Prince
Edward Island 
History of the Prince Edward Island Numismatic Association
The Prince Edward Island Numismatic Association is thought to have been formed in 1964. That was the year the Confederation Centre of the Arts was opened in Charlottetown, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This large theater, museum and art gallery complex was dedicated to the Fathers of Confederation who had met in the Island’s capital one hundred years earlier to lay the foundation for a united Canada. This significant historical event spawned a large number of commemorative coins and medals throughout the Canadian numismatic community. The desire to collect these special items seems to have been the impetus needed to bring the local Island numismatists together to found a coin club.
Under the leadership of noted collectors such as Col. L.F. MacDonald, Ted Black, Thomas N. Rogers, Font Kennedy and Wallace Moase a province wide association was constituted with its base in Charlottetown. It is important to note, however, that this was not the first coin club to be formed on P.E.I. That distinction goes to the Summerside Coin Club which had been formed a few years earlier.
The early years of the P.E.I.N.A. appear to have been quite successful. With its meetings at the local YMCA, it was well attended and enjoyed by local collectors. In 1966 the club unfortunately suffered a major human loss when its President, Ted Black, suddenly passed away leaving a big pair of organizational shoes to be filled. He was also the Vice-President of the recently formed Atlantic Provinces Numismatic Association at the time of his death. The club faltered for nearly a year until November of 1967 when a new Executive was formed to get the association up to speed again. The new leaders were President, Thomas N. Rogers, Vice-President; Fred Corcoran, Secretary-Treasurer; Richard Montigny, and Directors; L.F. MacDonald and Wendall Rogers. With a rejuvenated leadership and the excitement created by Canada’s Centennial Year the club flourished once more.
Unfortunately, the Summerside Coin Club which often had to rely on Canadian Air Force members from CFB Summerside for the bulk of its membership, was forced to disband in 1968. However, this black cloud held a silver lining for the P.E.I.N.A. as many core members of the western club became faithful members of the Charlottetown-based club. Later the same year the association officially adopted the “reverse” of the 1871 P.E.I. “Tree Cent” as its own emblem. This attractive design features the three oak saplings in the protective shade of a mature oak thus allegorically representing the three counties of the Island under the protection of Great Britain.
During the 1970's the club continued to meet regularly and provided a forum for local collectors to share their common interest in the hobby. However, by 1979, with a younger leadership in place under President Clair Perry the club felt ready to expand its horizons. The club decided to host the A.P.N.A. Rally for the first time. Held at the Charlottetown Hotel this event was a great success. More than 300 people attended the show. Being the first show of its kind ever held on P.E.I. it had a big impact and would lead to an intake of many new members during the early eighties. It also inspired the club to host its own local show during the rest of the eighties. The club also hosted another successful A.P.N.A. Rally, in 1983, at the Kirkwood Motel.
As its membership continued to grow in numbers and confidence, the Island coin club, in 1985, decided to invite the Canadian Numismatic Association to hold one of its upcoming national conventions in Charlottetown. In due course, the P.E.I.N.A. was selected to host the 1988 CNA Convention. In the meantime, as a dry run, the club again played host to an A.P.N.A. Rally in 1986. This largely attended and very successful gathering of numismatists featured Paul Nadin-Davis, a leading Toronto coin dealer, as the guest speaker at the closing banquet. An official A.P.N.A. medal was struck featuring the car ferry steamer “Charlottetown.” Following this event the next two years were spent in feverish preparations for the CNA. In July 1988, it was all systems go. Two hundred delegates dropped anchor in the city for a week of numismatic fun P.E.I. style.
The Royal Canadian Mint produced the official CNA medal which featured an engine of the old P.E.I. Railway. The railway has since been totally abandoned on P.E.I. A highlight of the convention was the publication of a book entitled The Currency and Medals of Prince Edward Island. Three local members, Ralph Dickieson, Earle Kennedy and Gordon McCarville were contributing authors of this valuable resource book, which was funded by the Ferguson Foundation. The final highlight of the week was Ralph Dickieson’s winning of the Best-In-Show Gold Medal for his display of the Island Banknotes. Gordon McCarville and Brain MacKenzie, Co-Chairmen, are still very proud of the efforts of everyone involved in making the convention a very enjoyable numismatic event.
Not wanting to rest on their laurels from the previous year the P.E.I.N.A. hosted the A.P.N.A. again in 1989. This event tied in nicely with the Island’s year-long celebrations to mark the 125 Anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference in 1864. The club applied for and received a grant of money from the Celebrations Committee. This grant was used to commission local artist, Sandy Carruthers, to draw a detailed sketch of the steamer “Queen Victoria”, the ship that carried Sir John A. MacDonald and his band of colonial politicians to Charlottetown with their dream on board of forging a Canadian Nation. Mr. Carruthers drew his sketch from a large wooden model of the ship which resides in the Confederation Centre. From his sketch the official A.P.N.A. medal was designed and issued in both bronze and silver. Also in 1989, Brian MacKenzie became the first numismatist to be elected to the executive of the Canadian Numismatic association as its N.B.-P.E.I. Area Director, for a two-year term.
The course of events in the history of the P.E.I.N.A. seems to be inextricably linked to that of Canadian Confederation. This was once again demonstrated in 1992. The Royal Canadian Mint that year decided to produce twelve circulating commemorative twenty-five cent coins in order to mark the 125 anniversary of Canada’s nationhood which had been achieved on July 1, 1867. Each coin would represent one of Canada’s twelve provinces and territories and be unveiled to the public in its respective area of the country. P.E.I.’s coin would be launched in July with the help of the P.E.I.N.A. This turned out to be an enormously successful launch of the now infamous “Cousin’s Shore” quarter and was attended by over a thousand Islanders and scores of media. Coin club members and Mint personnel handed out about 4,000 quarters to the huge crowd which overflowed the rented hotel ballroom and extended for half a city block up the street. As a sign of its appreciation the Mint hosted the club’s entire membership to a special luncheon with Mint and Federal Government officials.
Since 1992 the Island’s coin club has endured another cycle of low membership until this year when it has once again rebounded due to the efforts of a committed executive. We will once again be playing host to the A.P.N.A. Rally in the Fall of 1999.
