Robert Wallace McLachlan

Robert Wallace McLachlan (9 March 1845 – 10 May 1926), was a prolific early Canadian numismatist, who published many works focusing primarily on pre-Canadian Confederation coins, tokens and medals. He lived in Montreal, and was for many years the Treasurer and Curator of The Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal.[1][2] Along with fellow early Canadian numismatists Alfred Sandham, and P. N. Breton and Joseph Leroux, his publications are considered to have laid the foundations for Canadian numismatic research.[3]

In 1894, P. N. Breton stated that McLachlan's coin collection was the most extensive in Canada with over 8,000 pieces, ranging from ancient Greek issues to contemporary coins.[4] McLachlan sold his collection in its entirety to The Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal in 1922, which at that time had grown to an estimated 20,000 pieces.[5]

McLachlan published the following books and pamphlets on Canadian tokens:

• The Edward Murphy Medal, published in 1877
• Canadian Temperance Medals, published in 1879
• The French-American Colonial Jettons, published in 1884
• The Money and Medals of Canada Under the Old Regime, published in 1885
• Canadian Numismatics: A Descriptive Catalogue of Coins, Tokens and Medals Issued in or Relating to the Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland, published in 1886
• Statistics of the Coinage for Canada and Newfoundland, published in 1890
• Canadian Communion Tokens, published in 1891
• The Louisbourg Medals, published in 1891
• Annals of the Nova Scotian Currency, published in 1892
• Coins Struck in Canada Previous [to] 1840, published in 1892
• Canadian Diamond Jubilee Medals, published in 1898
• The Nova Scotian Treasury Notes, published in 1898
• Medals Awarded to the Canadian Indians, published in 1899
• Two Canadian Golden Wedding Medals, published in 1901
• The Real Date of the Canadian 1820 Harp Tokens, published in 1907