George V Specimen 5 Cents 1921 SP63 PCGS, Ottawa mint, KM22a. A legendary rarity within Canadian numismatics and the most acclaimed example of its denomination, easily besting other rare Victorian issues because of the intriguing story behind its survival. In May of 1921, the government passed legislation to change the composition of the 5 cent piece from silver to nickel, halting the production of this long-produced type. With over 2,500,000 examples already struck however, a decision had to be made about the disposition of these coins, and ultimately the remainder of this previously coined silver was melted. Today, the total surviving population from this date is almost certainly not much greater than 400. While it's not known exactly how the survivors left from the Ottawa mint, a popular theory is simply that they were made available to mint visitors. Others were likely the souvenirs of mint employees. Census data tells us that whatever the case was, most that weren't melted did end up circulating. Few remain fully detailed today, with maybe 30 Uncirculated examples in total with 8-10 of those being from the Specimen sets. The present example is one of the aforementioned 8-10 Specimen strikings from the sets of the year. The surfaces, attractively presented, display the fine, matte-like texture of the era that produces delicate glowing luster in the fields. Tone mostly centers around the edges where light golden hues cling, with dapples of violet that make an appearance on the reverse. A couple leaves on the reverse are a trifle soft, but they are of little visual relevance. Evidence of handling remains slight. An altogether pleasing piece, obviously very rare both conditionally and in the absolute sense - a magnificent chance to obtain the elite of the elite. Ex. Heritage Auction #3056 (August 2017, Lot 30163); Prager Collection

HID09801242017

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