struck to demand vs. having a pre-set mintage limit. Sales for the BU version totaled 110,650; sales for the Proof version reached 272,319 - though not close to being the series' top mintage figures, they dwarf those of later years (and today).

1989 Mackenzie River Bicentennial Silver Dollar


Here is the original Mardon painting illustrating the portion of the scene captured on the coin:


(Image Credit: John Mardon web site, Coin Designs Portfolio. https://www.johnmardon.com


For other of my posts about Canadian commemorative coins and medals (plus those of the US and other countries!), see: Commems Collection.