Coin World continues a feature by Senior Editor Jeff Starck about Canadian coins celebrating hockey. This is the second part of the story, which first appeared in the November Coin World issue. Read the first part of the story here.

The first team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Hockey Club, but another team from Montreal has made history on Canadian coins. 

In 2009, the RCM issued a circulating dollar to celebrate the centennial of the 1909 founding of the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens are the longest continuously operating professional ice hockey team and the only existing NHL club to predate the founding of the NHL. The Canadiens team is also the winningest in the NHL, with 23 Stanley Cup championships in the team’s history. However, none has come since 1993. 

The reverse of the coin features the Montreal Canadiens logo against a background with the number “100” and horizontal lines, the years “1909” and “2009” to indicate the centennial of the club.

With a mintage of 10,250,000, the dollar coin may be obtained for less than $5. 

Three other versions of the dollar coin were issued in base metal — one that is lacquered, another that has the Canadiens logo in color, and another with gold-plating. 

Together, these three coins are valued at less than $70. 

A Proof .925 fine silver coin with gold plating features the same design, but is struck on a larger planchet. 

The Proof coin’s mintage of 15,000 sold out, and it now trades at around $140 U.S., more than double its issue price.