People are important to coin collecting

This issue concludes our look at the last 50 years of Canadian Coin News.
Among the coverage in this issue is a review of our early years, written by Cliff Mischler. To many younger collectors today, Cliff is probably best-known as the co-author of the Standard Catalogue of World Paper Money, or perhaps as a former American Numismatic Association president, but he is eminently qualified to comment on our early days. As a key person at Krause Publications, Cliff had a front-row seat to events at the corporate head office in the early days of CCN. When Chet Krause retired, he turned over the management to Cliff, who remains active in the hobby today. For many years Cliff and I used to meet at one of the most improbable places imaginable, a plate and doll show held once a year in South Bend, Ind.

At that time, Trajan owned a limited edition art magazine. Former CCN publisher Paul Fiocca and I would go down for a few days to connect with the latest in dolls, plates, prints, cottages and figurines. Believe me, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds! Krause Publications had a similar magazine for the U.S. market and since South Bend wasn’t that far from their offices it was a possible day trip. I also suspect that it was one of the few shows Cliff’s wife enjoyed attending more than Cliff did. Usually sometime during the first or second day I would be rushing between the two exhibit halls and spot Cliff. It always happened in the breezeway. I suspect that while I rushed hither and yon trying to see everyone, Cliff had figured out that all he had to do was pick a strategic location and let them come to him.

It was a chance to catch up and talk about coins for a few seconds. At that time Cliff had a regular column in Numismatic News, so we were able to keep in touch by reading what each other wrote. I know from those, and later conversations, that Cliff has followed Canadian Coin News for its entire lifetime. Another article worth special mention is a look at the life of a famous numismatist, James Charlton.

Jim, as he was known in the hobby, was already a giant in Canadian coin collecting back when CCN first published. Even though he retired many years ago, he remained an iconic figure, so important that the RCNA convention banquet in 2011, the year Jim turned 100, was opened with a birthday cake for Jim. A collector, a cataloguer, a publisher, a dealer, and an auctioneer, Jim created the definitive reference on Canadian coins, and the catalogue, which bears his name, is still referred to as “the bible of Canadian numismatics.”
Enjoy the read.

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Canadian Coin News is Canada's premier source of information about coins, notes and medals.

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