Newfoundland:
5 Cents, 1947
John Cabot is given credit for the discovery of Newfoundland in
1497, although many believe that the Vikings were there hundreds
of
years earlier. By 1583 the English had firmly established their
rule over the island, and Newfoundland remained a British colony
until 1949, when it entered Confederation as the tenth
province of Canada.
The decimal coinage of Newfoundland dates back to 1865, and the
last coinage struck bears the date 1947. The 5-cent silver coin
depicted was part of the last issue. The obverse bears the
crowned effigy of King George VI, with his name and titles in
Latin. These coins were small, about half the size of a Canadian
10-cent piece, and the people of Newfoundland commonly called
them
"fish scales." Newfoundland retained the 5-cent piece although
Canada switched from silver to a larger coin made of pure nickel
in
1922.
The coin illustrated is part of the National Currency Collection,
Bank of Canada.
Photography by James Zagon, Ottawa.
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