Updated on July 25.
A full 2021 RCNA Convention schedule is published below.
The Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA) will close the curtains on its first virtual convention today with a two-hour meeting of the incoming executive.
Officials will meet from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. For full login details, see the schedule below. The meeting comes at the end of the 10-day virtual show held via Zoom from July 16-25. Free and open to everyone to attend, this year’s online-only convention followed a year-long hiatus that saw the RCNA cancel last year’s event due to COVID-19.
“I think having a virtual convention this July is a big step towards getting collectors back to having fun and learning new things in numismatics,” convention chair James Williston, of Calgary, Alta., told CCN earlier this summer.
“It’s also a great chance to catch up on some fellowship and camaraderie, which we’ve all missed,” added Williston, an RCNA Fellow since 2013. “It will be great to meet old friends and make some new ones, and this – to me – is an important element that takes place at the convention every year.”
The organizing committee tried to emulate the RCNA’s usual in-person convention; however, some aspects are missing while a few new ones have been added in. Three aspects missing from the virtual convention compared to its usual in-person counterpart are the bourse, exhibition and social tours.
Both the educational symposium and new panel discussion forums take place on the opening weekend, July 17-18.
Nine RCNA chapter club meetings take place from July 19-23, with two events held each evening from Monday to Thursday plus another one on Friday.
All other public events, including the AGM, club delegates’ meeting, award presentations, incoming executive meeting and convention wrap-up reception, are on July 24-25.
At the July 24 club delegates meeting, Williston’s wife Lisa Dare, who spoke at the 2019 RCNA Convention in Calgary plus this year’s virtual Ontario Numismatic Association Convention, will also give a presentation with “tips and tricks” for hosting and attending successful Zoom meetings.
Each Zoom session is open to 150 attendees.
Three invite-only pre-convention events, including meetings of the Canadian Paper Money Society, Canadian Numismatic Research Society and J. Douglas Ferguson Historical Research Foundation, will be held on July 10.
Another public event – Waterloo Coin Society Coffee House – will also be held before the convention on July 16.
RCNA CONVENTION SCHEDULE
All times in Eastern Time. All meeting sessions active 30 minutes before start time to allow everyone’s smooth arrival.
JULY 10 – INVITE ONLY
- 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.: Canadian Paper Money Society executive meeting
- 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.: Canadian Numismatic Research Society executive meeting
- 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.: J. Douglas Ferguson Historical Research Foundation executive meeting
JULY 16
7 p.m.-10 p.m.: Waterloo Coin Society Coffee House
- zoom.us/j/96799050945
- Meeting ID: 967 9905 0945
- Passcode: 260332
JULY 17
1 p.m.-2 p.m.: Educational Symposium Session 1, “Ancient Coins as Art”
Marina Fischer, of Calgary, Alta.’s Nickle Arts Museum.
- zoom.us/j/96848589626
- Meeting ID: 968 4858 9626
- Passcode: 578897
2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Educational Symposium Session 2, “Collecting Canadian $1 Banknote Vignettes”
Cliff Beattie, of Saskatoon, Sask.
- zoom.us/j/92827679876
- Meeting ID: 928 2767 9876
- Passcode: 623998
7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: Panel 1, “How Our Hobby is Changing and a Post-COVID Forecast”
Moderator Jesse Robitaille, of CCN, plus four prominent Canadian dealers
- zoom.us/j/97289333069
- Meeting ID: 972 8933 3069
- Passcode: 871260
JULY 18
1 p.m.-2 p.m.: Educational Symposium Session 3, “The Sign of the Golden Fleece: The Rutherford Tokens”
Paul Berry, of Ottawa, Ont.
- zoom.us/j/95294796971
- Meeting ID: 952 9479 6971
- Passcode: 931629
2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Educational Symposium Session 4, “Nova Scotia Exhibition Medals”
Jeff Wilson, of Borden, Ont.
- zoom.us/j/92729071531
- Meeting ID: 927 2907 1531
- Passcode: 431296
7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: Panel 2, “Collector’s Perspective on the State of Hobby and Post-COVID Direction”
With four Canadian collectors.
- zoom.us/j/97556324788
- Meeting ID: 975 5632 4788
- Passcode: 664591
JULY 19
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.: Newfoundland Numismatic Enthusiasts meeting
- zoom.us/j/98472721313
- Meeting ID: 984 7272 1313
- Passcode: 782054
8:30 p.m.-10 p.m.: Canadian Association of Token Collectors meeting
- zoom.us/j/95805535041
- Meeting ID: 958 0553 5041
- Passcode: 550687
JULY 20
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.: Canadian Banking Memorabilia Society meeting
- zoom.us/j/97988695064
- Meeting ID: 979 8869 5064
- Passcode: 706329
8:30 p.m.-10 p.m.: l’Association des Numismates Francophones du Canada meeting (in French)
- zoom.us/j/97341348627
- Meeting ID: 973 4134 8627
- Passcode: 633082
JULY 21
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.: Canadian Tire Coupon Collectors Club meeting
- zoom.us/j/99762424563
- Meeting ID: 997 6242 4563
- Passcode: 879014
8:30 p.m.-10 p.m.: Canadian Errors and Varieties Numismatic Association meeting
- zoom.us/j/98755551803
- Meeting ID: 987 5555 1803
- Passcode: 726957
JULY 22
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.: Canadian Association of Wooden Money Collectors meeting
- zoom.us/j/95084445046
- Meeting ID: 950 8444 5046
- Passcode: 547719
8:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.: Canadian Centennial Collectors Club meeting
- zoom.us/j/97139457234
- Meeting ID: 971 3945 7234
- Passcode: 083696
JULY 23
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.: Canadian Paper Money Society annual meeting
- zoom.us/j/98799454998
- Meeting ID: 987 9945 4998
- Passcode: 227224
JULY 24
10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: RCNA Annual General Meeting & Awards
- zoom.us/j/96381320060
- Meeting ID: 963 8132 0060
- Passcode: 075280
2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: RCNA Club Delegates Meeting
- zoom.us/j/98355337497
- Meeting ID: 983 5533 7497
- Passcode: 254809
7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.: RCNA Wrap-Up Reception
- zoom.us/j/92985913099
- Meeting ID: 929 8591 3099
- Passcode: 193600
JULY 25
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. RCNA Incoming Executive Meeting
- zoom.us/j/98490268365
- Meeting ID: 984 9026 8365
- Passcode: 471238
CONVENTION MEDAL, ‘SAMPLE’ COINS & AUCTION
The 2021 RCNA Convention medal celebrates the association’s inaugural virtual event.
The RCNA’s medal committee developed the theme in conjunction with the show’s organizing committee, with “some of Canada’s iconic symbols incorporated with new images from our current point in time,” Williston said of the reverse design.
The design was chosen to “evoke emotions of national pride and unity in the face of the devastating worldwide COVID-19 pandemic,” according to an article in this June’s CN Journal. The clock’s hands read 11:11 to honour the Canadians who made “the supreme sacrifice,” the journal added.
“The eternal Centennial Flame, symbolic of Canadian unity, is in the foreground, representing our country – Strong and Free – A Mari Usque Ad Mare. These two symbols of our national pride are in Ottawa, home to the Ottawa Numismatic Society, the intended host club of the RCNA 2021 Convention before the ongoing pandemic.”
The Ottawa club is now slated to host the 2022 RCNA Convention.
To the medal’s right side, an allegorical figure depicts a Canadian “masked for self-protection and for keeping others safe from transmitted COVID-19,” reads the journal.
“The figure holds a tablet, safely interacting with colleagues, friends, and family through the worldwide web.”
The obverse depicts the RCNA logo used on the association’s recent convention medals.
The medals are available in silver, copper and nickel, the latter of which sold out its mintage of 40 in June. The silver and copper medals remain under “very limited availability,” according to the RCNA, for $67 and $22, respectively.
The RCNA’s convention-branded “PCGS Sample” coins – certified and slabbed by the U.S.-based Professional Coin Grading Service – will also be available to collectors. One of two issues features a modern coat-of-arms design while the other depicts a commemorative 1937 coat-of-arms design. They’re available for $15 and $20 each, respectively. Both pieces are limited to two a person.
While it will be held a month after the convention, this year’s RCNA Auction will be conducted virtually by the Canadian Numismatic Company, based in Québec. The consignment deadline – with no fees for RCNA members – is July 1. The sale is slated for Aug. 28-31.