RE: NWI's victory Nickel--very good:
While I thought it was a cute marketing gimmick that everyone that attended the meeting yesterday received a Victory nickel, I had no real idea behind the story of that nickel we got. Now, I do. Underneath is the story of the "Victory" nickel, and the significance of it in Canada. It's a real honour to have our company named Victory Nickel now.
Victory Nickel a priceless item
By EARL McRAE -- Ottawa Sun
Rita McEvoy, having read my recent column on military medals, sent me the following e-mail: "With the 60th anniversary of D-Day this year, I remember my late grandmother years ago telling me a story about my grandfather who was part of the Normandy invasion. She said he went overseas carrying a Canadian nickel in his battle tunic pocket for good luck. I seem to recall her saying that the nickel was very special because it had the letter V on it. I have never seen a V on any nickels, so are you able to shed any light on this for me?"
Yes, Rita, and a wonderful and fascinating Canadian story it is.
The year was 1942, Canada at war against Nazi Germany, and nickel was in short supply in that it was desperately needed for our armament industries. The Royal Canadian Mint was asked by the federal government to produce a five-cent replacement "nickel" using a different mineral.
FLAMING TORCH
The 12-sided coin was introduced on January 1, 1943. It was yellowish-brown and made from an alloy called tombac. On one side was the face of King George the Sixth. But the Canadian beaver that had been on the other side was no more. What Canadians saw instead was an engraving of the letter V with a flaming torch in the middle. And below it, the words Five Cents.
I remember, when I was a child in the 1950s, seeing that nickel on occasion.
Some lucky Canadians might still have it, and, if so, they should hold onto it.
There were many who thought the V symbolized Victoria as in Queen Victoria. No. The V had two meanings. The Roman numeral for the No. 5, but, more significantly, it was based on British prime minister Winston Churchill's two-fingered salute for "Victory."
The coin came to be known as the Victory Nickel.
But, there was more to this coin that Rita McEvoy was not aware of, but perhaps her grandparents were. All around the edge of the inside rim on the V side were tiny, raised dots and bars, not seen on any other Canadian coin.
The engraved dots and dashes are Morse Code. Few Canadians knew this. They thought the dots and dashes were simply design. The dots and dashes spell out words. The good-luck, war-effort words, are: We Win When We Work Willingly.
If you are one who still has the nickel, take a look -- you will see the code.
One story has it that the Morse Code was the suggestion of Canada's then-minister of finance, J.L. Ilsley. That, too, is wrong. The one responsible was a man named Thomas Shingles. His title was Chief Engraver for the Royal Canadian Mint.
Thomas Shingles not only came up with the slogan, and the idea to put it in Morse Code, but the V and the torch were also his.
Notice that the first letter of each word of the slogan is a W. That, too, was deliberate by Shingles -- the double Victory sign.
And at the base of the torch, two minuscule engraved initials: T.S. for Thomas Shingles.
Just as sculptures and paintings have the signatures of the conceptualizing artists, so do our coins. If you have a penny in your pocket, take it out. If you squint real hard, you will see KG on the Maple Leaf side. George Kruger-Gray's initials have been on all one-cent coins minted since 1936.
INSPIRATIONAL
The inspirational nickels, one of which Rita's grandfather took with him into battle, were discontinued a few months after the war ended in 1945, replaced by chromium-plated steel five-cent coins.
Rita McEvoy's deceased grandfather survived the war, and on the Sixth of June this year, old men who are still among us, will stand again on the shores of Normandy where they were once young and brave for Canada. Some might even have the Victory Nickel in their pockets.
Because in commemoration of D-Day's 60th anniversary, the Mint has produced 20,000 sterling silver collector five-cent coins, precise replicas of the wartime Victory Nickel, and in a recent ceremony at sacred Pier 21 in Halifax from where so many of our soldiers left for war, 60 of our veterans were given theirs.
earl.mcrae@ott.sunpub.com
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