Continuing the discussion of my progress on my 36 mm $5 commemorative collection...
Tonight, I present the companion coin to the Alberta centennial $5 coin I posted about last week. I purchased the two coins at the same time from the same dealer and got a good price (IMO) of just $30 CAD; the issue price of the coin 15 years ago was $49.95 CAD.
The coin marks the 100th anniversary of Saskatchewan joing the Canadian Confederation on September 1, 1905 (the same date as Alberta). As with Alberta, Saskatchewan was created from land that was previously part of the North-West Territories. On a side note, the province of Manitoba was also formed from territory that was once part of the North-West Territories; Manitoba became part of the Confederation in 1870 and was the fifth province. To celebrate its centennial, the
Royal Canadian Mint (
RCM) issued a nickel dollar commemorative coin for circulation along with a version for collectors. (You can read my post about the 1970 Manitoba dollar here:
1970 Manitoba Dollar.
As with the Alberta coin, the
RCM ran a public contest to select the design to be used for the Saskatchewan circulating 25-cent piece. The contest was open from January 17, 2005 through February 17, 2005. Canadians were asked to vote for their favorite via a a toll-free telephone number or by visting the
RCM web site. The vote on the Alberta and Saskatchewan designs represented the first time that the
RCM opened up the selection of a coin's design to the general public. The
RCM selected three designs from those submitted and asked the public to vote for their favorite.
Here's a newspaper ad from the
RCM featuring the three potential Saskatchewan designs and encouraging Saskatchewan residents to vote for their favorite.
From left to right, the designs are "Western Meadowlark," "Canada Geese Over Wascana Lake" and "The Round Dance Celebration." The "Western Meadowlark" design presents a singing Western Meadowlark, perched on a fence post with barbed wire, as its primary foreground design element; the bird is flanked by shafts of wheat. To the left of the bird is seen a railroad track that leads to a large grain elevator in the background. To the right of the Meadowlark is depicted the sun setting over the open prairie.
The "Canada Geese" design features two geese flying over the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina and includes an interesting maple leaf/wheat sheaf combination logo at the top of the design (the wheat sheaf is a core component of the province's coat-of-arms). The "Round Dance" design depicts an aboriginal round dance that encircles an outline map of Saskatchewan and a wheat sheaf,
When voting closed, 24,381 votes had been cast for the proposed Saskatchewan designs; roughly 70% of the votes came from residents of Saskatchewan. Unlike the close race seen with the voting for the Alberta design, the "Western Meadowlark" design was the clear winner in Saskatchewan, receiving nearly 60% of the votes (its total was 14,427). The design was created by wildlife artist Paulett Sapergia; the artist, based in Grasswood, SK, said she invoked childhood memories from when she was growing up in southern Saskatchewan in a small community called Old Wives as the inspiration for her design.
Interesting Note: From what I have read, Old Wives is today essentially a ghost town, having been almost completely abandoned for several decades.2005 Saskatchewan Centennial Proof $5.00 Silver Coin - Reverse
You can learn more about Paulett Sapergia at her web site:
www.chickadeedesigns.ca. The site features a full discussion of the artist's involvement with the Saskatchewan coin!
As with the Alberta centennial coin previously discussed (
2005 Alberta Centennial $5), the
RCM planned the issue of a collector coin for the Saskatchewan centennial that used the same design as the circulating coin; the
RCM selected the $5 denomination for the precious-metal version of the coin. The silver coin's commemorative design was essentially the same as the one used for the circulating 25-cent piece, with the only change being the replacement of the coin's denomination -- "25 cents" was removed from just left of the Meadowlark and "$5" was added above the bird to the right (on the reverse). (See below for an image of the circulating 25-cent coin in a First Day Cover (FDC) package. A total of 6,980 FDC packages were sold.)
The $5 coin was struck as a proof on a 0.9999 fine silver planchet. The coin has a weight of 25.175 grams and a diameter of 36.07 millimeters; the coin features a reeded / serrated edge.
The Susanna Blunt portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the coin's obverse; the Blunt portrait of QEII began appearing on Canada's coins in 2003.
The
RCM stated a maximum mintage of 20,000 for the $5 coin, but I have not yet been able to locate a final sales total for the coin; neither the 2005 nor 2006
RCM Annual Report includes the silver $5 coin among its numismatic products. I remain skeptical that 20,000 coins were sold, but it was a different time for the Mint and certain coins enjoyed high sales totals; it's possible the Saskatchewan silver $5 proved popular with collectors and souvenir seekers. As I mentioned in the Alberta post, if anyone has a definitive mintage/sales figure for the coin, I'd appreciate hearing about it.
With $27 CAD spent on the Alberta $5 coin and the $30 I paid for the Saskatchewan coin, my total spend so far is $57 against a budget of $80. My new collecting pursuit is off to a good start! (If you haven't seen the post on my new collecting pursuit, you can read it here:
New Collecting Pursuit.
Hope you enjoyed the read! 10 more coins to come!
2005 Saskatchewan Centennial 25-Cent First Day Coin Folder - Front Panel
2005 Saskatchewan Centennial 25-Cent First Day Coin Folder - Inner Panels
2005 Saskatchewan Centennial 25-Cent First Day Coin Folder - Back Panel
Posted 01/26/2020 10:16 pm
