Canadian coins honor Star Trek
By Kerry Rodgers On Sept. 8, 1966, Star TrekTM: (The Original Series) made its debut in the USA on NBC television. It would run for three seasons with ever-decreasing ratings….
By Kerry Rodgers
On Sept. 8, 1966, Star TrekTM: (The Original Series) made its debut in the USA on NBC television. It would run for three seasons with ever-decreasing ratings. These would see its cancellation at the end of that third season after 79 episodes.
Despite that cancellation, 50 years it has become a well-entrenched, international cult phenomenon with numerous TV and film spin-offs, plus a vast franchise that includes figurines, novels, toys, comics and games.
The Royal Canadian Mint has recognized the status Gene Roddenberry’s creation holds today by striking a series of coins to mark the golden anniversary of the TV series.
Four 34 mm, 15.87g $10 silver proofs with colorized reverses celebrate eight icons from the show: Captain James Tiberius Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and a communicator, Communications Officer Lieutenant Uhura and a tricorder, and Lieutenant Commander Spock with a phaser. The four coins will be released progressively from June to September. Mintage is 12,500 each.
A 38mm, 31.39 g (1 oz) .9999 fine silver $20 proof is devoted to the U.S.S. Enterprise. The colored reverse presents a scene from the 1968 episode “I, Mudd” with the star ship approaching a Class K planet. Mintage is 11,500.
Three colorized 38 mm, 31.39 g (1 oz) .9999 fine silver $20 proofs depict scenes from the three most popular episodes – all from 1967: “The City on the Edge of Forever” (first shown on April 6), “Mirror Mirror” (Oct. 6), and “The Trouble with Tribbles’ (Dec. 29). Mintage is 11,500 apiece. These coins will be released from August through October.
A 28.68 x 17.50 mm, 16.20 g .9999 fine gold $200 proof, comes shaped as for the Delta Shield insignia of United Federation of Planets’ Starfleet. The reverse of the coin displays the elongated star symbol used to identify crew assigned to Command. This coin will be available in September and has a mintage of 1,500.
The reverse of a quarter oz .9999 fine silver $20 portrays the U.S.S. Enterprise in attack mode, her phasers blasting a locked-on target. Alongside is a stylized Delta Shield bearing the number “50”. Mintage is 300,000.
In addition the RCM has struck a BU specimen nickel-plated steel 25 cents that is being offered as part of a coin and stamp set. The reverse design of the coin presents six views of the U.S.S. Enterprise surrounding a central motif of a -Delta Shield insignia. The stamps in this set feature Captain Kirk, U.S.S. Enterprise and a Klingon battle cruiser.
The coins were unveiled on May 12 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum by William Shatner, the Canadian-born actor who made James T. Kirk a household name. He was assisted by Mint President and CEO Sandra Hanington.
This article was originally printed in World Coin News.
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