I see great humility, and a certain type of wisdom in being simple, whether in dealing with coins, or most other things.
I think that the Queen's 75th anniversary on the thrown is coming up soon. Watch for commemoratives from the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and a few mid-Ocean colonies. But these will all be legitimate as they have to do with the British Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth II is their Queen.
25 years ago, I bet my sister $1000 that Queen Elizabeth-II would kick-arse and break the record!! (my cool sister "Jill" gave me 1000-to-1 odds!!) http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...es-victoria-for-length-of-time-on-throne.html => so now I get $1,000,000 Yup, I knew LIZ-II could do it!! Ummm, sadly I'm full of it ... but => Congrats Queen Elizabeth-II (you're the only ruler that I've known) ... very cool (talk about a fricken dynasty!!)
Yes, I disappeared for a while and became a lurking reader-only. Then I took an extended break from the metal and from the forum. I'm hoping to become active again, at least more so than 5 posts every 4 years.
The other issue I have, that is sort of related to my original post, is that the RCM offers limited mintage coins that are too costly. Well at least in my opinion. I'm not going to pay $100 for an ounce of "fine silver". I think the RCM is pricing out the average collector.
The RCM's series called "Big Coins" reproduces all current coinage as 65.25 mm coins with gold plating and 157.6 grams (5 ounces) 99.99% silver. The entire series (Loonie, Toonie, Half, Quarter, Dime, Nickel) sells for $550 per coin. The last I heard all of the subscriptions were sold out. So someone is buying this stuff, though APMEX currently has them categorized under their "deals" section (some are going there for $450). So, yes, one would need quite a lot of the normal sized loonies to afford this entire run. Save your allowances.
Wow, I actually love the looks of those babies!! (but I won't be pullin' the trigger and payin' that kind of cash for moderns, even if they are gorgeous!!)
Wait awhile Steve......as with most modern issues, these will fall in price in the aftermarket. The scramble to have one first is soon replaced with, 'who the devil cares'?..........
I think that you're not entirely correct. Let me show you a set of gold coins minted by the Italian State Mint for the Holy See (Vatican City) from 1996-2000. Only six thousand of each coin were minted. The entire set today is worth $35,000.00. The issue price was about $3,750.00. "Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spirito tuo." You see, my fellow numismatists, when you have a true leader, like John Paul II, who worked tirelessly to free his own mother country, Poland, that leader is revered forever and his legacy lives on. What a contrast with the current plight of our own USA, whose twice-elected President is trying to destroy the land that allowed his fathers to live in peace and his mother to carry on like a trollop.
While what some of what you're saying may be true about the RCM, take a look at its 1967 Proof Set with the twenty dollar gold piece. Today its worth over one thousand dollars. The issue price wasn't anywhere near that.
I would also like the RCM to be more Canadian and stop with the nonsensical cartoons, comic books, and the material that can't be considered Canadian at all. There is so much in Canada that sets it apart from the rest of the world that the RCM can find a myriad of topics around which to mint coins. Just look at the Citadelle in Quebece City. It's home to the Troisieme, the only French-speaking unit in the Army of the British Empire. I know, I know, the Empire's gone but the base and the military unit are still there.
Onofrio: The 1967 proof set went up because of the price of raw gold. It had little to do with the collectability of the $20 gold piece. The '67 set is great to have just because of the significance of it, but it's the market price of the gold and silver now versus what it was when it was minted that makes the price appreciation. A lump of gold, rather than an RCM creation, would have appreciated just the same as the recent selling price of the coin.
You're telling me that the 1967 Proof Set has no numismatic value? I don't agree. It's a commemorative set of a great nation.