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The 1937 Canadian coin designs

This post is largely stimulated by two recent threads, one by AuldFartte in late January (in which he noted the relative decline in posting on the forum), to which neildrobertson responded by recommending that people "be the change you want to see..." Neil then proceeded to do just that by beginning a terrific thread on the very same day discussing his complete German 1951-1974 silver five marks Registry set, with loads of great pix. My thanks to them for the inspiration. I hope this post adds a little to our forum. If nothing else, it will illustrate how you can get lost in a rabbit hole on the Internet!

So, this whole thing begins with a conversation I had earlier this week with my brother about a painting he had done of a sailing ship, a picture of which he sent me via messaging. I commented to him that his work reminded me a little of the design of the Canadian dime, with the beautiful sailing vessel on the reverse. After our call, I decided to see if my memory of that design was in fact close to his painting. Once I brought up a photo of the dime, it was apparent that my brother's ship was much simpler in design than the ship depicted on the dime, largely based on the Bluenose, a famous Canadian schooner built in 1921:

Here's the dime (1937 is the first year, as many of you know):

Then, I thought I would learn a little more about the guy who created the reverse (heading down the rabbit hole...I didn't come up for a long while, as you will see!). He was Emanuel Hahn, a well-known Canadian sculptor, who actually had come to Canada in 1888 when he was seven, from southwestern Germany:

He created the iconic Voyageur reverse of the 1935 Canadian dollar (the first one minted ever in Canadian history, unless you count the 1911 George V issue, with only two copies minted). The 1935 coin was of course was a commemorative of the 25th anniversary of George V become King of Great Britain. But Hahn's reverse ended up being used all the way up to 1986. Here's how he envisioned it:

And, here's how it turned out:

(Note here that the obverse of the 1935 commemorative - the portrait of King George V - was executed by Percy Metcalfe, who was also the designer of the initial eight coins of the Irish Free State in 1928 (known as the "barnyard set" with their depiction of animals - as well as the salmon). Metcalfe also created the somewhat controversial 1935 British 25th anniversary crown.)

After the Great War, Hahn had created a number of post-World War One monuments and memorials in Canada. In 1925, he was commissioned by the city of Winnipeg to design its war memorial, but the commission was withdrawn when a dispute arose about his having being originally from Germany. Interestingly, his wife, Elizabeth Wyn Wood (who had been a student of Hahn's), won the renewed competition (using her own name), only to have that award be rescinded as well, now because of her relationship with Hahn. I am happy to say that Hahn got to keep the cash from the commission (not sure about the spouse...). Here's Elizabeth Wyn Wood:

I then vaguely remembered a discussion in James Haxby's book, Striking Impressions (a history of the Canadian Mint and Canadian coinage in general, a book BTW I highly recommend), regarding the overall redesign of Canadian coinage that commenced in 1937, so I got my copy out and reread the story and did a little digging on the Internet. The Canadian mint received designs from a number of Canadian artists, including Jean-Baptiste Lagace. Here is a sketch of Lagace's proposals:

Lagace's work was not accepted. Other artists submitted creations as well, including a set from Sylvia Daoust, one of the first woman sculptors in Quebec who lived a long and productive life, dying in 2004 at the age of 102. I have been unable to find those designs.

The scope of the redesign was comprehensive: one cent, five cents, ten cents, twenty-five cents and fifty cents (the dollar - a new coin denomination anyway - had already effectively been done in 1935). Hahn and a British artist, George Kruger Gray, ended up splitting the assignments. Kruger Gray was a prolific coin designer, not only for his native Great Britain, but also for numerous Commonwealth countries; if you collect British or British Commonwealth coins, you almost certainly have one or more of his creations. Here he is at about age 56:

He lived an interesting life, dying a little early at 62 in 1943. When he was 12, he was swimming with his older brother and another twelve-year-old when the three of them were caught in a rising tide and rough water on a rapidly disappearing offshore sand bar in the Mersey near Liverpool. After other rescue efforts had failed, a heroic young teacher swam out and was able to rescue an unconscious George; the other two boys sadly drowned. During World War 1, he served first in the famous British Army unit known as the Artists Rifles, which had been created as a volunteer outfit in 1859 during a war scare regarding France. As the name suggests, the unit was comprised initially of a large number of British artists; one of its first two leaders was Frederic Lord Leighton who was later president of the Royal Academy of Arts for many years at the end of the 19th century. Later Kruger Gray got involved in doing camouflage work for the British Army during the war. One interesting tidbit: he was born George Kruger. When he married Frances Audrey Gordon Gray in 1918, he added her last name to his and was known thereafter as George Kruger Gray. Somewhat commonly done today...much less often done 100 years ago!

The process of choosing the final designs was a bit confusing. Kruger Gray got the nod for the fifty cent coin reverse (which the Canadian government had directed be the Canadian coat of arms). Here's a pencil sketch:

And, the final design, with not much of a difference:

He also got the one cent. A sketch:

And the finished product:

Hahn had submitted proposals for the five cent coin with a caribou:

He re-executed the coin, still with the caribou, to be a twenty-five cent coin:

As you can see, this version was pretty close to the actual coin that first came out in 1937:

Kruger Gray's Beaver five cent coin was first proposed as a dime:

With a little jiggering of the beaver, this became of course the five cent coin:

As noted, the dime was Hahn's as well, though he did include the ship as a design element for a quarter:

Now, while all this modernization was going on, these new Canadian coins were also going to need a obverse portrait of the new King: Edward VIII. Thomas Humphrey Paget was designated to create the Portrait side by the British Royal Mint. Here is Paget later in life:

Here is his portrait of Edward:

Before any of the new Canadian coins were minted, however, Edward abdicated and his younger brother George VI became the new king. Humphrey Paget had done such an exceptional job with the prior portrait that the Royal Mint chose him to produce the new King's effigy as well:

Some consider Paget's depiction to be the classic example of coin portraiture. I wouldn't disagree. It was certainly used for a large number of British and British Commonwealth coins until George's death in 1952.

Paget was also competent at creating reverses, including one for the 1937 British half penny:

As you can see, a lot of twists and turns down this rabbit hole!

Comments

  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 23,896 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very interesting write-up! In virtually every case the final coin design is better than the late design drawing.

    All glory is fleeting.
  • CocoinutCocoinut Posts: 2,505 ✭✭✭✭✭

    An interesting read. Thanks for doing the research and posting! Looking at Hahn's original drawing for the dollar, it appears that the canoeists are on a lake, something that had never occurred to me. I always thought they were on a river. I'll never look at a Canadian dollar the same way!

    Countdown to completion of my Mercury Set: 2 coins. My growing Lincoln Set: Finally completed!
  • TomBTomB Posts: 20,689 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Fabulous post! Thank you for taking the time to research and write this. There is not enough quality material, in my opinion, written about Canadian coinage. I've bookmarked the thread.

    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • koincollectkoincollect Posts: 446 ✭✭✭

    What an awesome post! Thanks very much for sharing.

  • thefinnthefinn Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Well done. I love reading "Striking Impressions". Great book. Thank you.

    thefinn
  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,719 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Terrific thread. In looking at some of the designs, one can imagine what might have been.

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • GotTheBugGotTheBug Posts: 1,536 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks! Very informative read.

  • bigmarty58bigmarty58 Posts: 1,998 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very much enjoyed reading your thread, thank you.

    Enthusiastic collector of British pre-decimal and Canadian decimal circulation coins.
  • TwoKopeikiTwoKopeiki Posts: 9,528 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Awesome thread! Learned a lot about some of my favorite designs!

  • AuldFartteAuldFartte Posts: 4,597 ✭✭✭✭

    @gscoins Thank you for the fascinating history lesson! I have enjoyed collecting Canadian coinage for several years, and I love the designs of the 1937 issues. You have provided a concise and informative post here, and I really appreciate it.

    image

    My OmniCoin Collection
    My BankNoteBank Collection
    Tom, formerly in Albuquerque, NM.
  • SaorAlbaSaorAlba Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Wonderful, and amazing to think the designs have stood the test of time. The 5, 10 and 25 cent coins have changed metal content a few times but the reverse designs are iconic. Until a few years ago it was not impossible to get a GVI cent or 5 cent coin in change.

    In memory of my kitty Seryozha 14.2.1996 ~ 13.9.2016 and Shadow 3.4.2015 - 16.4.21
  • DBSTrader2DBSTrader2 Posts: 3,444 ✭✭✭✭

    Thanks for the enlightening post!! Nice to know how each of the coins came about, especially for a fan of Canadians such as myself. :)

  • ClioClio Posts: 484 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Great read, I didn't know Percy Metcalfe did the portrait on the dollar coin. Very cool.

    https://numismaticmuse.com/ My Web Gallery

    The best collecting goals lie right on the border between the possible and the impossible. - Andy Lustig, "MrEureka"

  • atomatom Posts: 430 ✭✭✭✭

    Italy 100 Lire 1936R Yr. XIV Mintage 812


  • neildrobertsonneildrobertson Posts: 1,179 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Every bit of that was information I'd never heard before. Were multiple artists submitting designs for each coin, or were certain coins commissioned to one particular artist?

    IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
    "Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me

  • gscoinsgscoins Posts: 277 ✭✭✭

    Neil, you ask a good question.

    My suspicion is that the Canadian Mint put out a general solicitation for all of the coins to be redesigned (hence, the submission by Jean-Baptiste Lagace). The fact that both Hahn and Kruger Gray offered multiple proposals, with some not being accepted for the coin pictured (e.g., Hahn's drawing of the five cent with the Caribou) would seem to suggest no one was "assigned" a coin denomination to design.

    But I will see what further information I can gather and report back.

  • Bruce7789Bruce7789 Posts: 397 ✭✭✭✭

    Fantastic Story, Thank you for all the research!

  • Thanks for reminding me of the Striking Impressions book. I checked that out at our local library when I was a kid more than once.

    Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
    https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232

  • TomBTomB Posts: 20,689 ✭✭✭✭✭

    From the holdings of the Bank of Canada Museum, this is the plaster for the 1937 dime designed by Emanuel Hahn-

    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,719 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Anyone else notice what is in this picture? Looks as if we have a late18th century Faience.

    So... it looks as if Gray not just an artist but he may have been a stein collector

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

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