LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 May/June Long Beach CA Sig World Coin #440  / 

50462

Canada: 1911. The Canadian government contemplat

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 2,500.00 USD
Canada: 1911. The Canadian government contemplat
<B>1911 Specimen box Mint design alteration box and planchet set.</B></I> The Canadian government contemplated production of a one dollar coin to be minted in 1911. The Royal Canadian Mint prepared to issue 1911 specimen sets so red Moroccan leather boxes were commissioned. The boxes were lined with purple plush spaces to hold the dollar, half dollar, quarter, ten cent silver, five cent silver, and large one cent coins. Since the 1911 dollar never materialized (except the 5 pattern coins), the red boxes were placed in storage. <BR>After 1937, the mint had a need for red cases to present specimen coins to dignitaries. Rather than produce the boxes from scratch, the mint decided to use the boxes already on hand from the contemplated 1911 specimen sets. However, two of the coins were no longer the same size as the 1911 coinage--the five cent silver had been replaced by the larger nickel, and the large cent by a small cent. A decision was made at the mint to alter the boxes in house by taking the insert tray from the leather boxes, strip off its plush lining, and cut out the laminated portion of wood under the 2 small denomination coins. Then, a new piece of wood would be inserted and glued with the new size holes. New plush lining was then inserted to cover the new holes. Lastly, the lining in was held in place by some aluminum discs, which were made at the mint in the exact size of the coins, until the adhesive had set. <BR>The set of aluminum discs was not marked "Royal Canadian Mint" or "R.C.M." as one would expect, but each has the denominations crudely engraved on each piece. One also wonders why a set of actual coinage was not used to hold the space instead of fabricating precision discs of aluminum. <BR>These discs were purchased by the consignor, who obtained them from a retiring mint employee in 1963. That employee was the one tasked with converting the 1911 boxes for later use. According to the mint employee, at the time of their purchase, only one set of aluminum discs was produced by the mint. <BR>All of these converted red leather boxes are embossed in gold with the lettering: SPECIMEN COINS / SILVER AND BRONZE / OTTAWA MINT. On some boxes the first two lines are printed on one line. Under the words OTTAWA MINT, a small rectangular red leather repair is found where the 1911 date has been covered over. Included in this lot are two of the red cases showing the rather crude attempt to obliterate the 1911 date on different varieties of cases. Also included are the original wooden inserts that were used at the Mint. All-in-all, items of great historical significance and interest.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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