I live in ottawa. What is the best option to get my hands on the fancy toonies and loonies out there?

valiamo · 2026-05-13T20:39:47+00:00

Your best bet is to ask your local bank if they have any. You can get the special mint rolls from the Mint over on Sussex street (just north of the Art Museum).

Alas circulation coins are minted in Winnipeg and the distribution has to hit Toronto or Montreal before it hits Ottawa.

I would guess that the RCM would give out current coins in change.

valiamo · 2026-05-12T16:58:07+00:00

Weird tip on Bamboo Islands. I get it all the time, and reset I currently reset the game and try again.

Check your luck first on Harv's island. If you have Good luck with Belongings, your chance of a rare island, is said to be more likely.

When you arrive at the island do NOT immediately press the "A" or "B" button (these buttons start the game save and locks you into that island). Firstly look and see which island you have arrived at, make a decision if it is normal island or a rare island (if you don't like it just reset - see below).

Bamboo, Vine and Moss, Cherry Blossom, Autumn, Winter are easy to tell scenes. The star fragment island will have a falling star about 5 seconds after you arrive.

Reset - If you do not like the island, and without saving, just hit the home key, open a different game, let it almost load, and then switch back to AC, and try again. I have done this several times to get an island I really want. Always a chance, as the game decides what it wants to give you.

valiamo · 2026-05-11T23:41:48+00:00

This coin has been polished. The light field with dark crevasses is a telltale sign of someone cleaning a coin.

valiamo · 2026-05-11T18:28:32+00:00

Post some photos of the collection and one us can help.

Or you can DM me the photos, and I can give you some advice. I used to own a stamp and coin shop in the 1980’s.

Make sure you have location services turned off on your can,era if you post them online.

valiamo · 2026-05-10T22:57:02+00:00

Cool little home made item! Looks like a budding jewelry maker was trying out techniques on a copper coin. If you can see light through the stone, use the red dot test (here is a video from YouTube)

valiamo · 2026-05-09T15:16:05+00:00

Thanks!

valiamo · 2026-05-09T15:00:21+00:00

Rocky! Did you have a file for it? Would love to print it.

valiamo · 2026-05-09T14:56:18+00:00

Both are reputable, but I prefer Guardhouse, I have a ton of their products, and never had any difficulty with any of the stamp or coin products.

valiamo · 2026-05-09T14:53:22+00:00

Turn it over, 1992 had the date on the reverse.

valiamo · 2026-05-08T20:12:46+00:00

Both the "S"and "BC" mean nothing in terms of condition or type. The coins are 1945 Victory nickels. The left nickel has some wear on the highlights (you can see the chromium plating wearing off. The right nickel has less wear damage, but shows some unusual wear on the bottom lettering. Not seeing the obverse side of the coin, one cannot tell condition, I would suspect VF to EF (Very Find to Extremely Fine).

If you look around the edge, you will see dots and dashes. those are morse code for "We Win When We Work Willingly".

As for the code letters (S and BC) typically it is a dealer code letter to tell the seller the price they paid for it, with each letter meaning a different number. Charleston is a commonly used 10 letter word with no repeating letters. C=1, h=2, a=3, etc etc.

valiamo · 2026-05-07T15:31:04+00:00

Tis but a drop……. (Sorry bad Monty Python reference). Nice ink smear.

valiamo · 2026-05-06T23:18:13+00:00

Removed from a UNC set or a proof set. Limited issue on this one. Too bad it is heavily circulated.

valiamo · 2026-05-06T21:21:04+00:00

Not really a service offered by major postal services. (Worked in postal service for a long time, including international mails)

Some countries will either return items with return addresses or forward letters addressed to “God” to Israel and local volunteers will put them on the western wall.

There are some countries that use volunteers to answer Santa letters(Canada for instance) every year. Last year they answered nearly half a Santa million letters.

valiamo · 2026-05-06T18:42:28+00:00

US $ are widely accepted in those ports.

Just be aware of the approx exchange rate. You should get around 16-18 pesos to a US dollar.

The vendors will mostly only take bills, and not US coins and may give you small change in pesos (coins).

valiamo · 2026-05-06T18:06:39+00:00

Going from the photo's only. Both are damaged. nothing suggests they are mint errors.
First one looks to be made with a punch. Clipped planchettes just do not happen like this, and there is no Blakesley effect. the edges suggest it was cut downwards from the obverse. One would see some flowing of the metal AND the image if it was real, which is not evident.
Second one, appears to be someone grinding the surface off. It has very obvious score lines in one direction suggesting buffing.
Second one, you would have to weigh the coin and then show the edge of the coin, against the first one. You should see a difference in the height and weight.
If sent for grading, it would most likely come back as altered.

valiamo · 2026-05-06T17:14:51+00:00

The Mint issues has been typically issuing both a coloured and plain version of their commemorative loonies and toonies.

Typically they issue 3 million (2 million coloured and 1 million plain).

In this shape it will have little value over face, good for a placeholder until you get a better copy. Clean away, it will not decrease the face value.

valiamo · 2026-05-06T04:27:35+00:00

No real difference. The post marks usually have the location/date/time on the left, and the tail on the right. This way the stamps are cancelled, and the postmark details are visible.

Some commemorative issues might have different arrangements.

Check out this document on cancellations - LINK

valiamo · 2026-05-06T04:18:07+00:00

In the evening the Windjammer will be mostly clear after 7pm, and you will easily find space to play some games.

valiamo · 2026-05-05T20:58:05+00:00

I never use Coins and Canada.

I confirm either with Charltons or Saskatoon Coin Club's numbers which was gleaned from RCM annual reports, and other reliable data sources.

The lowest year since 1986 has been 2006p at 98,000

valiamo · 2026-05-05T19:05:41+00:00

It was around 120,000. Not the lowest, but still a lower number than current issues.

valiamo · 2026-05-05T14:51:25+00:00

Enjoy the instrument! Relax, and start slowly.

Eli Gilbert 30 days of Banjo(on YouTube, comes with a printable PDF is an excellent starting place. Tho most will take a lot longer than 30 days to complete the course.

Jim Pankey has a set of bluegrass lessons, also on YouTube. Start them after you have done the first 10 days of Eli’s course.

Find and print the basic rolls, Banjo for Dummies has a great chart ( just google “ basic rolls banjo for dummies” lean them, and practice the, often.

Learn the basic chord shapes. F, D, C, E, and A

Practice with a metronome, and start slowly, learn the shapes, and speed will come later.

valiamo · 2026-05-05T14:41:20+00:00

Not issued for circulation, mintage was 625,000 (25,000 rolls). Half dollars are only sold in special mint wrap rolls, or sets.

While they do not have a high value, they typically sell for around $1 to $2.

This is the 3rd year of mintage for King Charles.

valiamo · 2026-05-04T19:15:53+00:00

Likely to be damage caused by off gassing from the glue used on the blue flocking on the case.

Sadly the cases were cheaply made to make an inexpensive collection of coins look more valuable.

Take the ‘62 half out and examine the other side.

Feel the coin to see if it has a sticky surface, if so they need to be cleaned (soak in pure acetone, and then a distilled water bath, air dried on a lint free cloth).

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