I was checking my bookmarks for new Canadian coins, if any, and was surprised to find out that the 2026 circulating commemoratives have already been announced, which is unusually early. The actual description of each coin has not yet been posted, but here are the basic facts:
Two $1 coins FIFA World Cup 2026
Two $2 coins Royal Canadian Legion 1926–2026
Two $2 coins CN Tower 1976–2026
As usual, there is a colourized and non-colourized version of each. I may be critical of the RCM on many issues, especially the annual deluge of NCLTs, but their program of circulating commems makes sense and is quite affordable and easy to obtain.
The design I'm most eager to see is that of the CN Tower.
Thank you both for your feedback. … Well, it got me curious about circulating commems elsewhere and here are some results from a quick search of a few countries:
I am quite surprised that the UK has released a single circulating commem in the period 2023–2025. Meanwhile, if you search for non-circulating coins, there are over 900 results, though this includes bullion and Maundy. But unlike Canada, the UK has had several different reverses on regular circulating coins… Canada has had the same reverses for the 5, 10, and 25 cents since 1937…
I find Australia quite excessive with 43 types in the same period — for $62.50 face value if you're lucky enough to find them all in circulation or with the help of family and friends. As for the US, since they don't have a circulating dollar coin any longer, nor a half, all circulating commems are quarters, so, it's pretty easy to find them one way or another.
An interesting bit of information I found while doing this is that the German Charlemagne commem is the ”first coin ever with the "ẞ" (uppercase "ß") used within the legend."
An interesting bit of information I found while doing this is that the German Charlemagne commem is the ”first coin ever with the "ẞ" (uppercase "ß") used within the legend."
Where? I can’t see it.
Also ß doesn’t really have an uppercase, some modern computer models invented it following the general rule of because there is lowercase therefore there must be an uppercase.
ß is an amalgamation of old fs and two esses ss = ß. Making it slightly fatter doesn’t make it uppercase, as ß would never be written in uppercase apart from the one exception where every letter is written in uppercase. FUßBALL STRAßE, Fußball Straße.
„If your reply or post in the Forum stinks of AI, I will call you out! Knowledge comes from experience, the I in AI stands for incompetence.“
Traditionally, ⟨ß⟩ did not have a capital form, and was capitalized as ⟨SS⟩. Some type designers introduced capitalized variants. In 2017, the Council for German Orthography officially adopted a capital form ⟨ẞ⟩ as an acceptable variant, ending a long debate.[4] Since 2024 the capital has been preferred over ⟨SS⟩.[5]
Traditionally, ⟨ß⟩ did not have a capital form, and was capitalized as ⟨SS⟩. Some type designers introduced capitalized variants. In 2017, the Council for German Orthography officially adopted a capital form ⟨ẞ⟩ as an acceptable variant, ending a long debate.[4] Since 2024 the capital has been preferred over ⟨SS⟩.[5]
I don’t think that is accurate, can you post the link to the wiki page, I would like to read the German equivalent.
As far as I remember from last year (2024) Germany adopted ß over ss officially not specifically a capital ẞ.
„If your reply or post in the Forum stinks of AI, I will call you out! Knowledge comes from experience, the I in AI stands for incompetence.“
Traditionally, ⟨ß⟩ did not have a capital form, and was capitalized as ⟨SS⟩. Some type designers introduced capitalized variants. In 2017, the Council for German Orthography officially adopted a capital form ⟨ẞ⟩ as an acceptable variant, ending a long debate.[4] Since 2024 the capital has been preferred over ⟨SS⟩.[5]
I don’t think that is accurate, can you post the link to the wiki page, I would like to read the German equivalent.
As far as I remember from last year (2024) Germany adopted ß over ss officially not specifically a capital ẞ.
Yeah so the document just says ss to be replaced by ß where available, so when writing (excluding exceptions (because in German there always are)) and using computers (where the ß might not be available, or people don’t know where to find it with „insert character“ or ALT 123, etc. Meaning ss can still be typed.
Then capital SS written as ẞ , again where available (excluding exceptions) when being typed. It took me a few minutes to find fat capital ẞ instead of ß.
So to summarise wiki is incorrect, in that the rules state;
ss = ß (small)
SS = ẞ (Capital)
Not all ss and SS = ẞ (Capital) as written on English Wikipedia page.
edit: and now I see ẞ on the coin in GROẞE
„If your reply or post in the Forum stinks of AI, I will call you out! Knowledge comes from experience, the I in AI stands for incompetence.“
I don't read German but I take it from all that that ẞ (capital ß) does in fact officially exist.
Yes ẞ it officially exists. To be clear it was just „Since 2024 the capital has been preferred over ⟨SS⟩.“ I didn’t agree with, but now I see they just mean SS and not ss, where ß is still used. To be honest, no one pays any attention to all the language changes (apart from teachers) because German is the most complicated language in the Latin world, I mean who needs 7 words for „the“!?
„If your reply or post in the Forum stinks of AI, I will call you out! Knowledge comes from experience, the I in AI stands for incompetence.“
I return to quite a discussion… from a minor point of detail but indeed, I pointed out this use of a capital ẞ precisely because I didn't know it existed. The fact that you find it on a coin kind of makes it official. We say “it's not set in stone”… OK… but “set in a coin” is good enough for me.
Some of you I'm sure remember the discussion we had some time ago about the Eszett which as you know is actually a double “s”, i.e. the old long “s” that looks like an “f” ("ſ") with the “s” we're used to but was mostly used in final word position until the 17th–18th centuries:
I had a German colleague around 2010 who told me that it was slowly disappearing with the new rules of orthography from a few years earlier. It looks like there is now a conscious attempt to keep it alive and well, which I think is great.
I am not sure that if I were to write an address for example all in capitals, my ẞ in STRAẞE would look any different from STRAßE, or maybe prior I should have been writing STRASSE to be correct, but like I said I don’t think anyone takes much notice of these rules and I would always throw it in where I could - so maybe I was ahead of the game on this one.
„If your reply or post in the Forum stinks of AI, I will call you out! Knowledge comes from experience, the I in AI stands for incompetence.“
An interesting bit of information I found while doing this is that the German Charlemagne commem is the ”first coin ever with the "ẞ" (uppercase "ß") used within the legend."
Where? I can’t see it.
Also ß doesn’t really have an uppercase, some modern computer models invented it following the general rule of because there is lowercase therefore there must be an uppercase.
ß is an amalgamation of old fs and two esses ss = ß. Making it slightly fatter doesn’t make it uppercase, as ß would never be written in uppercase apart from the one exception where every letter is written in uppercase. FUßBALL STRAßE, Fußball Straße.
An interesting bit of information I found while doing this is that the German Charlemagne commem is the ”first coin ever with the "ẞ" (uppercase "ß") used within the legend."
Where? I can’t see it.
Also ß doesn’t really have an uppercase, some modern computer models invented it following the general rule of because there is lowercase therefore there must be an uppercase.
ß is an amalgamation of old fs and two esses ss = ß. Making it slightly fatter doesn’t make it uppercase, as ß would never be written in uppercase apart from the one exception where every letter is written in uppercase. FUßBALL STRAßE, Fußball Straße.
The Swiss use of German is not relevant, niether the Austrian use of German. We are only talking about hochdeutsch, the (perceived) correct German taught and used officially by Germany.
„If your reply or post in the Forum stinks of AI, I will call you out! Knowledge comes from experience, the I in AI stands for incompetence.“
All very interesting. I agree that for most people this is something they'll just not even notice… It's also interesting that Switzerland and Austria (and, I suspect, Liechtenstein) don't use the ß at all.
I'll have to find this coin for my German-fluent brother. We have occasionally discussed the ß. I suspect he has no idea there is now a capital “ẞ” version.
All very interesting. I agree that for most people this is something they'll just not even notice… It's also interesting that Switzerland and Austria (and, I suspect, Liechtenstein) don't use the ß at all.
I'll have to find this coin for my German-fluent brother. We have occasionally discussed the ß. I suspect he has no idea there is now a capital “ẞ” version.
Switzerland & Liechtenstein both use ‘ss’.
I think Austria follows Germany in spelling of the German language.
All very interesting. I agree that for most people this is something they'll just not even notice… It's also interesting that Switzerland and Austria (and, I suspect, Liechtenstein) don't use the ß at all.
I'll have to find this coin for my German-fluent brother. We have occasionally discussed the ß. I suspect he has no idea there is now a capital “ẞ” version.
Switzerland & Liechtenstein both use ‘ss’.
I think Austria follows Germany in spelling of the German language.
Aidan.
True. Austria does use German orthography as I've just found out.
Now, debates over a capital “ß” go much further back in time than I imagined. See this post by a typographer. Also this Medium blogpost soon after the official recognition of “ẞ” as a German character.
All very interesting. I agree that for most people this is something they'll just not even notice… It's also interesting that Switzerland and Austria (and, I suspect, Liechtenstein) don't use the ß at all.
I'll have to find this coin for my German-fluent brother. We have occasionally discussed the ß. I suspect he has no idea there is now a capital “ẞ” version.
Switzerland & Liechtenstein both use ‘ss’.
I think Austria follows Germany in spelling of the German language.
Aidan.
True. Austria does use German orthography as I've just found out.
Now, debates over a capital “ß” go much further back in time than I imagined. See this post by a typographer. Also this Medium blogpost soon after the official recognition of “ẞ” as a German character.
