Notes of the Mafeking Siege. By: MICC Lifetime member #001 It was all a matter of gold and imperialism but by the early 1880s, many of the “Cape Dutch” of South Africa had retreated north in the “Great Trek” to found their own “South African Republic”, leaving the British in possession of the old “Cape […]

The Saint-Maurice Ironworks Dollar. By: MICC Lifetime member #001 “Collectors’ Dollar”, 1988, commemorating the Saint Maurice Ironworks. Silver, .500 fine. Wgt.: 23.3 grams. Diam.: 36.07mm. Reeded edge. Die axis: Obverse: (Designer) Arnold Machin; (Modeller) Patrick Brindley Reverse: (Designer) R.R. Carmichael; (Modeller) Sheldon Beveridge Production: 259,230 cased proofs originally sold at $20.00 each 106,702 proof-like UNCs […]

The Esso “Play Coins” of Australia. By: MICC Lifetime member #001 Every so often, plastic tokens with obverses similar to the above show up, leading us to wonder what they are. They are actually a sort of play money given away to children by the Esso Oil Company stations in Australia in 1966 to familiarize […]

The First Foreign Issues of the Ottawa Mint. By: MICC Lifetime member #001 It’s quite true that it’s an ill wind that blows no one any good – and this was true even of the international disaster called the First World War. The war proved to be very, very good for the profit columns of […]

Aluminum – The Poor-Relative Coinage Metal. By: MICC Lifetime member #001 When it comes to being a coinage metal, we tend to think of aluminum as one of the “junk” metals, ranking just ahead of zinc. Everything conspires to make this so: it is used only by second- and third-world countries; it is used for […]