Canadian Coins, Vol 2 - Collector Issues, 1st Edition

Canadian Coins, Volume Two, Collector Issues is a 320-page catalogue of Royal Canadian Mint products, which will be released March 22nd, 2010. Volume Two, Collector Issues cover collector and giftware products produced from 1954 to 2009, which is the cut-off year for the first edition. Thirty-nine categories, with over 400 individual listings, form the basic framework of the book. Included in these listings are the designers, and engravers, specifications, finishes and pricing by grade to complete the most extensive catalogue yet published on issues of the Royal Canadian Mint. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter collector and giftware coins have over fifty different designs in seven denominations. The 1976 Montreal, the 1988 Calgary, and now the 2010 Vancouver Olympic issues constitute the largest series of Canadian coins. There is a new sub-division in Collector Issues and that is giftware. Giftware was first introduced in 1994 with the issue of the Oh! Canada! uncirculated set, followed by the Bundle of Joy uncirculated set in 1995. Over the past 15 years giftware has been expanded into all denominations of Canadian coins. These NCLT coins in a great number of cases cannot be removed from their packaging. How they should be handled is still a question. A bigger question is whether they belong in a numismatic catalogue.