Tag Archives: saint john

Saint John Coin Club issues commemorative medal for Canada 150 featuring Three Sisters

Posted on by

In conjunction with the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association’s Canada 150 medal program, the Saint John Coin Club has issued a commemorative medal featuring the Reed Point Light or “Three Sisters,” as it is known locally, on the obverse.  Canada’s sesquicentennial is a significant milestone for our nation and the club thought it appropriate to celebrate Saint John with this medal.

Erected in 1842, the Reed Point Light acted as a navigational aid vital to the safety of seagoing vessels entering the harbour.  The light was rededicated to the Saint John Harbour Pilots after its restoration in 1967, Canada’s centennial year, so it seemed a fitting choice to represent Saint John for Canada 150.  Today the light is a proud symbol of the importance of the sea to the city of Saint John.

The reverse of the medal features the official Canada 150 logo created by Ariana Cuvin of Toronto, Ontario, whose design was chosen from over 300 eligible entries after a nation-wide competition.

The medal, designed by Saint John Coin Club member Kevin Day-Thorburn, was struck by the Mississauga Mint of Ontario in silver, bronze, and copper in mintages of 40, 50, and 100 respectively.  At the time of writing, only a few medals remain.  Inquiries can be made to the Saint John Coin Club via their Facebook page or website.

Irving Canaport Medal

Posted on by

by Tom Craig

Sometimes when you are able to source a small collection from someone or a friend, it can have some unusual items that you may or may not have seen in a long time. This is one of those times.

The item in question is an “event medal” struck to commemorate this local event in Saint John NB.

Irving Canaport Medal

The occasion was the opening of the Oil Terminal, Canaport, December 1969, as we know it, in Saint John. It would allow oil to be unloaded from the large ships to shore tanks. You may know this, but it was the Western Hemisphere’s first Deep Water Terminal!   Canaport was built by SUN OIL at the time in partnership with, IRVING OIL.  Irving Oil now operates the terminal to this day.

This was quite an accomplishment when you think of it, the terminal is located several kilometres off shore and the oil is pumped ashore by a submerged line that practically floats.

The medal is made of bronze; dia. is 45mm, approx. thickness is 5 mm. weight is about 2 ozs.

It is not know who manufactured this or how many were struck. A second medal for this event is also known to exist but is much larger diameter at about 110 mm.

No GST

Posted on by

One Saturday morning while waiting for Fundy Coins to open uptown I spotted a new shop on King Street and since it was the only thing open, I went in to browse. There was a decent assortment of antiques and such, but there wasn’t a lot that caught my eye until
I eyed a pin in a box with a label marked, “50 cents to a dollar.” It ended up costing a dollar.

NoGST
The pin is about the size of a 25-cent piece, but resembling a loonie in shape and design, except that’s a bit of an exaggerated bill on that loon! The words, “No GST” appear in the design too. On the back it has engraved, “Made in NB,” and a New Brunswick telephone number. When I looked up the phone number, it showed a business near Moncton.

R & R Antiques
R and R Antiques and Collectibles – a new shop on King Street in Saint John

I contacted the business to see if they remembered the pin. The current owner, Terry Mollins told me that he did recall that item. He told me it was made before he came into ownership of the business in 1989 or 1990, which would make sense since the Goods and Service Tax came into being January 1st, 1991. Terry said it was a promotional pin made by the shop “as a message against the proposed GST.” The name of the business at that time was Rockcliffe Trophies.
The current shop is called Premium Awards and Recognition and is located at 164 Bateman Mill Road, Shediac Cape, NB.

February Meeting

Posted on by

The February meeting of the Saint John Coin Club will take place Tuesday the 18th at 7pm sharp.  Note that the meetings are now being held at the Howard Johnson Fort Howe Hotel  on Portland Street, which features plenty of free parking, which will undoubtedly be appreciated given the recent dumping of snow and the clogged streets as the city digs out.

Howard Johnson Fort Howe

The presentation will be on Pre-Confederation Copper Coinage of Upper Canada by the London Numismatic Society.  Do you have any in your collection?  Bring them along!

A Cent with Issues

Posted on by

I visited Fundy Coins and Collectables on Saturday to pick up an auction item that had been waiting there for quite some time and had fun chatting with Steve and Jim.  While there, thumbing through one of the counter bins and intently listening to one of Jim’s stories, this little cent caught my eye.

1930 USA Cent

The words “metal flaw” were inked on the 2×2.  Upon closer inspection, after getting the 1930 USA Lincoln wheat cent home, I could see quite a nice lamination error in addition to an improper alloy mixture, which gives the copper coin and wood grain appearance.  Some collectors seem to be drawn to such coins and they are often referred to as “woodies.”

 

Saint John’s Langstroth name makes Canadian Coin News

Posted on by

The March 26, 2013 edition of the Canadian Coin News contains an article by Ted Banning in his The World of Money column concerning the name Langstroth and its importance with coin collecting.

SJCCCCN1

Dr. Leigh Augustus Langstroth of Saint John, NB was a prominent numismatist around the turn of the 20th century.  According to the article, Langstroth had his dental office at 36 Sydney Street and his home is listed as 161 Leinster Street.  He served as American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) district secretary for the Maritimes from 1922 to 1934.  His residence at the time of his death was 40 Orange Street.

SJCCCCN2

It is definitely worth checking out this article, which includes interesting tidbits including the fact that little is known about what happened to Langstroth’s collection and that a distant relative, country music’s Bill Langstroth, married singer Anne Murray.

Thanks to Lou for bringing this article to our attention.