Hi folks. On a Social security budget I don't buy high dollar coins but I do love my silver coins in the lower price ranges. I get a lot of enjoyment out of collecting coins in my old age I have been drawn to some of the silver Canadian coins I have seen on ebay. Just plain old like the their looks. Thought it might be fun to branch out a little from U.S. coins. Anyone here collect them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
In my opinion, collecting Canadian silver coins is a rewarding avenue of collecting, especially if you're on a budget. For starters, I've often been able to find Canadian silver for less than melt value. Moreover, key date coinage, such as a 1932 50 Cent piece, can be found for less than $100.00 despite having a meager mintage of 19,213 coins. Nonetheless, if you find yourself drawn to Canadian silver, you may also wish to consider British and Commonwealth coinage as well.
Canadian silver are beautiful coins and as stated above there are some great commonwealth coins. Also the regions of Trinidad, Barbados etc before independence had some great proofs struck by the Franklin mint for not much money. Here are a couple of Canadians
I find older issues interesting. I especially like the silver 5 cent pieces. Elizabeth simply destroys the coin for me, too monotonous. I feel the same about Thai coins. Very interesting until Rama IX shows up, then it becomes boring to me.
The 1976 Olympics were held in Montreal and the Canadian Mint offered a gold commemorative coin to honor the event. This was a hot item at the time since gold coins were unavailable in the U.S. However, you had to buy the complete Silver commemorative set in order to "qualify" to purchase the gold coin. My Dad bought the entire silver set to...Go For The GOLD! These coins aren't worth much today due to the high mintage, but the memories are priceless!
Hi Gunner...When I was young all I could collect was pocket change. At the time, I preferred the more worn examples. My interest in coins at the time was a connection to history. I would hold a well worn 1942 Mercury dime and imagine it being in the pocket of a new recruit heading to Europe. I would try to imagine what was going through his mind as he handed his dime (my dime!) to a cashier for a bottle of pop. My Father would call all us kids into the living room after Sunday dinner and quiz us on school and chores just before handing out our allowance. My allowance at the time was 25¢/week. When I got my quarter, I would put it in my bank coin savings holder, then look up the current events of that particular year. One particular Sunday, my Father gave me a 1932P Washington Quarter. It was worn, but my earliest quarter. I recall reading about the Great Depression and how grown men would sell apples on the corner for a nickel. To this day, I still have that 1932P quarter...and it's "hands down" my favorite! Circulated coins have a character that no Unc coin can match. They've been places!
Yesterday the Royal Canadian Mint released a special 1 oz silver coin with a limit of 7,500, big premium for low mintage. Go to their website under new releases and look for "1 oz. Pure Silver Coloured Coin - Bill Reid: Xhuwaji, Haida Grizzly Bear."
You can google melt values for canadian coins. Their older circulating coinage is different than ours.....92.5%, 80%, 50%, etc. in silver content. If you dont mind some wear, there are dimes, quarters, and halves from the late 1800's and early 1900's that can be found for very reasonable prices, and they will spice a collection up!
If you enjoy Canadian coins for the hobby aspect of it, they can be a lot of fun. The market for them has been quiet for years. You can’t expect to make money or even break even, but the prices are low, especially compared to U.S. coins. I purchased examples for the circa 1912 $5 and $10 gold Canadian coins for surprisingly low prices. The market is so weak that the Royal Canadian Mint melted a bunch of damaged ones they had in their vaults. They didn’t want to dilute the collector market with them.
Here's a list of RCM Award-winning coins. https://www.mint.ca/store/mint/about-the-mint/award-winning-coins-1200016
The 1976 gold $100 coins were available in the US. As far as I know the Canadians didn't restrict their sales to Canada only. For restricted coin you may be thinking of the 1967 Canada Centennial coin. It was sold as part of a set, but it was illegal to import them into the US at the time (there was a lot of smuggling going on at the time bringing them in) Sets sold to US customers were sold at a lower price and had a base metal medal in the set instead of the gold coin.
I'm talking about the Canadian 1976 Montreal Olympic Commemorative series. I think I still have the paperwork with the set outlining the rules. The Gold coin wasn't "restricted" because of its gold. You simply couldn't purchase one without first buying all the silver coins in the series. For many people, that was a "personal restriction". There were seven (7) four coin Silver series (28 total) that ran from 1973-1976 and two (2) gold coins. I think my Dad just got the 14k gold coin. I don't recall there being a second (22k) gold coin. I was looking for the set, but it must be at my sister's house. I recall the Silver coins were in sets of four. The wooden display cases had really cheesy plastic snaps to hold them shut. From the internet... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Mint_Olympic_coins#1976_Montreal_Olympic_Coins
Here is my take. If you are collecting because you like it, money is not the issue and growth has no bearing, Canadian coins is not a bad area to branch into. I say this because Canadian coins are not that rare and not that popular to which growth in its value will make it a great investment. Personally, I have some silver coins that I inherited a few years ago that are worth a little but, no where close to US coins at all. That said, silver coins still have precious metal value in case of emergency so, I supposed this is also another safe guard. Regardless of reason or future sight, you can find bargains everywhere. I personally never buy any coin beyond 70% of its value as equity is a key quality for me. Hope this helps. Have fun and good luck.
We have a two 3" binders full of foreign coins including various Canadian copper, silver, and mixed. My wife insist I collect them because they are very educational for our granddaughters and could be a valuable asset to them also. My very most favorite is good old and new American coinage and currency... Thanks for the post and threads be safe, healthy, and wear a mask!
I am like many of you. I love my U.S. coins, but I got spoiled on a few of their silver coins. They are beautiful and the prices are reasonable. I've had a couple of subscriptions with some silver coins. Some of the information the give us is a little over my head, but if it's beautiful, I study the coin and then buy it. I was very impressed with the "Two Flag" set the U.S. and Canada put out. I wanted to get both the U.S. and the Canadian version, but by the time I got to the Canadian mint, it was sold out. When I went back to the U.S. Mint website, it too, was sold out. I think that was one of the best ideas the two mints came up with.
ME GRAND-MUM BOUGHT ME ONE OF THOSE SETS, I WAS LIKE 12 OR 11 AT THE TIME..BETWEEN HER BUYING A LOT OF FRANKLIN MINT (WORTHLESS) SILVER ROUNDS PRESIDENTS, I THINK, AND PROOF AND MINT SETS 5 OF EVERY YEAR, and me mum and da' saved almost every silver coin they could get their hands on whilst working for .90 an hour at a grocery store where they first met, this is what started me collecting, and later buying and selling at an early age...some of the canadian coins are very beautiful, and to this day very economic in terms of pricieness...
I love the Canada large cents, including the various provincial issues. I do have some of the silver as well, with a growing set of dollars.
Well, I did it. My first Canadian Coin, although it is like the American Silver eagle. Just a 1 OZ. .9999 silver bullion but I liked the reverse proof look of it. Rather bad pics. Sorry about the little pic of the coin but I didn't know how to delete it. Another old age thang. LOL. Ebay sent me a $25.00 coupon for buying on their site for twenty years, so this coin only cost me $12.00 shipped.