10 Dollars Montréal Olympics, Hurdles

This piece is one of 28 silver coins issued across four series to fund the 1976 Montréal Games — a financing scheme the city needed because the provincial and federal governments refused to underwrite the full cost of construction. The Olympic installations ran so far over budget that Montréal taxpayers were still retiring the debt through a dedicated tobacco tax levied until 2006.

The composition listed here — pure copper — flags this as a presentation or trial piece rather than a standard issue coin, which was struck in .925 silver.