Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

New $5 silver coin celebrating Rick Hansen's 25th Anniversary Relay

Did you read our recent INTERVIEW with Rick Hansen where he discussed his 25th Anniversary Relay that's underway right now, ending in Vancouver on May 22nd? If you did, then you probably also read our PIECE on the medallion for the relay that was pro

Did you read our recent INTERVIEW with Rick Hansen where he discussed his 25th Anniversary Relay that's underway right now, ending in Vancouver on May 22nd? If you did, then you probably also read our PIECE on the medallion for the relay that was produced in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mint? Well last night I was thrilled by the news that Rick was going to be at the Mint's store at Georgia and Granville today to announce another special something that they had collaborated on.

Circled above is a version of the 25th Anniversary Medallion that we featured HERE, currently on display at the Mint store

The new collaboration released today is a pure silver, $5 collector's coin produced in an edition of 7,500, acknowledging the impact that Rick and his efforts to raise money and awareness around spinal cord injury have left in their wake. Here he is presenting the larger-than-life version and his thoughts to the media and a group of folks invited to the special meet and greet.

HOT TIP: the first 100 editions of this coin available for sale at the Royal Canadian Mint store on Granville are autographed by Rick, so if you get there soon you can probably snag one.

Now we've given Rick a VIRTUAL HIGH FIVE here on the blog, and I personally given him a real-life high five 25 years ago when he rolled through my hometown of Vernon on the original Man In Motion Tour, but today was the first time I'd been properly introduced and got to spend some time chatting with him. I quickly diverted the conversation from coins to fishing (if you caught MY CREATIVE MORNINGS TALK last week you'll know that Rick is passionate about fish conservation) and asked him if he'd been able to throw a line in the water during any of the relay stops he's been at across Canada. Unfortunately he hasn't had time but he did tell me that every time he comes home, the Fraser River is the first place he thinks of heading, and often gets out there to fish for salmon or sturgeon.

When I asked him about the highlight of the 25th Anniversary so far he said that returning to China and the Great Wall (which is now much more wheelchair accessible than it was when he scaled it in the 80's) and seeing how it sparked a global collaboration. He also talked about the 7,000 medal bearers who are all people that instead of simply complaining about problems are going out and solving them. The medal bearers are called "Difference Makers" and I am extremely proud to say that I am one of them and I will be running with Rick on the final day of the race, May 22nd, here in Vancouver.

After I chatted with Rick I got some time with Alex Reeves who works for the Mint. I've always wondered why a coin like this one, that says it's worth $5 on its face, costs $69.95. The case is that in order to mint a coin they have to print a value on it, and as these are special collector's editions they really don't want them to end up going into circulation. The rationale is that when you pay $69.95 for one, if you are ever faced with the option of actually using that coin to buy something, it's hopefully an easy choice to hold onto it considering you'd only be able to get a couple coffees out of it. Also, the price of silver and gold plays into it a bit, as they fluctuate, but the "keeping them out of actual circulation" is a big part of the gap in actual pricing versus what it says it's worth on the coin itself.

You can learn more about this great coin and purchase it online HERE on the Royal Canadian Mint web site.