Canadá, Elizabeth II, 50 Cents
1987 - Ottawa - Proof - Níquel - MS(65-70)
8.1 gr.
Elizabeth II
- Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms: 1952–2022
- Dynasty: House of Windsor
- Predecessor: George VI
- Successor : Charles III
- Regime: Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London in April 1926. She married Philip Mountbatten in 1947 and acceded to the throne in 1952 upon the death of George VI. She was 25 years old when she became queen and reigned over the 15 Commonwealth realms. Among others, these include the United Kingdom (of course), Canada, New Zealand, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.
Her coronation at Westminster in 1953 was the first ever to be broadcast on television. She celebrated her Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne) in 2012. In 2015, she broke the record for longevity of reign previously held by her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. A great many coins and a great many banknotes featuring the effigy of the Queen were issued by the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms during her reign.
She passed away in September 2022, having celebrated her Platinum Jubilee (70 years on the throne) just a few months earlier. Her eldest son then acceded to the throne as Charles III.
Picture: Official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, unknown photographer (1959) - Library and Archives Canada (CC)
Nickel
If nickel had its place in antiquity, then it was in the form of an alloy, due to a lack of means to separate it from its ore companions. It was not isolated for the first time until Axel Fredrick Cronsted succeeded in 1751.
Its name has an amusing origin. The ore from which it was extracted came from Germany and resembled copper. The miners named it Kupfernickel, meaning “sprite copper”, a reference to a mischievous sprite in Germanic mythology which played dirty tricks in the mines.
Nickel is a hard metal, which is silver in color, shiny, and resistant to wear.
The first nickel coins were issued by Switzerland in 1881. France did not follow suit until 1903 with the 25 centime coins engraved by Henri-Auguste-Jules Patey.
This metal never really became popular until after WWI due to the rarefaction of silver. Unfortunately, there are two negative aspects which have lowered its value in its pure form recently: its rising cost (nickel is now twice as expensive as copper) and its hardness, which puts coins at risk.
For this reason, other alloys like cupronickel are often preferred.
An “MS(65-70)” quality
As in numismatics it is important that the state of conservation of an item be carefully evaluated before it is offered to a discerning collector with a keen eye.
This initially obscure acronym comprising two words describing the state of conservation is explained clearly here:
Mint State(65-70)
This means – more prosaically – that the coin is brand new and free from defects, thus in the state it left the mint. It has probably never been in circulation or seen the bottom of a pocket up close. The term “fleur de coin” is also used internationally to refer to the first coins struck with a new die. By extension, this term thus also now describes “perfect” coins not displaying any defects and retaining their full original luster.
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