A tribute to the first coins issued by a young nation

New nation, new identity, new coins. It was 150 years ago that the Dominion of Canada sought to strike out on its own and issue new coinage — our first as a newly minted country.

This four-coin set is a first-class tribute to the past, using the minting techniques of today. Crafted from 99.99% fine silver and twice its original size, each piece brings the 1870 silver coins to life once more, with minimal modifications made to the original maple wreath designs that made them distinctly Canadian.

1870: Canada issues new coinage

With Confederation, the newly formed Dominion of Canada had inherited a currency system that was a wild mix of private tokens, banknotes, regional denominations and even foreign currency. And the influx of depreciated U.S. silver coins (dubbed the “silver nuisance”) made it clear that the Canadian government’s first priority was to introduce a unified system of silver coinage to circulate in all provinces.
The master tooling for the 1858 Province of Canada coins were re-purposed for the Dominion’s new 5- and 10-cent coins. But the 25- and 50-cent coins were new denominations for Canada and they required new tooling. Both coins featured a similar reverse design as the 5- and 10-cent coins, but the obverse introduced a new effigy: the “diademed” portrait of a young Queen Victoria by Leonard C. Wyon.

KEY FEATURES

• A first-class tribute: Celebrate coin history and coin collecting with this prestigious set, which re-creates the 1870 silver coins issued by the Dominion of Canada.
• A collection essential: For historical authenticity, all four coins feature the 1870 reverse and obverse designs. It’s the perfect complementary piece for your circulation-themed collection!
• Several historical obverses in one set: Two different effigies of Queen Victoria are included in this set: the youthful “laureate” and the “diademed” portrait of the Confederation-era monarch.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Past and present: We used modern techniques to re-create these designs from Canada’s past.
• 99.99% pure silver: These coins have a much higher purity level and silver content than the original coins, and they’re nearly twice the size too!
• Double-dated reverse (“1870 – 2020”) commemorates the milestone 150th anniversary of Canada’s first national coinage.
• Famous engraver: Royal Mint engraver Leonard C. Wyon (1826-1891) was an important figure in Canadian coin history. He is the engraver who created both the reverse and obverse designs.

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1870, Canada’s five-cent coin was smaller and weighed less than the 10-cent coin. Today, our five-cent coin is bigger and weighs more than the 10-cent coin! The 10-cent coin isn’t the one that changed — its diameter (18.03 mm) hasn’t changed in 150 years.

Leonard C. Wyon’s “laureate” portrait of Queen Victoria was inspired by the “Young Head” effigy (1838-1895), which was designed by William Wyon, Chief Engraver at The Royal Mint… and the father of Leonard C. Wyon.

The 50-cent coins issued in 1870 had one of two obverse varieties. This set features the first obverse design (“no LCW”), which doesn’t include designer Leonard C. Wyon’s initials “L.C.W.” on the bust truncation of the neckline.

The maple bough arrangement on the 5- and 10- cent coins looks symmetrical, but it actually has 21 leaves: 11 on the left and 10 on the right. A 22-leaf wreath was introduced in 1882.

DESIGN

All four coins are double dated (“1870 – 2020”) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Canada’s first national coinage. Each reverse features Leonard C. Wyon’s design of crossed maple boughs surmounted by St. Edward’s Crown, as seen on the four denominations (5, 10, 25 and 50 cents) issued by the Dominion of Canada in 1870.

The obverse of both the 5- and 10-cent coins features the “laureate” effigy of Queen Victoria by Leonard C. Wyon.

The obverse of the 25- and 50-cent coins features the “diadem” effigy of Queen Victoria by Leonard C. Wyon.

Specifications