1939 Royal Visit Silver Dollar (Parliament)

The 1939 dollar temporarily set aside the familiar Voyageur design to commemorate the historic 1939 tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the first visit to Canada by a reigning monarch. Its reverse depicts the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, a fitting image for a coin celebrating the Crown's direct engagement with the Canadian capital.

Because it was struck for just one year before the regular Voyageur design returned, the 1939 dollar is considered a distinct commemorative type within the broader Canadian silver dollar series and is popular with collectors of both dollar-series completeness and royal visit commemoratives.

The 1939 royal tour was a major event in Canadian history, seen as an important show of unity within the British Commonwealth on the eve of the Second World War. To mark the occasion, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a special dollar coin featuring the Parliament Buildings rather than the standard Voyageur reverse used since 1936.

The coin was struck in substantial numbers given the popularity of the royal visit and widespread public interest in commemorating it, and it remains one of the more recognizable one-year-type Canadian commemoratives from the prewar era.

The obverse shows King George VI's portrait with the standard royal titles and the date 1939. The reverse depicts the Centre Block of Canada's Parliament Buildings, complete with the Peace Tower, rendered in detailed relief, with "CANADA" and "ONE DOLLAR" around the border.

The coin is struck in .800 fine silver at the standard size and weight for the Canadian silver dollar series, distinguishing it visually from Voyageur dollars only through its architectural reverse rather than the canoe scene.

No mint mark appears, as it was produced solely at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa.

Thanks to its relatively higher mintage and strong public saving at the time of issue, the 1939 dollar is common in circulated and even many uncirculated grades, generally trading close to silver dollar melt value with a modest commemorative premium.

Exceptionally well-struck or high-grade examples, along with certain recognized die varieties from this issue, can command stronger prices among specialists, but the coin overall remains accessible to most collectors.