On Grading: We have started on the revision of the grading section removed from "The Standard" in the last edition. This revision, even with just the vague outline, is more extensive than the old version. With subsequent editions this section will be expanded and improved to cover all grades, finishes and denominations.
On the 61st Edition: The "Standard" has been completely redesigned. The format increased in size (7" x 9", spiral bound); the page count has decreased. This saving will allow us to keep the "Standard" in one volume for the foreseeable future. The tables now carry up to twelve pricing columns. Through not all series demand this much attention, the ones that do receive it.
Modern coinage, 1968-2006, now has incorporated into the pricing tables the many finishes provided by the Royal Canadian Mint. Some of the tables are not fully completed for the simple reason that grading and pricing reported data has not caught up with the evolution of modern collecting.
On Modern Issues: The Royal Canadian Mint continues the headlong rush to issue new coins, new denominations and new packaging. It is hard to budget the thousands of dollars a collector would have to set aside to acquire one sample of each new issue for 2006. The question still to be answered is whether or not this is for the "good" of the hobby.
On Varieties: The Variety Section contained in the 61st edition comprises over 90 pages, and is devoted to the fifty cent series with special emphasis on George VI varieties. This series is one of the most extensive and complex in Canadian coin collecting and consequently the most challenging to collect.
Again, the "Standard" listings are just a start, while 94 different dies are catalogued there are many more to find. Over the next year hopefully the date spacing varieties are flushed out so a numbering system can be devised.
Our next variety section, in the 62nd edition, will cover the twenty-five cent coinage. Any information on this series you wish to send would be greatly appreciated.
