By Jesse Robitaille
The Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA) is ready to hand out some hardware.
Officials with the RCNA recently made a call for nominations for seven of the group’s awards, four of which are for individuals and three for clubs.
The deadline for nominations is March 31, after which time all submissions will be pored over by RCNA officials to determine the winners.
“Like anything, it’s nice to recognize people who have contributed to the organization’s success,” said RCNA Executive Secretary Paul Johnson. “This way, we’re honouring people who have put a lot of time and effort into the association, and other people can see who has contributed to the RCNA in a positive way.”
Most of the RCNA’s awards are long-running honours, having been instituted decades ago, except for the Charles Moore Award and Paul Fiocca Award, which were established in 2017 and 2008, respectively.
Each year, the RCNA also hands out several Presidential Awards, which are issued by the sitting president, “who has the prerogative to select a variety of individuals—and not necessarily RCNA members, either,” said Johnson.
“Some are unsung people who don’t normally get recognized but have done something positive for the community.”
FERGUSON AWARD
The highest award in Canadian numismatics, the J. Douglas Ferguson Award is not an award of the RCNA despite being “inextricably related” to the association, according to Ron Greene.
Greene is a member of the independent four-person “Board of Award” overseeing the Ferguson Award, which is given annually to a living numismatist who – in the opinion of the board – contributes most to the advancement of numismatics in Canada.
This “advancement” could be through research, writing, publishing or “in any other manner,” according to RCNA officials.
In addition to Greene, the present “Board of Award” includes:
- the standing RCNA president, who’s currently Bob Forbes, of Toronto;
- Geoffrey Bell, of Shediac, N.B.; and
- Graham Esler, of London, Ont.
Recipients can only win the Ferguson Award once.
Established in 1969 and sponsored by J. Douglas Ferguson – then the honorary president of the RCNA – the award has no relation to the J. Douglas Ferguson Historical Research Foundation, which is a charitable foundation dedicated to assisting numismatic associations with research and publishing.
Nominations can be mailed to Greene at 1908 Store St., Victoria, BC V8T 4R4, or sent via email to ragreene@telus.net.
PAUL FIOCCA AWARD
The highest distinction presented by the RCNA and the second-highest award in all of Canadian numismatics, the Paul Fiocca Award is presented annually for “long-term meritorious service or major contributions to the RCNA.”
“This is an award not just to recognize the elite of the hobby,” reads the RCNA’s recent CN Journal, “but any individual who may have worked behind the scenes, often for many decades,” for the betterment of the association.
This award is for RCNA members only (contrasting the Ferguson Award, which does not require membership in the RCNA).
A former CCN publisher, Paul Fiocca also served as the editor of the CN Journal before his death in 2007.
The award bearing his name is funded by donations from Trajan Media, publisher of CCN and Canadian Stamp News, as well as Fiocca’s friends.
Once again, recipients can only receive this award once.
Nominations can be mailed to Bill Waychison, PO Box 466, Station Main, Timmins ON, P4N 7E3, or sent via email to billwaychison@gmail.com.
CHARLES MOORE AWARD
The RCNA’s newest honour, the Charles D. Moore Award was established in 2017 to celebrate “professional numismatists,” which can include full- or part-time dealers, researchers, writers, publicists or benefactors who are also RCNA members in good standing.
Worthy nominees will exhibit the traits of “dignity, integrity, truth and knowledge” plus a willingness to advance the hobby through education, according to RCNA officials. The RCNA awards committee will choose the winner in consultation with the executive committee and “key individuals” from the numismatic committee.
The award is named after dealer, auctioneer and RCNA past president Charles Moore, who died in June 2015.
Nominations for this award can also be sent to Waychison.
FELLOW OF THE RCNA
In 1990, the executive committee of what was then known as the Canadian Numismatic Association (CNA) established a Fellowship.
To be eligible as an RCNA Fellow, nominees must be a member of the RCNA and carried out services that directly benefit the association.
A maximum of five members may be inducted each year as chosen by the RCNA awards committee.
The first Fellows – Jerry Remick and John Regitko, both of who have written extensively for CCN – were inducted in 1991.
Nominations for this award can also be sent to Waychison.
LOUISE GRAHAM CLUB OF THE YEAR
Established in 1986, the Louise Graham Memorial “Club of the Year” Award honours the RCNA’s chapters and their accomplishments throughout the previous year.
Any club or association wishing to enter this competition may do so by submitting a report on its recent activities, including the diversity of topics at and consistency of meetings; educational information; numismatic promotion; coin shows; and originality of initiatives.
The award’s namesake served as the CNA’s general secretary from 1954 until her retirement in 1971.
In addition to a silver medal, the winning club will also receive $250.
Nominations can be sent to RCNA Club Services Chair Brett Irick, Suite 505, 5060 Tecumseh Rd. E., Windsor ON, N8T 1C1 or via email to xr7gt@prodigy.net.
JÉRÔME H. REMICK LITERARY AWARD
Established in 1995, the Jerome H. Remick III Literary Award honours the author of the best numismatic article published in the bulletin of a local Canadian coin club.
Each nomination must include a copy of the article with details about its publication.
Nominees for this award do not have to be RCNA members.
A committee of at least three members working under the guidance of the RCNA club services chair will review the nominations to choose a winner.
Nominations for this award can also be sent to Irick.
BEST NEWSLETTER AWARDS
Each year, the RCNA recognizes the printed work of both a local and regional chapter with an award for the best newsletter.
To participate, clubs and associations must send samples of their newsletters to the RCNA club services chair.
A committee of at least three members will reviews the entries to determine a winner in both categories.
The criteria used to determine the winners include:
- numismatic content (20 per cent);
- content diversity (25 per cent);
- presentation quality (15 per cent);
- publication consistency (15 per cent)
- improvement from the previous year (10 per cent); and
- general appreciation as determined by the reviewing committee’s discretion (15 per cent).
Nominations for this award can also be sent to Irick.
For more information, visit rcna.ca.