Yvon Gariepy (born July 13, 1926 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

) was the President of the

Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint () is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mi ...

from 1975 to 1981.The CN Journal, Volume 53, No. 3, p.138, Official Publication of Royal Canadian Numismatic Association In later years, he worked for

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. Gariepy was a professional member of the Order of Engineers of Quebec, Professional Corporation of Urbanists of Quebec, Canadian Institute of Planners and the Institute of the Public Administration of Canada. On June 6, 1975, Gariépy was appointed to the position. He officially took over the position from Gordon Hunter the next week and reported to the Finance Minister,

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposit ...

. Turner became

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in 1984. At the 1975

Royal Canadian Numismatic Association The Royal Canadian Numismatic Association was founded in 1950. It is a nonprofit association for coin collectors and other people interested in Canadian numismatics. It has members throughout Canada and in other countries. At times, it also works ...

Annual Convention, he announced the launching of two Olympic gold coins. Gariepy was a coin collector himself.Royal Canadian Mint: 100 Years of History, p.153, Published by Les Éditions Stromboli, 2008, St. Lambert, Québec, Canada, Project Co-ordinator: Francesco Bellomo, Project Manager for Royal Canadian Mint: Susan Aubry, Legal Deposit: Library and Archives Canada, In 1976, Gariepy's role as Master of the Mint started to take shape. He officially opened a new RCM facility capable of producing 700 million coins per year per worker shift in Winnipeg in April. The

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

in Montreal resulted in a coin program that generated approximately $200 million in gross sales and $50 million in net profit, and the mint produced 8.4 million troy ounces of silver coins, the highest silver consumption for coins in the world. Gariepy announced that an annual award would be bestowed to the Canadian deemed to have contributed the most to numismatic education in Canada.The Charlton Standard Catalogue of the Canadian Numismatic Association's Medals and Awards, 1st Edition, R. Brian Cornwell, p. 68, 1991, The Charlton Press, Toronto, The award, known as the Royal Canadian Mint Award, was in the form of a sterling silver medal. A panel of numismatists, along with the Royal Canadian Mint, selected the winner, and it was presented at the Annual Royal Canadian Numismatic Association Convention. The Gold Maple Leaf can be partly attributed to Gariepy. The RCM needed to create a product that would differentiate itself from other mints. The South African

Krugerrand The Krugerrand (; ) is a South African coin, first minted on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by Rand Refinery and the South African Mint. The name is a compound of '' Paul Kruger'', the former President of the South ...

, the only other gold bullion coin product at the time, was 22 Karat Gold or .9167 pure.Royal Canadian Mint Unveils 25th Anniversary Gold Maple Leaf Design at A.N.A. World's Fair of Money
/ref> Gariepy wanted to produce a purer product, based on the knowledge that the RCM's refinery was considered the best in the world for quality. In 1979, the RCM struck a .999 pure gold coin featuring the Canadian symbol: a maple leaf. The reverse was designed by the RCM's Master Engraver, Walter Ott, while the obverse featured the effigy of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

designed by Arnold Machin. Another change that was brought about under Gariepy's leadership was the change of the Prestige Set, a Double Dollar Set that featured a nickel dollar and a silver dollar, to a proof set. The coins were of a specimen finish (brilliant relief on a brilliant background). Under Gariepy, the Prestige Set would be changed to a Proof status.The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, 60th Anniversary Edition, W.K. Cross, p. 420, The Charlton Press, The new Proof Set was introduced in March 1981 with an issue price of $36.00 and all the coins had a frosted relief against a mirror background. On November 30, 1981, Gariepy resigned as Master of the Mint to take a position as President with

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gariepy, Yvon 1926 births Living people 20th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian numismatists People from Montreal Royal Canadian Mint presidents