Nathan and Evan Roy have won the Saskatoon Coin Club’s 60th anniversary token design contest.
“We were all very impressed with the amount of thought and symbolism these young men put into their designs,” according to an Aug. 3 email sent by the club’s executive committee.
“We decided to avoid any family bloodshed that might follow if we chose only one design, so each of them will have one side of the token. But since neither design includes the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, we will leave it to them to decide which side is the obverse and which side is the reverse. While we should successfully avoid bloodshed between the brothers, some bruising may occur during that debate.”
The token is the latest of dozens of numismatic issues produced by the club in the past 60 years. To read more about the club’s issues, click here.
CLUB HISTORY
Founded on Jan. 13, 1960, at Saskatoon’s King George Hotel, the club grew to nearly 40 members in its first year.
Currently, the club – which doesn’t charge an annual membership fee – boasts more than 100 members.
Some prominent members over the years include:
- Ray Gauthier, the club’s first president;
- Eldred Bowes, who attended the first meeting and formed a noteworthy collection of Hudson Bay material;
- Bill Drinkle, the club’s first treasurer;
- Frank Harding, a collector of Saskatchewan numismatic material;
- Ron Rogal, a cataloguer of Saskatchewan numismatic material and long-time executive member; and
- Cliff Beattie, club president for more than 30 years.
CLUB SHOWS
The club held its first coin show in 1962—and each year afterwards until 2009.
The streak of 47 consecutive shows came to an end just before the 2009 show when the venue – the German Club, now known as the German Cultural Centre – was destroyed by a fire.
A new streak began in 2010, when the club’s annual show was held at the Ramada Hotel & Golf Dome. In 2018, the show returned to the German Cultural Centre; however, the venue will permanently close its doors on Aug. 30 “due to the path that 2020 has taken,” according to a recent Facebook post.
The club’s 2020 show has also been cancelled due to COVID-19.
To learn more about the Saskatoon Coin Club, visit saskatooncoinclub.ca.