Canada’s postal past is lined with philatelic gems that are a pictorial journey through time. The Royal Canadian Mint’s Historical Stamps series is a numismatic tribute to early 20th century stamp designs, with colourful reproductions engraved within the “perforated” edges that transform this rectangular coin into a stamp-shaped one.

The coin weighs just over one ounce of pure silver, and has a limited mintage of just 5,000. As a pure silver coin issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, this item is HST/GST exempt.

The Design:

Engraved on the stamp-shaped reverse is a detailed reproduction of a Canadian postal stamp issued on June 29, 1927, to commemorate Canada’s Diamond Jubilee. Titled Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings, the original design by Herman Herbert Schwartz and engraved by Harold Osborn, features a front view of the Peace Tower and Centre Block building on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa. The three-cent stamp was printed using the traditional intaglio printing or line engraving method, as evidenced by the horizontal lines re-created on the reverse. An application of modern colour mimics the brown carmine hue of the original issue, while the double dates “1867” and “1927” and the word “CONFEDERATION” reflect the 60th anniversary of Confederation. Like the 1927 stamp, the reverse includes ornamental flourishes and the word “CANADA” on a scroll banner, along with the bilingual “POSTES / POST” and the face value, represented by the number “3” and the word “CENTS”. The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.