Length 50.8 cm x Width 38.1 cm
Poster of one of the official commemorative coins minted for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, matted in a gold-coloured metal frame. The entire poster has a red tint to it with details in white/gold colour, with the background depicting a body of water. In the centre is an image of a coin with a design featuring three sailboats with Kingston City Hall and a martello tower in the background, with the official Montreal Olympic logo and "Olympiade XXI Olympiad" // "Montréal 1976" above, and "5 Dollars" below.
The 1976 Summer Olympic Games were predominantly held in Montreal. However, since Montreal was not a suitable place to hold the sailing events, Portsmouth Olympic Harbour (constructed in 1969) in Kingston, Ontario was reconstructed in 1974 in time for the 1976 Olympic Sailing event. The sailing program took place from July 19th to July 27th 1976.
This poster shows the design for one of a set of special edition silver coins issued in 1973 by the Royal Canadian Mint in the lead-up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The design incorporates Kingston’s City Hall, one of the Martello Towers, and three sailboats, along with the official Montreal Olympic logo.
This design was one of four included in the first set of coins which was ‘geographic’ in theme. The set included two $10 coins, one featuring a map of the world, and the other showing the Montreal skyline; there were also two $5 coins, one with a map of North America, and the other featuring Kingston and sailboats. The coins were designed by Georges Huel, who was responsible for other designs relating to the Montreal Olympics, including the official logo.
There is a label affixed to the back of the frame for this poster which indicates that it was presented to the City of Kingston on the occasion of the opening of the Olympic Coin Sport Art Tour, April 20, 1976, and that the photograph was taken by Francois Proulx.
