5 Dollars - Elizabeth II Swimming

One of sixteen silver coins issued across four Olympic series between 1973 and 1976, this piece was produced specifically to fund the Montreal Games — Canada's first Summer Olympics. The program was unprecedented in scale for a national mint, and the Royal Canadian Mint struggled considerably with it, running behind schedule and ultimately requiring supplemental striking contracts. Montreal itself famously finished the Games with construction incomplete, and the associated debt was not retired until 2006.

The two catalogue references (RC-1420a and RC-1420b) reflect a documented difference in the frosted finish applied to proof-like examples.