Playing Card Money Series and Crystal Raindrop showcase unique new coins; popular offerings continue

Ottawa, Ontario – History and innovative design combine to produce yet another outstanding series of Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) collector coins with the introduction of fine silver rectangular coins emulating a long-lost currency of our past: New France’s playing card money. The innovation and design creativity continues with a new crystal-embedded fine silver raindrop coin, a new Royal Effigies Series coin featuring King Edward VII, as well as gold and silver coins celebrating yet another Canadian Achievement, the world-famous IMAX film standard, among several others captivating themes.

“As the Royal Canadian Mint celebrates its centennial and as Canada celebrates other historical milestones such as the 400th anniversary of the city of Quebec, we are proud that our collector products are telling the story of Canada in fascinating new forms”, said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.

“Our artisans and experts have once again succeeded in creating outstanding treasures in silver and gold which capture the imagination of coin collectors and gift givers everywhere”.

$15 PLAYING CARD MONEY SERIES – JACK OF HEARTS The days when Canadian legal tender displayed the effigies of anonymous kings and queens are a fascinating twist of Canadian history. As New France found itself short of circulation coinage in 1685, the government of the day demonstrated classic Canadian resourcefulness by seizing all playing cards in the colony and issuing officially signed cards as currency. This temporary measure continued until the British conquest of 1759. The RCM rekindles the “can do” aura of playing card money with a $15 sterling silver Jack of Hearts, the first in a new series of painted rectangular collector coins featuring a selectively gold-plated rim. Only 25,000 of these treasures of our past have been carefully crafted and designed from artwork preserved by Library and Archives Canada. This coin retails for a suggested $89.95 CDN. (more…)

The second release from The Perth Mint’s innovative Orbit and Beyond Series celebrates Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut and national hero, who became the first human in space and the first to orbit the Earth on 12 April 1961.

Struck by The Perth Mint, the coin comprises 1oz of 99.9% pure silver with a central core made of non-precious metal.

Coloured Reverse Design

The coin’s reverse comprises the border inscription 1961 FIRST MAN IN SPACE – YURI GAGARIN and a montage of coloured images symbolising his epic journey. Blasting-off in Vostok 1 from Baikonur in Soviet central Asia, Gagarin completed a single orbit of the Earth in 108 minutes before re-entering the atmosphere and parachuting back to the Soviet Union.

Unique ‘Orbital’ Coin Construction

Thanks to the coin’s unique construction, these design elements literally ‘orbit’ around a coloured representation of Earth. (more…)

A new collection of products featuring the 2007 Presidential $1 Coins honoring the Presidents of the United States is being introduced. The United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Historical Signature Set features the proof version of the Presidential $1 Coin and a Presidential intaglio print from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The product is presented in a textured, leather-like folder which opens to reveal the intaglio print and the official Presidential signature. A Certificate of Authenticity accompanies each United States Mint Historical Signature Set.

The United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Historical Signature Set – James Madison – is the fourth in this new collection. This product features a proof coin which is extraordinarily brilliant, with sharp relief and a mirror-like background. The frosted, sculpted foreground gives a special cameo effect. An image of President James Madison appears on the obverse of the coin and the reverse features a striking rendition of the Statue of Liberty. The Presidential $1 Coins also feature edge-incused inscriptions of the year, “E Pluribus Unum,” “In God We Trust,” and the mint mark. Each coin is mounted in a removable capsule.

Visible from the cover of the United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Historical Signature Set is the Presidential intaglio print of James Madison printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Opening the cover reveals the official James Madison Presidential signature, courtesy of the White House Historical Association. (more…)