BOOK REVIEW: PAST & NEARLY PERFECT

Rob Turner, Bowman Award winning author, has once again knocked it out of the ballpark with his new book, Past & Nearly Perfect. Turner's latest work focuses on the extremely rare Patterns, Trial Pieces, as well as the Proof and Specimen coins which exist in the Canadian Large Cent series; from the early design of the first provincial cent to the last large cent issued by the Dominion in 1920. While it is somewhat of a departure from his previous four books that deal with in-depth die studies of Canadian Victorian Large Cents, he continues to apply his exacting and in-depth research methodologies to this new subject matter. It is a worthy addition to the most discerning numismatic libraries.

Written from the perspective of "who made them and why they were made", Turner includes a detailed history of the people and events associated with the production of these extremely rare numismatic treasures. Past & Nearly Perfect documents the role played by key people, such as Alexander Galt, Thomas Graham and Charles Fremantle, in the development of Canadian coinage, which resulted in production of these special strikes. This also includes many interactions between the Canadian Government and the Royal Mint in London. In Past & Nearly Perfect, Turner applies his extensive knowledge of die production and usage in the Canadian Large Cent series to the subject matter, as well as, his first-hand detailed research in the archives of the Royal Mint Museum in Llantrisant, Wales.

With a quick glance through Turner's new book I think you'll agree that it is obvious that the author has taken meticulous care assembling the many high resolution, full-colour images; many of which were taken during the course of the author's research and have never been seen before.

The book is divided into eight chapters with three appendices. The contents are:

Preface i
Chapter 1 Proofs, Specimens, And Other Confusing Things 1
Chapter 2 Designing a Provincial Cent 9
Chapter 3 Postdated Coins and Other Oddities of the 1870's 45
Chapter 4 The Change to Dominion Cents 61
Chapter 5 Heaton Specimen Cents 79
Chapter 6 Victorian Specimen Record Cents 91
Chapter 7 Later Royal Mint Specimen Cents 109
Chapter 8 Ottawa Specimen Cents 123
Appendix A Record Coins Sent to Other Museums 137
Appendix B Special-Strike Large Cents in the NCC 157
Appendix C Bibliography 159

The book was published by the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association, made possible by a grant from the J. Douglas Ferguson Historical Research Foundation.

Turner, Rob. Past & Nearly Perfect. Printed in Canada, 2020. 164 pp. Illustrated with colour photographs. ISBN 978-1-55383-526-4; 8.5" x 11", heavy glossy paper, hard bound, 49.95 CAD*

*The book is available from the RCNA website for CA$49.95 ($44.95 for members) plus shipping and handling.

For more information, or to order, see:
Past & Nearly Perfect (https://www.rcna.ca/book/index.php)

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