The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 1, January 7, 2007, Article 15

ORDER OF CANADA MEDAL CAUSES RUCKUS ON EBAY

The Brooks Bulletin of Brooks, Alberta, Canada published a story about
this week's ruckus of the offering on eBay of an Order of Canada medal.
The Order of Canada is the country's highest honor for lifetime
achievement.  Singer Shania Twain was among those granted the honor
in 2005.  Begun in 1967, dozens are awarded yearly.

The current owner of the eBay medal is continuing to accept email bids
privately after the auction was shut down.  The online auction company
said the medal was pulled from the site because "it violated the
company's policy banning the sale of government property."

"In an e-mail Friday to The Canadian Press, the seller - identified
only by the eBay username "dalida44" - said hundreds of people have
expressed interest in the medal, awarded nearly 40 years ago to noted
Quebec historian Gustave Lanctot.

"The correspondence has also included a number of "insulting letters,"
the seller said.

"I had even one person writing: 'Can't believe you would sell this,
this piece belongs to a museum. What else could we expect from a
Quebecer, though. Disgraceful."'

"When eBay pulled the medal five days early on Jan. 1, the bidding
had reached C$15,100 and more than 8,500 people had visited the auction,
the seller said."

"Lanctot was awarded the Order of Canada's medal of service just
five days after the order was established on July 1, 1967. Since 1972,
recipients have received a different medal and are described as
officers of the Order of Canada."

"Of the 389 medals of service awarded, only about 125 are still in
existence because the remainder were exchanged for the officer insignia
and melted by the Royal Canadian Mint, said McCreery, author of "The
Order of Canada: Its Origins, History and Development."

"Rideau Hall says families or successors of deceased Order recipients
can choose to return the award, keep it as an heirloom or donate it
to a museum, but it remains in theory the property of the Crown."

"Selling the medals is "highly discouraged," spokeswoman Marilyne
Guevremont said last week."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

For more information and images of the medal, see the Wikipedia entry: Wikipedia entry

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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